by Paul Ormond
“No one is interested in glory at this point, least of all President Edwards,” Gerald said. “She is well aware of her mistakes, and we all know the conditions that brought about this situation were always far beyond our control. But we have the capability to deal with it now, as long as everybody stays in their lanes and does their job. That means your people focus on what they do best, while the military does its job. You must be commended for building a civilian militia of such magnitude, but it will all be for nought if we squander our resources and assets through infighting and lack of coordination. The only way we get through this is if we do it together.”
“What about Mitch and SoHee?” Babcock asked.
“We can’t wait for them to show up. They’ve got their mission, and we’ve got ours. Like I said, we need everybody to do their job and we might stand a chance.” Gerald said. “We must take advantage of this opportunity to get the Masters off balance before they can do too much damage. Sitting around and arguing about it will get us nowhere. Where are we on the preparations?”
“Thanks to my amazing engineering department, the satellite hack is almost complete,” Robert said, looking at Allan.
“And the drones are as ready as they’ll ever be,” Wayne said.
“How about these civilians? Are they ready to move when we tell them?” Gerald said, locking eyes with O’Dell.
“They are standing by,” O’Dell said. “We’ve got teams doing intel across the planet and feeding it back to us.”
“You’ll need to funnel everything to the central command,” Gerald said. “The more eyes we have on it the better. There isn’t much time before Commander Holrathu’s ultimatum. How soon can you mobilize?”
“We’ve been in standby mode for sometime now,” O’Dell said. “Our operatives have been positioning themselves within striking distance since the ultimatum was issued. And have we got some surprises for our friends in the sky. The amount of things this technology is capable is just mind-blowing. Once we had all the data available, we leaked it worldwide, allowing the most sick and twisted tech heads on the planet picked it up and let’s just say they are very creative.”
“It sounds exciting, as long as it is effective,” Gerald said. “Just ensure that every one of these sick and twisted individuals knows that they will need to wait until they receive instructions to strike before they pull out any of their fancy toys.”
“But what about you?” Kate asked. “Don’t they have a fancy position for you?”
“There’s only place I want to be, and that is at the front of this whole thing,” Gerald said. “Once we pull out our surprise, there won’t be anywhere to hide. We’ve got enough military personnel equipped to fight, and we have been able to establish back door channels with several countries to create a loosely formed coalition. Things are going to happen real quick. If we can knock them back before they get any more of a foothold, we have a chance to save the planet.”
“What to do you know about this Emperor thing?” Shiela asked.
“We’re still trying to figure out what that means, and how they are trying to do it, but it looks like they are actively preparing for a major event that will require a great deal of energy. This whole surprise should disrupt their plans. If it all goes well, we might be able to cripple them before they get too powerful,” Gerald said before scanning everybody in the room. “We’ve come along way. At some point I wasn’t even sure if we’d make it back home, but now that we’re here, I’m going to fight like hell to make sure I don’t ever lose it again. Who’s ready to take our planet back?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“THIS IS A little different,” Mitch said while peering into the darkness. “I don’t think we’ve seen this before.”
“I can’t quite tell,” SoHee said from a short distance away. “We passed through the portal, but it doesn’t seem like we’re anywhere.”
“Whoa, what’s all this?” Mitch said as several ripples of energy spread out under his foot, illuminated cubes fading into the distance underneath a liquid surface.
“I wasn’t really expecting that,” SoHee said after the ripples disappeared into the distance. “But I think it might be safe to walk on.”
“Are you trying to tell me to go first?” Mitch asked.
“I thought you wanted to be a gentleman,” SoHee said.
“Is that supposed to be funny?” Mitch asked.
“It’s funny to me,” SoHee said.
“I hope you are enjoying yourself,” Mitch said, edging forward.
“It’s definitely not boring when you are around,” SoHee said while a cascade of multicolored patterns spread out before them.
“I’m not sure if that is a compliment or not,” Mitch said, taking another step forward.
“Me, neither, but it looks like you may have found a pathway out of here,” SoHee said, watching the pattern fade into the distance. “It looks like there is an opening ahead.”
“Can’t you use your thingy to figure out where we are?” Mitch asked as he took another step.
“I could, but I’m enjoying you and your little dance across the floor.”
“This hardly seems like the time or the place to torture me.”
“I’m not torturing you.” SoHee said. “Well, not much, anyway. I tried to scan the area, but I wasn’t able to get anything. My powers are fully functional, so it’s strange that I’m not getting any feedback.”
“I think you’re right about the opening, though,” Mitch said, pushing ahead. “There’s something up there.”
“Just keep moving. I’m right behind you,” SoHee said as the patterns of light poured into an arched opening several feet ahead.
“All right, we made it to the door,” Mitch said, pressing his hand into the solid surface by his head. “Now what to do we do?”
“We’re looking for answers,” SoHee said. “So anything we can find will be helpful.”
“Just keep moving then,” Mitch said. “What happened to our robot friends, anyway?”
“I’ve got no idea,” SoHee said. “But we can’t worry about that now. It’s beyond our control.”
“Do you see that up ahead?” Mitch asked. “It looks bright.”
“I think so,” SoHee said from behind. “Keep moving, but be careful. We’ve got no idea what we are walking into.”
“Is this the citadel that robot mentioned?” Mitch asked. “This stuff kind of looks like walls or something.”
“I might be, but you’d think that somebody would be here,” SoHee said.
“It kept saying that ‘it’ was everywhere,” Mitch said. “I wonder what it meant by ‘it.’”
“That’s what we’re here to find out,” SoHee said while she reached to her right and touched the low wall at the edge of the path, circuits imbued with energy dancing under her touch. “Whatever it is, it’s kind of beautiful in a terrifying way.”
“I’m glad you can see the wonder in it, because I’m pretty scared right now,” Mitch said as the path stopped. “But in all honesty, I’ve kind of grown used to it.”
“Used to what?” SoHee asked.
“Being Scared,” Mitch said before he glanced in both directions. “It’s almost like it’s easier to function when it’s happening.”
“When what is happening?” SoHee asked.
“All of this insanity,” Mitch said. “I remember being crippled by my anxiety when I was worried about what might happen before all that MindHIve stuff changed everything. But when we were in the middle of the fight, I wasn’t worried anymore because it was already happening.”
“Anxiety is cause by apprehension of the future. And people that suffer from it often perform better in high-stress situations due to the fact that they have more experience being stressed,” SoHee said. “So perhaps the relief you feel is a combination of the two.”
“Once again, that brain of yours doesn’t fail to disappoint,” Mitch said. “I have definitely been a stress case for a while. It’s nic
e to know that it can be useful. How is it that you manage to stay nice and composed all the time?”
“Who said I’m nice and composed?” SoHee said. “This has been a horrifying ordeal from the beginning, but I think what keeps me moving is the thought of what could happen if I do nothing.”
“When I think about it, I try to imagine what my future would have looked like if none of this had of ever happened and I can’t see it anymore,” Mitch said. “It’s like once I know that all of this is out here, everything I thought I wanted seems really trivial and childish.”
“Are you trying to say that you’re growing up? Which way is it, Mister Big Man?”
“Of course this has changed me,” Mitch said as he pressed his foot into the ground “But I try to open up to you and you slam it in my face again. It looks like there are two ways to go. Left or right.”
“I’m not slamming it in your face,” SoHee said, looking in both directions. “It’s just how I respond to that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Mitch said. “I’m taking a chance and going right.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” SoHee said. “This is hard for me, too, but I’m not that good at showing how I feel. It’s scary. That’s why I slam it in your face, as you say.”
“Once again, I’ve kind of gotten used to it,” Mitch said. “I think that’s enough sharing for now. It looks like we’re close. That light is definitely getting brighter.”
“Keep moving and stay low,” SoHee said. “We’ve got no idea what is up there, but someone or something built this place. I’d like to get a good look at them before we deicide to approach.”
“I think I just found stairs,” Mitch said after he bumped into a hard surface causing a digital wave to undulate up a slope.
“Keep moving, it’s got to lead to something,” SoHee said before stepping up.
Reaching the top, Mitch watched waves of light spread across the surface, revealing a parapet on the opposite side before another low wall. Beyond the barrier, a pulsing glow radiated from below.
“It looks like we found the source of the light,” Mitch said, taking a few cautious steps across the open level.
“Just be careful,” SoHee said. “We have no idea what we are walking up on.”
“I will,” Mitch said while glancing over his shoulder. “Uh, something is definitely up. Your thing is glowing.”
“I can feel it,” SoHee said as her voice grew weak. “There’s something here, something I have felt and known for a long time.”
As she spoke, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and the sphere unpacked and wrapped itself around her before levitating into the air.
“What’s going on?” Mitch shouted while SoHee rose above him, but she didn’t respond.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaped into the air and followed after her. After he cleared the wall, his jaw dropped. Below him sat a pulsing red light throbbing underneath several large metallic protrusions winding into each other to form a single point.
Unconscious, SoHee approached the glowing the light causing several bright pulses to blast up into the darkness overhead. The pulses disappeared, and SoHee floated overtop of the glowing light and came to an abrupt stop. Another burst of light filled the deep basin, and Mitch was forced to cover his face. Recovering from the blast of light, he opened his eyes to discover a wide red beam passing through SoHee’s sphere.
Rushing forward, Mitch attempted to pull SoHee away, but an unseen force repelled him from the basin and he watched from afar while more energy pushed along the beam, filling the sphere with light.
In anger, he rushed ahead, but another blast of light knocked him backward and he found himself tumbling across the illuminated surface.
He scrambled to his feet and launched into the air again, but stopped at the edge of the barrier. SoHee hovered in the air before an enormous floating head projected into the air by the beam.
“What the hell is that thing?” Mitch asked after he came to SoHee’s side with his staff ready to strike.
“Put that away,” SoHee said without breaking her gaze. “It’s not going to hurt us.”
“How do you know?” Mitch asked. “I’ve heard this kind of talk before.”
“Just trust me, all right.”
“Fine, but for the record, I think this is a bad idea.”
“You can blame me for whatever happens next, but that spear isn’t going to help you now.”
“I’m listening, but I don’t like it,” Mitch said after the bulbous end of his spear closed in on itself.
As the light faded, the eyes of the head opened and locked onto the two figures hovering before it.
“Is it over, is it gone?” The head said as it attempted to scan its surroundings.
“We don’t know what you mean,” SoHee said. “We traveled here only a few moments ago, and we are unsure of where we are.”
“You breached the barrier of the citadel,” the head said in horror. “That seal is not to be broken. Do you have any idea of what you have done?”
“We don’t know because we don’t know where we are. We came in search of the Sanctuary of the Architects and the defenders led us here,” SoHee said. “We have come seeking answers.”
“There are no answers here only suffering and loss,” the head said.
“But this is the sanctuary?” SoHee asked.
“I am not familiar with this term. I can tell you where you are, but I am not sure if it will do you any good,” the head said. “You stand before the central processor of CryptoKeep. This used to be a storage facility, but it is more of a tomb than anything.”
“What do you mean by a tomb?” SoHee asked.
“This machine stores the memories of the dead,” the head said. “Not that there is anything to remember. For nothing exists beyond these walls. The civilization that built this facility has long since vanished.”
“Vanished? Where did they go?” Mitch asked.
“I thought I explained that already,” the head said. “They are here all around you.”
“And they’re all dead, every one of them?” Mitch asked.
“That would appear to be the case, but my perceptions are limited to this location,” the head said.
“How did they all die?” SoHee asked. “And what did they look like?”
“They looked just like you,” the head said. “And they all died quite suddenly. It came and ended them, and then it placed them in here. Locked them away forever.”
“It? What it is it?” Mitch asked. “Was it like a plague or disease?”
“Perhaps, but my programming does give me access to this information,” the head said. “I am only the caretaker. I keep this facility functioning, and I have done so for longer than I am capable of recalling.”
“Can you call up the memories of the people stored here?” SoHee asked.
“Access to personal memories are forbidden without a key,” the head said.
“How do we get a key?” Mitch asked.
“You cannot,” the head said. “For all the keys were lost long ago.”
“How do you know that?” Mitch asked.
“This is all the information that I have. It gave me my instructions and I have no choice but to follow orders. I am only a program after all,” the head said.
“And you do not know what ‘it’ is?” Mitch asked. “How can you take orders if you don’t know who gives them?”
“That is not something I have much of a choice in,” the head said.
“How come you are talking to us then?” Mitch asked.
“I am speaking with you because you summoned me,” the head said.
“Was it because of her?” Mitch asked, indicating SoHee.
“I was summoned, and I came,” the head said. “Unless you have a key, I cannot help you. And because no key exists, there is nothing more I can do for you.”
“If we had a key, what would it look like?” SoHee asked.
&nbs
p; “Each key was unique to its owner,” the head said.
“Ok, but if I were to give it to you, where would I place it?” SoHee asked.
“There is a receptacle on the dais. If the owner placed their key into that opening, they could access the memories they wished to view,” the head said.
“If that is what you need, then I think I have a key,” SoHee said before she turned and pushed herself toward the wide platform above.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
STATIC FILLED THE screen before the image of Commander Holrathu standing upon a raised platform came into focus. After several seconds of silence, the Commander lurched toward the camera with his enormous ax in hand.
“Greetings, Earth People,” the Commander said. “I stand before you now as the clock runs out on my Ultimatum, and I still have not heard from the leadership of your planet. It appears that they are willing to sacrifice your lives for their own safety. But acts of cowardice will not keep them safe for long. This is something I have a great deal of experience with. For I am much like all of you. I come from humble roots, and I have spent my life in the service of those who seek great power. For a long time I was content to work beneath these men and women who I believed were capable of making just decisions on behalf of the people, but over time I realized that the powerful care not for anyone but themselves. Before our Emperor came into being, I was indentured to a man of immense power. A ruler who created a vast kingdom that enriched a great many, but when the opportunity came to provide the people with what they deserved, he balked at the thought of giving the common man an advantage, so terrified was he of being challenged by the population he ruled. And that is the nature of power, it is only an illusion and it is the humblest and noblest of us all that allow those who seek to dominate us into power by bestowing upon them the ability to rule. This is what we are seeing now. President Edwards and her colleagues have repeatedly shown me that they are willing to do anything to maintain their office. If you don’t believe me, I would like to show you the proof of my accusations. Let’s see what President Edwards said when we first met.”
