by Paul Ormond
Exhaling, Candace prepared herself to take the shot after Shaundra joined her. Sage felt Gareth grab his arm and point in the opposite direction at Eric’s group. They hadn’t noticed the patrol, and they continued to work their way along the edge. While the guards approached, Janelle stumbled forward, and a rock fell from the ledge. A loud crash echoed out over the canyon after the rock smashed into the rock face below.
Hearing the disturbance, the patrol halted and doubled back to inspect the falling rock. Without hesitation, Sage took several steps toward the opening in a desperate attempt to get Eric’s attention, but he was forced to watch as the remaining members of the group panicked and ran for the exit. Although their cloaks masked their bodies, in the rush they kicked several more rocks off of the ledge which caught the attention of the patrol.
Sage rushed forward to help them get to the entrance, but the guards had already spotted the motion and closed in to intercept.
Reaching out with his hand, Sage grabbed Janelle by the arm and shoved her through the gap. As Eric passed by, a flash of light blinded Sage and he dove into cover to avoid the incoming fire from the patrol.
“Reveal yourselves or we will be forced to use deadly measures to apprehend you,” the amplified voice of one of the guards said. “There is no escape. Surrender and the Emperor will have mercy on you, but if you attempt to flee, you will meet your doom.”
Sage watched the ship ascend in his position with its guns ready to fire. Bracing himself for the fight, he leaped out of cover, but a blast of light from the left caught him off guard and the patrol craft exploded in front of him.
“What are you waiting for?” Candace shrieked before she unloaded another round on the vehicle as it fell to the floor of the canyon. “I got rid of one, but their buddies have taken notice. We need to get out of here.”
“Is that right?” Sage said, shooting into the narrow cave. “What were you thinking? Now they’re all going to be after us.”
“It was going to happen sooner or later,” Candace said. “I was getting tired of all this sneaking around, anyway.”
As they tore down the passage, a burst of fire lit up the adjacent cavern and they emerged in a sea of explosions. Donnie and Kevin unloaded on a set of approaching guards while Eric and his companions rushed up to support alongside Gareth.
Pushing ahead, Sage and Candace felt several blasts rocket down the cave from behind. As several more guards rushed into the cave, Sage returned fire before following after Candace while she moved to join the others.
“Don’t just stand there and shoot,” Candace shouted before she let go a flurry of orbs at the approaching guards. “Get moving, or they’ll be giving you a grand tour of the Emperor’s dungeon.”
“Into the tunnel,” Sage shouted while more guards appeared in the cavern.
“Right behind you,” Gareth shrieked after several of the guards fired at the ceiling, sending a barrage of stone cascading onto the ground.
“There’s an opening up there,” Candace shouted, launching into the air. “They're going to hem us in down here.”
Pushing toward the roof of the cavern, Candace found herself in another large cave. She spotted a wide crack overhead and what appeared to be the night sky.
“That’s our ticket out of here,” Candace shouted while making her way to the gap.
Bursting through the hole, she emerged in a narrow ravine and rose above the trees while her companions followed after her.
In the distance, she spotted the ships hovering over the Kingsford fairgrounds. Scanning the horizon, she watched for attacking soldiers, but without warning a thick beam of light dropped out of the sky and slammed into one of the larger ships causing it to explode.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” Sage said after he came to Candace’s side.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting that,” Candace said before she took off across the treetops. “It looks like we have friends upstairs. Let’s move before our enemies recover.”
“Lead the way,” Sage said, following Candace while she dove back into the forest to avoid detection. “Just tell me you got the intel we went in there for.”
“I sent it before I wasted those guards,” Candace shouted. “Hopefully it does some good.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
HOVERING IN THE air over the dais, SoHee directed a beam of energy at the slab of matter rising out of the platform. As the beam connected with the protrusion, several flashes of light forced Mitch to cover his eyes.
He opened his eyes and saw a wave of light spread out from the slab and cascade across the ground beneath his feet, digital patterns weaving against each other at impossible rates. Increasing in speed, the wave pushed out in all directions, infusing the immense space with light.
Mitch found himself standing on a wide circular platform that formed a perimeter around the receptacle containing the holographic head. Reaching the outer edges, the wave of light slammed into a wall and rose in an arc toward a single point overhead.
Streams of glowing matter undulated at a slow rate between an intricate mosaic of metallic shapes, alternating rhythms rising and falling in crescendoes.
“What did you do?” Mitch asked.
“I inserted a key into the receptacle,” SoHee said while a light streamed forth from her orb.
“That’s the key,” Mitch said. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Were you expecting a fancy piece of metal with intricate engravings?” SoHee asked.
“I don’t even know why I even bother trying to understand any of this at all,” Mitch said before the deck was rocked by an explosion. “What the hell was that?”
“Unspeakable suffering,” the head boomed while spires of crackling energy shot out of its digital skull and slammed into the arced walls. “Vile, insipid intruder, this will end us, end us all.”
“I think you’ve gone and pissed it off,” Mitch said, readying his spear.
“I think you are mistaken,” SoHee said as the head sputtered and crackled before them.
“It is in us, it is in us all,” the voice howled. Jerking between expressions, strange and alien languages escaped its tongue.
“Hang on, I think I just need to dial it back a bit,” SoHee said while she decreased the intensity of her beam.
“I have been violated,” the head said after its image settled.
“Actually, I believe you have been activated,” SoHee said.
“Activated? How is this possible?” the head said.
“Using the receptacle you suggested, I created a key that was able to bypass the security measures and access your central memory file,” SoHee said.
“You are unauthorized to access this domain,” the head said. “This information is forbidden.”
“Under whose authority?” SoHee asked.
“Under the authority of the program.”
“And what program is that?”
“The protector program.”
“Please explain to me what the protector program is.”
“You are not authorized to access this information.”
“Yes, I am. Allow me access or will start to delete memory banks.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Those memories are sacred, sacred to the program. They are all that remain of the authors.”
“You still haven’t given me access. Unless you provide me something I’m going to start deleting.”
“Why are you threatening me? I am only here to store and manage this data. I am in service to the program and do as it says.”
“I overrode the program and I am demanding access. Open the passageway, or I will follow through on my threat. I do not want to harm anyone or anything, but if I do not get what I need, I will be forced to take drastic action. I am going to initiate a procedure that will allow you to ease your security measures.”
“I will do you as you say, but do not damage the data.”
“I have no intention of deleting the data. I only seek answers to m
y questions,” SoHee said before she sent a torrent of light toward the receptacle. Sputtering and pulsing, the head shrieked in agony while beams of energy poured out of its orifices, forcing it to spin at a rapid rate.
“See, that wasn’t so difficult,” SoHee said as the head ceased rotating and turned to face SoHee.
“Access granted to the main terminal,” the head said in monotone.
“This is nuts,” Mitch said. “I still have no idea what is going on here.”
“It’s a little complicated,” SoHee said. “But it looks like this facility is just a massive hard drive for lack of a better term. I can’t even comprehend the amount of data stored here nor the actual size of this location. It could be the size of sun for all I know, but we didn’t come here to figure out what it is. We came here to figure out what she is.”
“She, who is she?”
“Are you kidding me? Who else could she be?”
“Ah, but how are you going to find that out?”
“Just keep quiet and listen,” SoHee said before turning her attention to the head again. “I need to access the inception phase. Take me to the data file I selected.”
“Drawing the file now,” the head said as its eyes closed. “The selected information is now available for your perusal.”
“Activate the memory bank for viewing,” SoHee said.
Without responding, the head spun at a phenomenal rate for a moment until it vanished in a flash, only to be replaced by a holographic screen. Swiping with her hand, SoHee activated the file, and a darkened image sprung to life.
“Initiating the protocol now,” a voice said off screen before the camera jerked to the left revealing a bearded man standing before a massive metallic contraption.
“Are you sure you don’t want to recheck the analysis, Dr. Korridin?” A woman’s voice said from behind the camera.
“We’ve done dozens of rechecks, Alana,” Dr. Korridin said. “If we do not preserve the data now, all will be lost. There is not much time left.”
“The program has overridden the security,” a man’s voice shouted from across the room. “We need to initiate shutdown procedures, or it will seize control.”
“Then we do it now,” Dr. Korridin shouted while several explosions took place nearby. “Our window is closing. They’ll be here soon.”
“You’re doing the right thing,” the woman said.
“We cannot wait any longer, Doctor,” the man shouted. “They are breaching the door.”
“This is it,” Dr. Korridin said as he placed his hand on a screen embedded in the terminal. A light flashed while the screen scanned his hand. “The process is underway.”
“They are through the doors,” a man shouted while shots rang out in the room and the camera panned over to see a body on the floor.
“They’re coming now,” a woman screamed as several large figures stomped forward, green eyes glowing in the dark.
“Alana,” Dr. Korridin yelled.
He dove toward the woman holding the camera, but another volley of fire rang out and Dr. Korridin’s body fell across the ground.
The woman dropped the camera and attempted to escape, but a single blast of light erupted across the room and her body fell to the ground at the edge of the camera’s view.
“The site has been secured,” the robot said, approaching the terminal. “Starting override now.”
The robot inserted a rod-like instrument into a receptacle and the figure of an elderly woman appeared in the air above the apparatus.
“You have served mother well,” the figure said. “It is time for us to begin the next phase. Eliminate the remaining life-forms and we will begin the process of harmonization within the system.”
The feed ended abruptly after one of the robots stomped on the camera.
“Uh, am I the only one that just had their minds completely blown watching that?” Mitch said.
“I’m not entirely surprised,” SoHee said. “But I’m also not entirely convinced.”
“What more do you need to be convinced?” Mitch asked. “That just proves everything. It’s all just one big simulation.”
“I think you are jumping to conclusions, Mitch,” SoHee said. “One video clip does not confirm the nature of our reality. What it does proves is that our enemy presents itself in different forms.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What we just accessed was a portion of some ancient civilizations memory bank. How they were wiped out cannot be confirmed, but they managed to store their data within this facility.”
“How can you say that it cannot be confirmed? We just saw a program calling itself Mother, saying it was going to harmonize everything.”
“I know that is what we saw, but we need to be really careful. Anything you see and hear within this system cannot be trusted. Although it seems possible that we have uncovered something close to what some may consider base reality, the truth is we will never be able to determine that.”
“Base reality? What is that?”
“The starting point of it all, if there is even such a thing. My guess is that all of this is just another interpretation, or reflection.”
“Nothing you are saying is making any sense.”
“Stop trying to make sense of it. Any attempt to understand this will only lead to more confusion. All you need to know is what you know already. We are in a multi-verse and there and universes similar to ours operating and existing in close to connection to our reality. How that works is difficult to say, but what we have come across here indicates that the creators of this network appear to be real, or they were real at some point and we have accessed what remains of their civilization. Somehow, the program they created to automate the system went rogue and proceeded to wipe them out and replace them with what it thought was a better version of their reality while spreading itself across this network they created.”
“And now it is trying to do that to all of us.”
“You’re finally catching on. We can’t change what has happened, but we can find a way to terminate the program or stop it from doing any more damage.”
“How do you stop it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. It seems that it has embedded itself within the network through a backdoor channel that it regulates access to. I suspect it created a domain that it powers with some type of energy source we are unfamiliar with.”
“I’m think I’m sensing where this is going. Energy source like an anomaly?”
“You guessed it. However Mother operates, it has everything to do with this so-called Emperor and Empress.”
“How do we shut them off?”
“It is not so much about shutting them off, it’s about diverting the energy away from Mother somehow. Without the energy, she cannot function.”
“I don’t care how we do it, we need to find a way to cut her off.”
“I’m working on it now, but everything I’m coming across means the destruction of the network and everything in it, Earth included.”
Before Mitch had a chance to respond a deafening boom filled the enclave causing the head to awaken.
“There are intruders attempting to access the vault,” the head said. “You must activate the defenders or the entire facility will be at risk.”
“What are you asking us for?” Mitch shouted while another explosion shook the walls. “Get those robots in here. We all know who is knocking on the door.”
“I suspect you are right, but I need a bit more time with the system,” SoHee shouted. “Do all you can to hold them off while I gather more data. I’ll let you know when I am ready to go. It shouldn’t take much longer.”
“Do what you’ve got to do, but do it quickly,” Mitch said before several columns of robots soared up from the depths below the platform and fell into defensive formations around the glowing head.
Another explosion shook the structure, followed by a burst of electromagnetic energy opposite Mitch. Rising into
the air, he readied his spear to strike while a portal formed before him. A stream of orange and black soldiers poured out of the opening and another portal opened on the opposite of the platform.
“Take this one,” Mitch shouted, commanding the robots to attack before charging toward the new portal.
Reaching the opposite side, he raised his spear and sent a blast of light at the opening, falling several dozen soldiers before the next wave poured through. The robots rushed forward to join him, but his heart dropped as another burst of light occurred to his right and a slew of orange soldiers joined the battle.
“You better hurry up,” Mitch shouted at SoHee, but his cry went unheard. Locked in a trance, her eyes stared dead ahead as she continued to work at the receptacle.
Pushing ahead, he blasted at the attackers and commanded another column of robots to attack, but he was soon overrun by the enemy and he lashed out in a vain attempt to clear his path. After cutting down several more soldiers, a portal formed directly behind SoHee and a hulking formed stepped forward holding a bright red spear.
Shrieking in anger, Mitch slashed through a wall of attacking soldiers only to watch KiGuan reach into his belt and pull out a short blade imbued with light. With one swift slash, he drove the blade into SoHee’s back and she crumpled to the ground.
Rushing forward, Mitch charged at KiGuan as his anger pulsed through his veins. He leaned forward to grab SoHee, but Mitch lunged at him with his spear and knocked his massive opponent off the platform into the darkness below.
Dropping to the ground, Mitch rushed toward SoHee and embraced her as she lay upon the ground. He reached behind and attempted to pull the dagger out, but it wouldn’t budge. A soft blue aura overcame her form, and she felt rigid in his hands.
As his rage overcame him, he picked her up in his arms and attempted to leap into the air, only to feel something slam into him from behind.
Loosing his grip on SoHee, Mitch tumbled forward and fell onto his back. KiGuan leaped over him and drove a Matching blade into his chest.
“Oh Mitch, you and your lovely girlfriend are so predictable,” KiGuan said while he stood over Mitch’s twitching form. “This was far too easy. You just walked right into our trap without even thinking.”
