By the time he reached the secret room, Senfo was out of breath.
“It is genuine or just some electronic interference from a submarine?” he asked.
“See for yourself,” answered Gyran.
The three stood in front of the surveillance monitor and watched a small craft emerge from the waves and wash up on the beach.
“It’s a pod!” cried Johep.
The male occupant got out and walked along the beach with the pod hovering behind him.
“He has a Primitive form,” said Gyran.
“What did you expect?” asked Johep.
“Kevak was able to retain his Vambir form,” answered Gyran.
“Kevak had access to seeds and rations from the lifeboat,” said Johep. “This individual obviously fled the lifeboat in the fifteenth century with nothing.”
“Not with nothing,” said Gyran. “He has a pod.”
“All landed pods were accounted for,” said Senfo. “It would be very interesting to know how he came by that one. Look, he’s using a palmcom to home in on our signal.”
The male left the beach and walked up the steep hill leading to the trap that had been set over a hundred years ago. Suddenly he stopped and bent down to touch the vegetation.
“He’s suspicious,” said Johep.
“No,” said Gyran. “He sees the scattered hemoplants on the hillside. If a pure-form Vambir is living as a hermit on this island, there would have to be hemoplants. That’s the conclusion he’ll come to.”
The male continued up the hill. As the signal became stronger, he began to run, exhilarated with the thought that a second pod would soon be in his possession. There was a Vambir here, and the presence of hemoplants was proof that an existence free of the Primitive scourge was possible.
Within minutes the male was standing at the epicenter of the signal and relayed the automatic rescue message from his palmcom, believing the submerged pod would accept it.
“Hover!” he shouted as he waited anxiously for the pod to de-cloak and levitate, but nothing happened.
It must be buried too deep to levitate!
Picking up a large branch that had fallen to the ground, he rushed over to where the signal was the strongest and began to dig. The more earth he dug up, the stronger the signal became.
Why would someone bury a pod so deep? Maybe the cloaking device malfunctioned and they had to hide it from humans who had arrived unexpectedly on the island. Maybe—
His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt when something hit him on the back of the head with a force that rendered him unconscious.
BREAKOUT
Lifeboat Base
Kozheozersky Monastery, 2012
“Walk in and face the wall,” Boris ordered Maz.
Checking that Maz had complied, Boris quickly entered the passcode for her cell.
“Remain in place until you hear the door close,” he said. “When we awake from our daytime rest, you will be returned to the Shoshone reservation. Professor Espinoza would like you to contact him. He’s willing to talk about reinstating you, despite everything that has happened.”
Maz merely stared at the wall and made no reply.
The door buzzed as it opened, and Boris stepped outside. Maz did not move as she heard it close. She walked to the cot and lay down. Looking up at the ceiling, she remained perfectly still for two hours before rising and walking over to the intercom. After pressing the call button, she waited.
“What is it, Maz?” asked Boris.
“I don’t feel well,” said Maz.
“Be more specific,” said Boris.
“I—”
Boris heard gurgling sounds. “Maz? Maz!” he shouted.
When Boris got to Maz’s cell, he found her lying on the floor. Picking her up, he carried her to Medical. Maz opened her eyes slightly and could see them passing the isolation unit that held Quetzalcoatl and Chimalma. After Boris put her on an examination table, he searched the medicine cabinets for smelling salts. Opening her eyes fully, Maz saw a scalpel on a nearby table. Abruptly sitting up, she grabbed it and sliced deep into her forearm. The words Quetzalcoatl had spoken to her earlier rang through her head.
Ticmictia eztica — kill them with blood.
As Boris turned toward her, she ran at him and thrust her forearm against his mouth. Blood from her wound seeped into his throat, and the implant in the base of his brain began to swell.
No longer worried about Boris restraining her, she ran toward the isolation unit.
Ohontetl, ohontetl, macuil, chicuei, eei — 22583.
As soon as she had entered the code, the door buzzed open. “Revive!” she commanded, standing next to the pod.
Her heart leapt as the lights on the pod began to flash, but her joy was short-lived when alarms began to sound in every corridor of the lifeboat.
The hatch to Kwetz’s pod opened.
“Revive!” Maz repeated.
She watched anxiously as Kwetz regained consciousness.
“There’s not much time,” he said. “I was able to remove the restrictions on voice control in order for your commands to be accepted, but I could not disable the alarms.”
“What are we to do, Divine One?” she asked.
“Escape,” he answered. “You’ll be needing a pod as well.”
He walked over to a computer terminal and began entering commands.
“There,” said Kwetz. “I’ve sealed off the main corridor.”
Maz heard the hatch of the second pod open. Kwetz walked to it and paused momentarily as he saw the being inside that was the mother he had never known. Picking her up out of the pod, he dumped her on the floor.
“It’s daylight outside,” he said to Maz. “They won’t be able to follow us. I must travel in one of the pods. Give the hover command, and both pods will follow you. This lifeboat is cloaked behind a monastery built next to a great lake. Follow the shoreline until it is dark, then get into your pod. Once the hatch is closed, the programming will do the rest.”
“How do we escape if you have sealed off the exits?” asked Maz.
“I didn’t seal them all, Faithful One,” replied Kwetz.
*******
Roused from their sleep by the alarm, Kevak and the others assumed there was a medical emergency with either Kwetz or the female. As they ran toward the isolation unit, they found that the corridor had been sealed. Kevak’s override command was ignored, and it took several minutes for them to reroute the electronic lock. When the corridor was finally opened, they found Boris’s lifeless body.
“What happened to him?” cried Tariq.
J’Vor checked one of the terminals, and panic immediately registered on his face. “Pocatello is no longer in her cell!”
“Get to the isolation unit!” ordered Kevak.
Tariq remained kneeling next to Boris.
“Come on, Tariq!” shouted Emanui. “You can’t help him!”
When they reached the isolation unit, they saw the female Vambir lying on the floor.
“Her vital signs are dropping,” said Kevak as he examined her.
The time in the med-pod had restored the female’s body to her Vambir form, but her skin tissues were still brown and wrinkled.
“Where are the med pods?” asked Emanui.
“I’ll get one!” shouted J’Vor as he ran back down the corridor toward the stasis chambers.
As Kevak and Emanui administered CPR to the female, an automated message sounded out above the alarm.
LIFEBOAT DECLOAKING.
TWO MED PODS EXITING.
“Pocatello is leaving with Kwetz and the pods,” said Tariq. “We won’t be able to follow them in the daylight.”
“We can’t do anything about that now,” said Emanui. “The pods can only follow while Pocatello leads them on foot. She won’t get far.”
The female Vambir’s eyes suddenly opened, and she took in a deep, labored breath.
“Remain calm,” said Kevak to her in Vambir. “We are g
oing to put you back into stasis.”
“Kevak!” exclaimed the female.
As she reached out to touch his face, Kevak saw the passenger code he had inscribed into her palm with a laspen on the day they made their panicked departure from Vambiri.
“Vrin!” he cried.
Emanui and Tariq looked disbelievingly at each other.
J’Vor returned to the isolation unit with a hovering pod following close behind. Picking up Vrin, Kevak placed her inside. Dropping to his knees, he fervently prayed as he waited for the results of the scan.
ALLIANCE
Newlun, 1948
“Ingenious!” exclaimed Johep as the scanner moved over the body of the unconscious male tethered to an examination table.
“A second, artificial stomach,” said Gyran. “He was able to partake of food with Primitives in order to avoid their suspicion.”
There was another revelation when the scanner passed over the male’s head.
“The forehead is protected with a prosthesis,” said Johep. “It’s so lifelike! Were it not for the scanner, we would never have known.”
“Don’t you have anything to say, Senfo?” asked Gyran.
“He looks familiar,” said Senfo.
“How so?” asked Johep.
“I make it my business to keep abreast of pertinent issues going on in the Primitive world,” said Senfo. “As you know, Kevak has allowed us access to a database on historical events and current affairs.”
“How benevolent of him,” sneered Johep.
“If we ever find ourselves outside of Newlun,” said Senfo, “we will need that information.”
“I thought our goal was to take over, not escape,” said Gyran.
“Always have a Plan B,” said Senfo. “If we find a way to disable our cerebral chips, but the coup is unsuccessful, we will be forced to flee.”
Senfo turned to leave the safe room.
“Where are you going?” asked Johep.
“I’m going to check something with the database,” he said.
*******
As the male opened his eyes, he could hear voices.
“Forgive us for resorting to such brutal measures,” said Johep in the Vambir language, “but we had no lasguns with which to stun you.”
The male blinked several times to bring his eyes into focus. When he could see those standing around him clearly, he did not believe it.
Vambir!
“I am Johep,” said the Vambir, “and this is Gyran.”
The male began to speak in Spanish.
“Speak in Vambir, Dujot,” said Johep. “We realize it has been many centuries since you have conversed in your native tongue, but make the effort just the same.”
Dujot was taken aback. They know my name!
“I have not spoken our language for centuries,” said Dujot as he struggled with the enunciation. “Dujot is a name that would make Primitives suspicious. I go by ‘Alonso’ and have been hidden in plain sight in Spain.”
“Oh, come now,” said Senfo as he entered the room. “I’m sure a long time ago you found it necessary to speak Spanish, but at least one of your Primitive disguises would have necessitated a proficiency in Russian.”
Senfo displayed a photo of Grigori Rasputin.
“Uncanny, isn’t it?” said Senfo to Johep and Gyran.
Dujot remained silent.
“But what I find most perplexing is this,” said Senfo as he produced a photo of Rasputin’s corpse shortly after it was removed from the banks of the Malaya Nevka River.
Dujot continued to refuse to speak.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” said Senfo. “I am Senfo, the First Consul of the underground city of Newlun. We welcome you.”
“New-Lun?” asked Dujot.
“A Vambir prison,” explained Senfo. “Only the people in this safe room know of your existence. All Newlunders have been fitted with a cerebral implant that prevents us from escaping. If we make your presence known to the Primus, you will take your place among your fellow prisoners.”
“How bad could that be?” asked Dujot. “You have returned to your Vambir form. I saw the hemoplants on the hillside. I have lived among the Primitive filth for centuries because I had no other choice. I would welcome the chance to shed this disgusting Primitive form.”
“A prison is still a prison,” said Johep. “While we are happy to have returned to our original form, we wish to control our own destiny.”
“What do you want from me?” asked Dujot.
“You can start by explaining this,” said Senfo, indicating the photo of Rasputin’s corpse.
“I went into semi-stasis after the assassins shot me,” admitted Dujot. “When they threw me into the frigid water, it helped me maintain my inanimate state by further slowing down my circulatory system. I waited until dark and swam ashore. They were sloppy and had tied my bonds loosely.”
“But whose body is in the photo?” asked Gyran.
“A peasant I killed,” explained Dujot.
“A peasant who looked just like you?” asked Johep skeptically.
“I programmed the pod to alter the facial features of the corpse then took it back to where I had washed up,” said Dujot. “I made sure to secure it tightly to the sledge.”
“Your pod,” said Senfo. “The identification code does not match any of those recorded at the Transylvania landing. How did you come by it?”
“In the sixteenth century I was disguised as a Dominican friar and served as interpreter to Hernando Cortés when he made contact with the Aztecs,” said Dujot. “On the eve of his arrival, a bright comet streaked across in the sky, but in reality it was this pod.”
“What happened to the occupant?” asked Johep.
Dujot shrugged. “By the time I was able to reach pod, the hatch had been opened and the occupant was gone.”
“Really?” asked Gyran. “And you never saw the occupant again?”
Dujot shook his head slowly. Gyran glanced at the machine monitoring his vital signs and could tell that he was lying.
“Only one pod fell from the sky?” asked Senfo.
“There may have been more, but only one landed safely,” said Dujot. “There were no homing beacons from any others.”
Again, Gyran could tell he was lying.
“I’ve answered your questions,” snapped Dujot. “What do you want with me?”
“What you have accomplished with your stasis pod is invaluable to our plan,” said Johep.
“As are you,” said Gyran.
“How so?” asked Dujot.
Senfo pointed to the back of his neck. “We need to find a way to disable these.”
“It would then be impossible to track us,” explained Gyran.
“So once you’re free of the implants, I can go?” asked Dujot. “Of course, I would need a supply of hemo-rations and seeds, in order to live free from the Primitives.”
“We cannot disable the implants until our jailors are neutralized, otherwise it would be detected,” said Senfo.
“That’s where you come in,” said Gyran.
“We need an operative among the Primitives,” said Johep. “You and others of your kind will make your way to Kevak’s central command, wipe the computer program that controls the implants, and take back the lifeboat.”
“I don’t understand,” said Dujot. “There are Vambir here who possess human form? How is that possible, given the implants you spoke of?”
“They do not exist yet,” said Johep, “but with your stasis pod, we will finally be able to produce them.”
“Once the lifeboat is in our possession, its cloak will allow us to live free and undetected,” said Gyran. “Kevak and his inner circle can take up residence in Newlun.”
Dujot struggled to keep his composure.
Navigator Kevak! He lives!
“If you agree to help us bring this about,” said Senfo, “we will provide you with the means to return to your Vambir form, and you will have sanctuary with
us in the lifeboat.”
“I’ll do whatever you ask,” said Dujot.
“Oh, and you should know that you have been fitted with a chip,” said Johep. “Just as Kevak controls us, so do we control you.”
*******
“He’s lying about how he came upon the pod,” said Gyran, “and also about there being no survivors from the Aztec landing.”
“The chip will prevent him from betraying us,” said Senfo. “His speech is also revealing.”
“What do you mean?” asked Johep.
“It’s not easy to spot, but every once in a while it has a Lowcaste lilt,” answered Senfo.
“A Lowcaste passenger?” asked Gyran. “How could that be? The Primus of that time ensured that only Highcastes were given assignments on the evacuation ships.”
“There was mass panic and confusion during the evacuation because of the Lowcaste revolt,” said Johep. “It’s possible one could have stolen an assignment number and blended in with the thousands running for the ships.”
“Promise him anything he wants, but under no circumstances is he to find out about the Newisla,” said Senfo. “Once our implants are disabled and the lifeboat is in our possession, his usefulness will be at an end.”
FAITH
Kozheozersky Monastery, 2012
“Let us ponder a reading from the first Letter of Saint John,” said Kevak. “See what love Iam has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are Iam’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
Kevak then made the sign of the cross.
“For as much as it has pleased Iam to take unto Himself the soul of our dear brother, Boris, we therefore commit his body to the ground. Grant, we beseech thee, that at the day of judgment his soul, and all the souls of those departed from this life, may with us, and we with them, fully receive the promises, and be made perfect altogether, through the glorious resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
Each of those assembled filed past the grave and gently tossed a blooming hemoplant into it.
The Nosferatu Chronicles: The Aztec God Page 18
