“But you can?” she said.
“Thaco and I came to an arrangement. It’s best for everyone if we all go back to camp. I promise you’ll be safe as well. My Thaco will communicate with the others, and you will not be harmed.”
“And what of the security protocol?”
“Once they see that we’ve gotten our guests back into the camp, everyone outside the perimeter will calm down. Their drones will confirm our visitors’ cooperation.”
“You have a translator,” Toggs said.
“Indeed. Something I've always kept to myself. There have been enough alien bodies showing up in the past year. We’ve recovered several. I’ve been the only one willing to take the chance in using the thing. Such an elegant device. More conservative researchers warned of the possibility of mind control or some other nonsense. A good thing I have one, too, as it permits me to talk to my new…guest.”
The Director patted his stomach as if he had just enjoyed a good meal.
“And what of Thaco?” Doctor Cochran asked. “It’s taken control of our entire camp. Those men and women have been enslaved. We have to do something.”
“We can talk about that. Thaco is actually a very reasonable being, or set of beings. You might find it interesting to have a discussion like I’ve had.”
“I’ll pass. And by reasonable, you mean that you get to have your free will while the rest go without?”
The Director belched. Doctor Cochran took a step back.
“It’s a kink that will be ironed out with time,” the Director said. “You seem to have no problem fraternizing with our visitors. Engaging in direct personal contact. Violating communication protocols at a whim. And willing to chance possible compromise of your person as you run your tests.”
“What you’re doing is different, Director. You know it is. None of the visitors have exhibited any signs of violence, but Thaco has.”
“Again, all misunderstandings that can be overcome. But enough of this. We are on a timeline. We have a rendezvous to keep.”
“With who?” Toggs asked.
“Excuse me?” the Director asked.
“A rendezvous with who?”
“A poor choice of words. We need to get everyone back so we can signal an all-clear.” The Director checked his watch. “I will be signaling back in just under one hour to tell the perimeter that all of our guests are back inside the camp. Doctor, if you’d please help gather up any who might have strayed.”
“Of course, sir,” Doctor Cochran said.
She grabbed Toggs by the elbow and in a low voice said, “Look, I know you might not trust me. But we may not have a choice. You can’t stay out here on the airstrip. The protocol to drop a bomb is a real thing. I don’t know what Thaco is up to, but going back to the camp is the only option.”
“Once everyone’s back, he’s going to do something,” Toggs said. “And you need to watch your own back.”
The two soldiers Toggs had thrown into the vehicle had recovered and were sitting on the seats in the rear compartment. They both kept an eye on Toggs. Perhaps they were looking with evil intent at the human doctor, but Toggs couldn’t be certain. Toggs encouraged Doctor Cochran to step further away from the vehicle.
Many in the crowd began to shuffle in the direction of the camp. Not all, though. Toggs guessed about a quarter of them stayed put on the airfield, some sitting, some reclining, some still staring at the empty space where the elevator had been. Others had taken refuge inside the hangars and weren’t coming out. The armored vehicle stood in the middle of the milling aliens like a rock around which a stream flowed. The Director still stood at the vehicle’s rear, watching the procession with a detached glower.
Toggs stepped aside as Kwed raced past and popped up in front of the Director. They spoke but he couldn’t hear what they said. Soon, both the human and the millipedoid went up the ramp and into the vehicle.
The speaker on the armored vehicle squeaked. “Hello, everyone,” Kwed said. “The humans say they want all of us back in the camp. Seeing how we don’t have much choice, we should cooperate with them. The Director tells me that things will improve as they attempt to afford us more appropriate accommodations. Isn’t that nice?”
***
Jeff, Jordan, and Oliop stepped out of the elevator and into the largest interior space Jeff had ever seen. If the Romans had built a columned Colosseum indoors with a clerestory, that would be a close approximation of the chamber they now stood in. Golden light shined through from the high windows and down onto scores of large freestanding sculptures. Everything looked like it had been carved of white marble. Jeff noticed that each statue was an alien, either a large bust on a pedestal or a full-sized figure. So much of the artwork Jeff had seen in the Galactic Commons tended towards the abstract, yet here was representational art that highlighted individual beings in all their weird grandeur. The species represented were of a large variety, some humanoid, many not.
That was when Jeff realized he was feeling light-headed.
“Air feels a bit thin,” Jordan said.
“Elevator confirmed it’s safe,” Oliop said.
“Could we be on top of a mountain?” Jeff asked. “Are there mountains in the city?”
“None close. The city doesn’t extend that far,” Oliop said.
“We’ll live,” Jordan said. She pointed.
On the opposite side of a statue of a tentacled tripod stood the first elevator. It was empty.
Jeff took a moment to listen. He couldn’t hear anything. If Lord Akimbo, Irving the Grey, and their big batch of worms were close, they were also stealthy. They had over an hour’s head start. They could be anywhere.
“Get the worm from our elevator,” Jeff said. “And get theirs, too, if they didn’t remove it.”
“That won’t stop them for long,” Oliop said. “They have replacements.”
But Oliop obliged. He soon stuffed two worms into a pocket. The two elevators were now powered down.
Jordan circled the statue of the tripod creature. “Looks like one of Fizz’s relatives.”
Fizz. The criminal scientist who had reluctantly helped them during the invasion. Jeff hadn’t seen him since. Probably hiding in a vat of fermenting beverage somewhere.
“No plaque to identify the statue, though,” she said.
Oliop touched the base of the statue, then gave it a hard poke. He consulted his computer.
“Where are we?” Jordan asked.
Oliop just shrugged.
“They’ve got a lead on us, and this place is big,” Jeff said. “We need to get moving and find them.”
“Which way?” Jordan asked.
Jeff picked a direction. They walked the inner circumference of the chamber, the many indifferent statues looking down on them. They gazed upon representations of individuals both solemn and frivolous. One taller ogress looked as if she had just told a joke and was trying to hold in the laughter, all while nonchalantly putting her finger on a page of an open book in the crook of her arm. Both Jordan and Oliop stared up in wonderment.
Jeff waved them onward. Each footfall was the only sound he heard. Even his own breathing seemed to signal his presence to anyone out in the shadows that might be listening. At least this route afforded cover if someone started shooting.
Oliop’s ears perked up. He got low to the ground.
He said, “Psst.”
Jeff and Jordan took his cue and stopped. Jeff didn’t hear anything. Oliop pointed towards a dark periphery and began to slink in that direction.
They followed Oliop between smaller statues, each still perfectly lit by the natural light shining down from above. There were voices ahead, indistinct. Oliop led them to the back of a plinth that held a bust of an amorphous blob that looked like a bowling pin.
“Lord Akimbo,” Irving the Grey was saying, its voice taut, “we can’t linger. Your work awaits.”
“Ohhh, Irving the Grey, and have a look at this one,” Lord Akimbo said in a cheerful ton
e.
Jeff peered from behind the plinth. There stood Irving the Grey and Lord Akimbo, followed by a moving carpet of worms. Lord Akimbo was considering a line of life-sized busts set upon pedestals.
“And do you see this one, Irving? Hmmm? This was Lord Fiodor Fozzom. Gravity engineer extraordinaire. The likes of him we haven’t seen in generations! Oh, Fiodor, you had such a way with things. No one could levitate ground emulsifiers like you!”
Irving the Grey stood behind Lord Akimbo, hands trembling in tiny fists. Lord Akimbo paid his irritated companion no mind. After another moment’s consideration of Lord Fiodor Fozzom, Lord Akimbo began his hitching step forward. The Grey followed and almost ran into him when Lord Akimbo abruptly stopped at the next bust.
“And this?” Lord Akimbo asked. “Do you know who this is?”
“I have no idea,” the Grey said.
“Juliette Bon-Bon. Er, she had no title, never took one. A modest lass. She wrote the original software and led the design team that developed the AI that directed orbit-to-planet traffic during the groundbreaking.”
The Grey sat on the floor. “Fascinating.”
“What are they doing?” Jordan whispered.
“The Grey’s getting the nickel tour of this place,” Jeff said.
Apparently there was a funny story that went with Juliette Bon-Bon. But Lord Akimbo chortled so much that Jeff understood little of it. Finally Lord Akimbo said, “Lord Akimbo does get sentimental.” He dramatically wiped at the corner of an eye with a finger.
“Can we go now?” the Grey asked.
Lord Akimbo didn’t answer, just moved to the next bust. This one looked remarkably similar to Oliop.
Jeff heard a loud clop-clop-clop to his left. This was followed by a sliding sound, like a chair with metal feet scraping on a classroom floor. Something moved through a pool of light and into the shadows. It headed in Lord Akimbo’s direction. Again, the clop-clop-clop and sliiiiide.
“Who visits?” a commanding feminine voice called.
A tall figure towered over Lord Akimbo and the Grey. Jeff couldn’t see her clearly as her face was high in the shadows.
Lord Akimbo cleared his throat. “Lord Akimbo visits. Lord Akimbo is regaling his diminutive friend with tales of valorous design and feats of uncommon construction. Oh, how this hall speaks of the days of magnificence. And I greet you, Lady Capitoline.”
“Akimbo,” came the cool acknowledgment. “And you brought guests.”
“Indeed,” Lord Akimbo said. “We seek an audience with you, Lady Capitoline.”
“For what purpose?” Lady Capitoline asked. “You are not welcome in this place. Your service was rendered, and you have been encouraged to pursue other meaningful pursuits. Are you still dwelling on the past deeds of bringing about the Galactic Commons?”
Lord Akimbo gave a half-laugh. “A bit, I confess. But what I have come to place before you is a new purpose and a new design. I seek your blessings for the reconstruction of the city. The old has become sedentary, and its citizens tired. It has forgotten those who have given it their all.”
“You mean it has forgotten you,” Lady Capitoline said.
Clop-clop-clop-slide. Now Jeff could see all of her. She looked like she could be human but for the extra bits that cycled along after her. These consisted of five legs attached to two trailing body segments. She had two primary legs arranged like most humanoids. She stood tall, twice Lord Akimbo’s height. Three arms were all placed above as many hips. A shimmering garment of pearls hung from her long neck and narrow shoulders, draping across her latter sections like the barding on a medieval charger. Jeff was both struck by her beauty and revolted by the incongruous collection of parts slapped together to make such a creature.
“Lord Akimbo, your service was a vital contribution to what we built,” Lady Capitoline said. “Thanks were given. That should have sufficed.”
“But Lord Akimbo has been forgotten!” Lord Akimbo said. “So have you, my Lady. This is a slight to our honor and dignity. The people must acknowledge what they have and where they have received it from. There is no other way but to take the city from them and give them one made new by our hands.”
“By our hands?” Lady Capitoline said with a laugh. “Lord Akimbo, you forget that your contribution was but one tiny piece of a great venture. You gave us the clinging bolt. Thank you! But the building of this city was so much more than that. Part of the founding of the Galactic Commons was the philosophy behind it that allowed it to come into being in the first place. This required the anonymous sacrifice of each craftsman and builder that had a hand in the construction. Each here in this room gave much more than you ever did and with little or no attribution of their efforts.”
“At least they are displayed here, my Lady. And where is Lord Akimbo?”
“You designed one bolt,” she said flatly. “No more, no less. Many workers who did more are not represented in this chamber. And those that are here did not ask for such an honor. And as this place is not visited, it is but a mausoleum to the city’s history. Being enshrined here is not an accolade but an invisible footnote to what has gone before and is now part of the past.”
Jordan suppressed a snicker. “He just got owned,” she whispered.
Jeff put up a hand for silence. He looked behind them. Oliop wasn’t there.
“Where is he?” Jeff whispered.
Jordan shrugged.
Lady Capitoline continued to speak. “So I don’t know what else you hope to do here, Lord Akimbo. If it’s my support you seek, you do not have it. If it’s my blessings you want, you do not have them either. We are older than the rest and must accept our role as having contributed to the greatest achievement of a thousand civilizations. Our portion must now be to allow their children to grow and flourish and the city to evolve with them.”
“Tosh,” Lord Akimbo said.
“How you feel about your position is of no concern to me,” Lady Capitoline said. “You’ve had your walk through our past. Now I’m asking you to leave.”
“Oh, my Lady Capitoline, I think we’ll stay. I’ve not come for your company, pleasant as it may be. I’ve come for other things you keep here. While the retrospection of our labors has proven most invigorating and edifying to my guest, Lord Akimbo is here for something else you keep within your sanctum.”
Lady Capitoline made three fists. Her exquisite jawline hardened. Jeff thought she was about to strike Akimbo, but before she could, he made a gesture in her direction. Irving the Grey stepped out of the way as the rolling tide of worms advanced.
Lady Capitoline scuttled back. Her latter body sections fell in behind her, the legs and feet not so much walking as being dragged. It looked as if she might fall, but she grabbed on to a pedestal and pushed off of it. Worms were on her and they began to climb.
Jordan broke cover. Jeff tried to grab her, but she slipped away towards the fleeing giant. He scrambled to catch up. Jordan leaped over the army of worms. Her cockroaches appeared in her hand. She flung them onto Lady Capitoline with a sidearm pitch. Lady Capitoline was doing her best in swatting the little worms off, but there were dozens more still on her.
Just then, a bust next to Jeff’s head was struck by a blaster beam. Several more yellow bolts broke the air around him with a zapzapzapzap. Jeff ducked, weaved, and dove over a thick knot of worms. He found cover behind a large plinth topped by the statue of a towering jellyfish.
“Human!” Irving shouted. Jeff couldn’t tell if it was a warning, a curse, or a greeting.
Lord Akimbo was out of sight, shouting in a singsong voice, but Jeff couldn’t make it out. To his right he saw an arched doorway. Lady Capitoline sprinted towards it, her feet striking the floor with a rhythmic klop-klop-klop. All of her awkwardness in motion was gone. None of her feet dragged. She was banging on all seven cylinders as she passed through the doorway, her hindquarter almost passing ahead of her. The cockroaches scurried about on her back, zapping away at the attached worms. Jordan sprint
ed along after her.
A group of worms appeared around the base of the plinth. Jeff stomped on them without thinking. A few darted out of the way. One held its pointed end up, and Jeff impaled his foot on the thing. He felt surprisingly little pain as the monospike on the worm’s head punctured the sole of his jumpsuit’s bootie and his foot. Jeff hopped backwards and pinched the worm and yanked it out. Now he felt the pain. He almost tumbled over but caught himself. More worms came. The Grey appeared two statues down, its weapon aiming his direction. Jeff threw himself towards the doorway, limping and almost falling, the sharp ache in his foot shooting up his entire leg.
More wild shots broke the air.
Once through the door, he was in the middle of a hallway that curved in either direction. Mounted plaques, platters, and documents set in fancy mattes and light boxes decorated the walls. A colonnade ran the outer arc of the hall. Through the columns Jeff saw lavender clouds laced with silvery sunlight, as if the hallway or the entire building they were in hung off the very edge of the world. Where was this place?
“This way!” Jordan yelled.
Jeff hobbled that way. When Jordan saw his limp, she ran to help. He leaned on her.
From behind them they heard Lord Akimbo scream, “Humans! Stop them, Irving.”
“Did you see Oliop?” Jeff asked as they hurried along the hallway as fast he could manage. “Where did he go?”
“I have no clue,” Jordan said.
They came to a set of easy-riser stairs carved from the same stone as everything else. The stairs went both up and down.
“She went up,” Jordan said.
They began to climb. The stairway took them out and above the columned hall. Jeff grabbed onto the oversized handrail. The clouds looked like they extended beneath the building. When Jeff looked up, he had to stop so as not to fall. He saw the stars. The clouds thinned, becoming a diffused haze that gave way to a circle of night filled with hundreds of points of light. The enormity of the sky made him dizzy.
Jordan stopped too. She was grinning broadly.
“This place must be miles high,” she said. “We’re almost above the cloud line.”
House of the Galactic Elevator Page 31
