Creatures of Snow

by Dr. Doctor Doctur

  “I do not think skipping class…“ Lee started.

  “Oh come on, one missed day isn’t going to kill us.” Sky cut in - at this point sitting in a library sounded slightly better than sitting through lectures all day. “I think we should do it.” His own short attention span and lack of detail made him completely useless at researching, but he was great at pretending to read.

  Lee thought it over for a long time, his face contorting into a multitude of different expressions. “I will join you as well.” He must have finally convinced himself. “My job is to protect you Allen; I will never be far away, not anymore.”

  “Don’t sweat it.” Al slapped him on the back, a new look of excitement in his eye. “Sky…you should go to class. No offence, but you really suck at research.”

  Sky’s heart sank a little. It was true of course, but he didn’t have to say it like that. “Whatever.” He pouted; shoving his hands into the shallow pockets of his uniform just as the transport could be heard roaring its way down the road.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “So, where were you yesterday? Not to mention this morning.” Con sat down roughly beside him, surprising Sky out of a dazed half-sleep.

  “I didn’t feel good.” Sky picked his head up and was thankful to see that class hadn’t started yet.

  “You look like crap. You sure you feel good enough to be here today?” Con leaned in a bit to close while looking him over. “We’ve got a pretty intense afternoon planned.”

  Sky’s stomach dropped, “I’ll be fine.” He lied.

  “Happy day everyone!” The chipper voice of Professor Finley called to the class.

  As the individual conversations died out and focus shifted to the front of the room; Professor Finley wrote the word, ‘Flicker’ on the board behind her. The class looked at her expectantly, but she stayed silent for a beat, enjoying the rise of anticipation growing in the room.

  “Now, I know we have already discussed what a Flicker is, and I’ll recap that in a minute. Today we are going to focus on what a Flicker means to us. Without the Flicker, there would be no REALM, case and point. They are the essential building blocks, bridging the gap between dimensional migrations. Does anyone want to tell me what a Flicker is?

  Hands shot up, and Professor Finley called on a student sitting a few rows over from Sky.“Flickers are microscopic organisms with a complex DNA structure that has never been repeated in any way shape or form. They are completely unique in their makeup and have proven to be the only organism that can pass effortlessly through the Levels.” The student answered in a crisp, text-book manner.

  Finley looked pleased with the explanation, “Correct, that was an excellent summary, thank you. Now for today’s lecture; I will go over Flickers, what they do and their importance to us very briefly, and then we’ll break it down, and go over each item in more detail in the next few days…”

  Professor Finley held up a book to the class, “I’ll have you read this book, The Truth about Flickers.” Professor Finley walked behind her desk and started riffling through a stack of papers. “To begin, let’s start with the fact that the Flicker is only a recent discovery. We had always assumed these creatures existed; it’s natural that something had to exist out there to give purpose to the Snow.”

  Professor Finley located the paper she had been searching for and looked it over while continuing her lecture. “Many people, although they know about the existence of these creatures, do not know why they actually exist. Flickers drift between Levels, yes, but if that is so, shouldn’t there be a purpose to it?”

  Professor Finley put the paper on a projecting device and instantly transferred the document to an illuminated, three-dimensional holo for the whole class to see. “This…is a Germ. Flickers transfer microorganisms, or germs, throughout the Levels. It may sound devious, but germs are actually essential to the life cycle. This transfer of germs also maintains a balance between all the Levels, slows the mutation factor and makes it even plausible that we, as susceptible living creatures, will be able to travel to another level and not be instantly overtaken by foreign contaminates. Does everyone follow so far?”

  Professor Finley put another image on the board; this one was a graph with colorful lines showing energy to Flicker ratio. “Now, Flickers don’t see as we do; rather, they sense energy and are attracted to it, the more powerful the draw of energy, the more Flickers gather.

  “For years we would occasionally capture groupings of them in photos and moving pictures, they would show up as small little orbs, often dismissed as dust to the untrained eye, or I’ve even heard of them being thought of as spirits.”

  Sky found himself chuckling with the rest of the class as Finley wiggled her fingers and let out a short series of spooky sounds. He stole a glance up to Sara and was pleased to see a smiling face.

  Finley let the laughter fade before she moved on. “All joking aside, these images were one of the key factors that helped us unravel this mystery. The fact that we always captured true Flicker images when near a semi prominent energy source, be it natural or manufactured, seemed to be key in their manifestation. So, some of you by now might be wondering my point, why do we care about Flickers, how do these microscopic organisms affect us? Well, one of the main side effects when a Flicker travels from one level to the next is that they leave behind a tiny hole.

  “Now, as they keep moving the hole soon fills in as if never there, but if the Flickers congregate around one area for long enough…a portal is formed.”

  There was a gasp from the room that Sky participated in. Flickers created portals?! The students around him exchanged nods of understanding and looks of revelation.

  Beside him Con let out a snicker and scribbled down some incoherent notes.

  “This knowledge is REALM’s and REALM’s alone. Very few people outside Archaios have ever heard of a Flicker and I guarantee you, no one outside REALM will know that Flickers’ are what are behind the infamous portals.”

  A hand is raised and Professor Finley points to the student. “Yes?”

  “So how many Flickers are there? Are they everywhere?” A tall, thin girl with the greenest hair he had ever seen on a human asked in a gravely voice.

  “We have no way of counting their numbers; they outnumber people a billion times over I’m sure. As for where they reside, yes, they are everywhere.” Professor Finley answers. The students looked around the room and at one another. “Right now, in this room alone, I would say there is probably a few hundred drifting about, give or take, depending on how much energy resides here.”

  The green haired girl continued her conversation, her arm still lingering in the air. “By energy, what exactly do you mean? Are you saying that if we all of a sudden started jumping in place instead of sitting, expelling our own physical energy, we would attract more Flickers?”

  “Excellent question. And the answer is yes, but a quick burst of human physical energy from this small of a class is not enough to attract more than a few. If there were, say, five hundred to a thousand young, athletic students all running around exerting energy, then yes, that may be enough to attract a handful more to the party, but not near enough to create a portal.”

  Sky found himself wondering what could cause enough energy to create a portal. What crazy amount of energy would have been required to cause something like the Origin?

  “How many then?” Con’s voice called out beside him. He hadn’t bothered raising his hand. “How many humans would it take?”

  Professor Finley stared curiously up towards Con, an unexpected tension growing in the air. “Well honestly, Mr. Embers, I don’t believe it is possible with just human energy, but that’s a lecture for a different time.”

  The devious little smile that had snuck onto Con’s face made Sky wonder what he knew.

  “Now, moving on, let me explain a little more about portals.” Professor Finley turned away from them, “We’ll go over this again later on in the semester in great detail, but for n
ow - a quick enlightenment. There are three types of portals - unstable static, stable static and roaming.”

  Sky leaned over slightly towards Con, lowering his head as he did so, “Did you know that was the answer?” He mumbled.

  “Of course I did.” Con’s eyes were zeroed in on the Professor with an eerily unwavering smirk. “Flickers give the Snow purpose? This Professor knows nothing. This whole lesson is a waste of our brains.”

  “As of today there is an unknown amount of unstable, usually these are caused by collapsed stars, or what are sometimes called black holes.” Professor Finley was saying, “These are inaccessible, dangerous and unpredictable, so we will leave the research of those to someone else.” She let a sly smile pass her thin lips, “As for the ones we can explore, there are four known static portals that REALM has claimed for study. Two on the planet Haigon, one on the planet of Asre and one here on Archaios. The one here on Archaios is a massive static giant, nicknamed the Origin, and we believe is the oldest.” Professor Finley called on a young man with his hands raised “Yes, Mr. Cashton.”

  “Why don’t we know more? If there is this massive portal here, why haven’t we sent people in to other Levels before? Why has it just been probes and cybernetics?”

  Professor Finley smiled broadly. “Someone always asks that question. In the past my answer was that people have ventured into the portal. The first ones were back thousands of years ago when the portal was first uncovered and then subsequently sealed. It was a stable portal, yes, but very unpredictable. It was a chaotic time when the Origin was found, some say it was a cause of the First War and others claim it to have been found because of the War. Out of the many brave souls that ventured into the portal, few returned. Those that did return spoke of wondrous things, but, like I said, most did not return, and it is assumed they got lost in the Snow. And even now, almost two decades ago, REALM tried to tempt fate again.”

  Sky ear’s perked up. This was news to him.

  “Ultimately, the project was a failure." The Professor solemnly scanned the room and came to rest on Sky’s attentive gaze. “In the end, out of all who were sent in, none survived.”

  Of course it had been a failure - otherwise they would have known about it. But still, the feeling this information gave him started a stirring in his blood, and it didn’t help to have Con staring directly at him with a fiery grin.

  “We have since continued our research of the Levels to better understand how they work, how they flow. The more we understand the better chance we have of mastering the portal. That is the foundation of why we formed REALM in the first place - To discover what else is out there. Since then, our efforts have been exceptionally successful using cybernetics and automation in place of people.” Professor Finley narrowed her wide eyes down to slits, “At least, that’s what I would have said in the past. But now, I am proud to say, we are about to make history once again.”

  Sky’s heart leapt to his throat. Was she really about to let loose the secret of Moira?

  “REALM has joined forces with powerful allies in the way of the Arche Academy’s revolutionary program, Axis, and has come up with a way to tame the portal and send actual researchers through.”

  He couldn’t believe she said it. Aloud. To everyone.

  The class exchanged looks and comments of excitement. The buzz of conversation overwhelmed his brain.

  “Did you hear that?” Con jabbed him in the ribs. “We’re ‘powerful allies’.” He laughed.

  “Was she supposed to tell everyone?” Sky’s head began to pound and his stomach was again becoming unsettled.

  Con leaned over with a devilish smile, “Why not? These stiffs are the one’s that are going to have the real control one day.” Con shook his head and pushed on his shoulder, “We’re just their lab rats.”

  “Yes, this will be a very exciting year, for all of us.” Professor Finley finished, her smile stretching across her face.

  Professor Finley continued the lecture, but Sky’s mind drifted slowly away. He kept forgetting it was all just temporary and they were just visitors at REALM, learning what they could. Do I really want to travel to other Level’s? Why had he not ever asked himself that before?

  All previous missions had been failures. Failures with no survivors. Was he really willing to put his life on the line for something he barely understood and could only pretend to care about? His chest tightened and began to ache.

  Without him even realizing it, Professor Finley had called the class to an end. He only noticed as the students around him began to shuffle about, gathering their books and papers.

  “You look like you’re gonna be sick.” Con had already stood.

  Sky scooped up his notebook and shoved it carelessly into his bag. “I’m fine.” It was his automatic response.

  “All right. I’m not sure if I really believe you, but we’ll find out next class.” Con slapped him on the back and scooted his way down the aisles. “Since you said you were fine I’m not going to go easy on you.”

  Sky nodded and died a little on the inside. Gaah. He had completely forgotten his next class was Attack and Defense.

  “Wouldn’t want you to.” He called after Con in a wavering voice.

  Sky slumped back down in his seat as the class cleared. He debated letting his head slam down on the desk, but decided there were still a few too many students milling about to make that not look weird. He slowly sat up, heaved his bag up into his lap and somehow managed to stand without falling.

  “Hey, you.” It was an unfamiliar female voice that rang out with an accusing tone.

  He turned to see Colossal-hair, of all people, standing a little too close behind him. “Me?” He asked innocently.

  Colossal-hair threw a finger into his face and leaned in towards him, “I want in.”

  He had no response except, “Huh?”

  “Listen, it’s obvious you and that loud mouth are some of the Axis students everyone’s whispering about. It wasn’t a secret, you know.” She pulled her finger back, but didn’t back up. Instead she looked him up and down in an uncomfortably slow manner, “You’re not smart or rich so there is no way you got in here on your own. I researched your name and it turns out you have quite the reputation for trouble.”

  His jaw clenched in reflex. “What do you want?”

  “I researched Axis too; but there isn’t much to find, so the only logical assumption I can make, as to why REALM would align itself with violent war mongers is, that you are the ones that are going to be sent through to other Levels.”

  Colossal-hair was a lot smarter than he had given her credit. He just shrugged in response. He really needed to leave and get some air.

  “At first I was angry. It wasn’t fair that they would give such a vital role to outsiders. But now,” She paused and somehow managed to get closer, “now I know what I have to do. Look, Skyden, I’m young, smart, athletic,” She brought her hand back up, letting it trail slowly up the front of his shirt, “and willing to do anything to help the cause.” Her hand wrapped around the back of his neck.

  At first he thought it was the most ineffective way to try and threaten someone, generally people choked him from the front, but when she pulled his head forward towards her own it finally clicked what she was trying to do.

  “Oh, hey there.” He pulled away from her until his backward momentum was halted by the desk behind him. “Let’s uh, let’s get something straight.”

  She stepped towards him and he had no where to go.

  “I’m really not the one you would need to talk to. If you want to help out, I would go to, uh you know, that guy…” He stammered, desperately searching the room for other signs of life, “…Professor Blanks.”

  Colossal-hair inched closer, the overpowering floral scent of her outrageously curly hair rose into his nostrils. “Seriously, I’m not in a position to pull any sort of strings if that’s what you’re asking-” She grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt and pulled him roughly forward.
That movement alone was enough to make him want to puke, but it didn’t end there, oh no, Colossal-hair proceeded to smash her overly moisturized lips into his. It was all he could do to not retch right then and there as he kept his focus on his breathing, and keeping the bile at bay. When she finally pulled her head back he nearly fell back, but felt a small moment of victory over not throwing up on her.

  Colossal-hair smiled smugly before spinning around and marching off down the aisle, “When the time comes you’ll be begging me to be a part of your team.” She gave one last look over her shoulder, “And I will gladly accept.”

  Sky picked himself up and slunk his way out of the class room. It was the first time a girl had ever kissed him and he had to admit, it was awful.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “How was your class?” Al bounced lightly off the wall he was leaning on. “Wow, you still look like barf, by the way.”

  Lee gestured them further into the room towards the lounging area where randomly placed couches and awkwardly shaped tables adorned the marbled floors.

  “So what did you guys find out? Anything?” Sky asked as he let himself fall into the stiff embrace of the cushions, trying to forget the last fifteen minutes of his life.

  “Nothing yet. If there is anything on that book, it’s got to be here. Anywhere else is too heavily regulated by the government to contain anything Telic related.” Al plopped down beside him with a light thud.

  “I am worried.” Lee kept his rigid stance at the end of the couch, “After much thought, I do not know if it is wise for either of you to return to your homes.” He stated matter-of-factly. “You are being targeted, and if we can not figure out by whom…”