The Sin of Moloch

by Andrew Gordinier

  “Thanks, dude! Based on John’s work, I created a program that took the strange geometry he was working with and found a way to brute force number sets out of it that would work within that geometry. Several strange things happened. I got odd fragments of religious texts, huge sections of Pi… the number, not cherry pie. And I also got a lot of number sets that fit research into M theory and a lot of other physics formulae.” Deanna paused to launch a program with a command line. “In a nutshell, the program was spitting out parts of what seemed to be the grand unified theory of physics. The program is only partially working and is still a beast, this laptop isn’t going to be able to run the full thing, but you should get the idea.” Deanna rapidly typed in a line of code, and the machine launched the program.

  Numbers filled the screen and started to quickly scroll past. Random blocks were highlighted in different colors, and some blinked. The numbers continued to scroll past, and slowly the colors formed fluctuating patterns intermingled with the blinking texts. There were gasps and whispers of surprise in the darkness. As the pattern displayed with the numbers and colors became more and more complicated, they slowed down, and suddenly the screen went dark. There was a loud pop as the laptop's battery burst into flames and smoke poured from under the keyboard. The lights came back up, and John used a simple pattern to put out the fire.

  In the stunned silence, Deanna called out, “Sorry about the laptop. Send John the bill, he’ll pay for it!”

  “How did you do this?” Asked the same man with the Russian accent.

  “It wasn’t easy. And I’m ashamed to admit John, and I are not the first to try it. According to that dead asshole over there, this goes all the way back to Babbage and his machines. We just got lucky.” Deanna waited for more questions, but no one spoke. After a moment or so, Conrad started to slowly clap. Soon others joined in, and there was thunderous applause filling the theater.

  “John?” Deanna leaned in and whispered to him.

  “Yeah?”

  “What would that spell I showed them do?”

  “Freeze an entire city solid.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” John said sincerely.

  “We can't tell anyone else about that! Word gets out, and the next thing you know we’ll be in the middle of another ice age.” Deanna said with a smile.

  John didn’t hear her, he was walking toward Radha and trying to read the emotions playing across her face. “Are you all right-“

  Radha slapped John across the face so hard his head snapped to one side. “That is for getting me involved with these crazy mages, making me wander through a jungle to get attacked by wild animals!” Radha’s eyes blazed as she yelled at John.

  “Sweetheart, I-“ John had no idea where to even start.

  Radha grabbed John and hugged him so fast and so tight that he was caught off guard.

  “Radha, I’m so sorry. I tried to find you, we all did.”

  “I believe you.” She whispered. “I just…” Her voice started to crack, and John felt her tense. He looked over at Solomon’s body on the stage, a few people were just now starting to move towards cleaning up the mess.

  “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, and it’s my fault. I’m so sorry that I let it all come to this. That you had to…” John couldn’t bring himself to say it, and couldn’t believe that she had killed.

  “I had to do it, not just for me, but Deanna and Yvonne.” Radha whispered.

  “Yvonne?”

  “We have to rescue her, John. She’s trapped in that awful place, all alone. She might be hurt.” Radha had tears in her eyes.

  John looked around to find Eric and couldn’t find him. But, he spotted Conrad talking to a small group of people that included Augie and the Envoy. Taking Radha gently by the hand, he walked over to Conrad and touched his shoulder.

  Conrad turned with a smile on his face. “John, what can I do for you?”

  “Do you know where Eric went?”

  “I think he is paying for the laptop your young lady friend blew up.” Conrad turned to Radha. “I’m very happy to see you are all right, my dear. We were all very worried about you.”

  “Thank you, Conrad.” Radha whispered.

  “I need Eric’s help. Radha says there is still someone to rescue. Can you make sure that Deanna gets home?” John could feel Radha’s desperation to rescue her friend.

  “You go do what must be done. We’ll talk later.” Said Conrad with a smile.

  “Thanks, Conrad.” John turned and ran to find Eric, dragging Radha behind him.

  Chapter 54

  They arrived in the sitting room behind the waterfall, it was just as Radha had described it. A dozen soldiers quickly moved to cover the exits and search the Censors hideout. John and Eric waited uncomfortably as they listened to shouts of ‘clear.’ Soon a voice over the radio told them that they had found an elevator and wanted back up before proceeding. John and Eric followed the soldiers to the elevator and waited till at the top while they searched the floor below. Soon there was a call over the radio for a medic to come down, then for John. They were escorted down by the soldiers and taken to a sparsely furnished cell that was painted an obscene shade of pink. There on the bed lay a woman clinging to life by a thread. She had innumerable wounds that ranged from tiny to grisly.

  “She needs a hospital right now.” Said the medic with naked urgency.

  “Will the one back at the base do?” John asked.

  “The sooner, the better. And, put a bullet in the monster that did this to her.” The medic moved next to the woman and waited for John to teleport him back to their base. Once it was done, John looked around at the other soldiers, they had been professional and sharp before, now they were motivated. Special forces or not, they were still human and had human reactions.

  “Is there anyone else here?” Asked Eric.

  “No, sir. But, they found what seems to be a museum upstairs. And, a chamber of horrors down the hall.” The lieutenant's voice was cold.

  “The horror first.” Said Eric.

  “This way, sir.” The soldier led them down the hall to an open door. The room beyond was a testament to imagination and cruelty. There were torture devices ancient and modern, simple and intricate. All cleaned and maintained with the loving care of a connoisseur. In the middle of the room was a blood-stained leather chair ringed by cameras mounted on the ceiling and on tripods. In the corner, there were monitors and a rack of carefully labeled DVDs. John walked over and examined the labels. They were all names and dates. He could guess what was on those discs.

  “Is this level cleared?” Asked John with a growl.

  “Sir?”

  “Clear your men out and take them back to the elevator.” “Sir-”

  “In about a minute, I am going to erase this place from existence. Then, when we are done upstairs, I’ll do the same there.” John’s voice held steel and fire.

  The soldiers quickly moved back to the elevator, waited nervously with Eric.

  “How is he going to erase it?” Asked one of the soldiers.

  “Didn’t you pay attention during the briefing? He’s a wizard.” Said another.

  “He’s not a wizard.” Said Eric tightly. “He’s a mage, and knowing John, he’s gonna overdo it.”

  “Is it dangerous?” Asked the first soldier.

  As if to answer his question, a wave of heat was washed over them, some of the lights went out in the hallway, and there was steady deep groaning noise growing louder. John walked into the main hallway, a fierce red glow spilled out of the doorway behind him. As he walked towards the elevator, the walls he passed glowed red and struggled to hold their shape against their own weight and intense heat. Once he was in the elevator, John looked at the soldier nearest the controls and said, “Time to go.”

  “Yes, sir!” Said the soldier as he quickly and repeatedly pushed the button. Once they were back on the main level, the soldiers quickly got out of the elevator and looked bac
k nervously.

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t melt enough stone for it to come up the elevator shaft.” Said John evenly.

  “Sir, the museum?” Asked one of the soldiers who had searched the main level.

  “Where?” Asked Eric.

  “This way.” The soldier led them through an elaborate kitchen and past extravagant living quarters, to the museum that Radha had described to them.

  John walked among the weapons ancient and modern, looking for anything that was not intended to kill or maim. It was a grisly testament to the long and bloody history of mages and their struggle for power over the ages. John considered that not only was it likely each of these weapons had taken lives but that they spoke to the grim determination and desperation of the people who made them. John circled back to the entrance in time to hear Eric raise his tone at the lieutenant.

  “I don’t give a damn, what your orders are. You aren’t taking a single one of these back with you.”

  “Sir, my orders were to secure the site, rescue any hostages, and, if possible secure items for research. If these weapons are enchanted-“

  “This isn’t a damn computer game. These are artifacts. They are weapons with patterns attached to them to perform specific things. Some of them could be used by anyone, others require knowledge of patterns.” John made no effort to hide the frustration in his voice. “And, what makes you think that I will allow you to take any of these with you?”

  “Special Agent-“

  “Screw her, screw your orders, and if you get in my way… Screw you.” John emphasized the last part by using a pattern to cleanly cut the lieutenant's assault rifle in half. Parts slid out of it and clattered on the floor. “Now, tell your men to head back to the waterfall, I’m going to turn the rest of this place into slag.”

  John stormed past the soldiers and headed back to the sitting room. Once John had teleported everyone back to the military base in Virginia, he stood alone in the Censors lair. He looked out over the jungle briefly and marveled at the courage that Radha and the others had shown in climbing down the cliff face. Using a series of patterns, John melted the stone and pulled it through the rooms and hallways. He waited till the last moment and teleported away to let the stone cool and harden on its own. Even if someone did find it, there would be no way to recover anything in it.

  Chapter 55

  Radha woke up from her nightmare and was cold. She at first cursed John for stealing the blankets again, but he wasn’t in bed. She sat up and looked at the clock, the dull blue numbers telling her it was just past four in the morning. She put her slippers on, and pulled on her heavy robe, before heading down the short hallway. Radha found John sitting in the rocking chair, cradling their son in his arms as he rocked and talked to him gently. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

  “He’s almost asleep again.” Whispered John.

  “I didn’t hear him cry.”

  “I was already up, so I just muffled the baby monitor a touch. Next time I’ll shut it off, so I don’t wake you up.”

  “You didn’t, I had a nightmare. I was on the stage again, killing Solomon.” Radha walked over and held her arms out, John gently transferred their son to her. He stirred slightly, Radha kissed him and started to sing to him gently in Hindi.

  “I’m gonna get some water.” Whispered John, he kissed her cheek and slipped quietly downstairs to the kitchen. Radha smiled by way of reply and sang to her son for a few more moments, till she was sure he was asleep again. She gently put him in the crib, then crept to the kitchen to join John.

  “Is Owen asleep?” John asked as he poured her a glass of water.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good, I can’t wait till we can get a decent nights sleep again.” John said, sipping his water.

  “What makes you think the next kid is gonna sleep any better than Owen?”

  “Next, kid?”

  “I told you I wanted children, plural, not singular. You agreed.”

  “I did?”

  “You married me.”

  “I did.” John said with a smile.

  Radha kissed him and put her glass in the sink. “Don’t forget, I’m going downtown to have lunch with the girls today.”

  “I haven’t, I cleared my schedule.”

  “If you have to go to work-“

  “I’ll be very careful teleporting with Owen, I won’t lose him.” They kissed and went back to bed to try and salvage a few more hours of sleep.

  Deanna sat in the bar at the train station, waiting for Radha. There was the usual late morning crowd of businessmen, students, and recruits from Great Lakes Naval Base. She never realized how much she missed Chicago till she came back, and every time she felt the same pang of regret that she felt packing to leave. Deanna made a solemn vow to her whiskey that she would move back again someday, or demand that they let her live where she wanted. How much trouble would it be to have one of the mages she worked with teleport her in and out of work every day. She laughed quietly and whispered, “One to beam up.” To her whiskey before finishing it.

  “Deanna, why are you drinking already?” Radha asked with a laugh, already knowing the answer.

  “Because I can!” Deanna slid off her barstool and hugged Radha. “How are you doing, girl?”

  “I’d be better if Owen would sleep through the night, and John would learn to do the dishes better.”

  “Wedded bliss.” Deanna said as she rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t give me that! You’ve been dating Pytor for a long time now, you’re well on your way to learning for yourself.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Deanna started leading the way to the escalator.

  “You even slapped the waitress at my wedding reception because you thought she was flirting with him!”

  “I was drunk.”

  “You were jealous!”

  “All right, so I like the stupid boy a lot.”

  “Yvonne will laugh her but off if that’s all you have to say. Where is she?”

  “We’re supposed to meet her at the restaurant, she texted to say she was running late at school.”

  John was sitting on the couch, playing with Owen while using a pattern to carefully warm a bottle of milk, when his work phone rang. With a groan, he got up and picked up the cell phone off the kitchen table. The caller id said C.H.

  “Good morning, special agent.”

  “Damn it, John. Can you just use my name?”

  “No.”

  “I’m not even in the FBI anymore, technically.

  “I don’t want you to forget your humble beginnings.”

  “Why aren’t you in the office today?”

  “I cleared my calendar so I could watch Owen while Radha went to see Deanna and Yvonne.”

  “You don’t just clear your calendar and not show up at the office.” Christine's voice held a clear desire to strangle him.

  “I told you I was gonna be out, Conrad and Augie know I’m out. What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is that you were my ride to Alaska because you said you were going!”

  “I thought that was next month.”

  “It’s today! In twenty minutes, you jerk.”

  “Oh.” John looked to Owen for advice, but he was busy trying to push his hand into his nose. “I’m gonna have to bring Owen.”

  “At this point, I don’t care! Just show up.”

  “I know I shouldn’t have to say this.” John picked up Owen and gave him his bottle. “But, let's not tell your mother I took you to a secret military base.”

  There was a knock at Christine's door, she looked up from packing her briefcase to see John walk in, carrying Owen and a large baby bag.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re going to bring a baby to an above top secret base?” Christine had accepted long ago that John would forever irritate her, either on purpose or because she had to deal with his quirks of personality.

  “You find a babysitter in 20 minutes, or find a b
abysitter that Radha trusts for that matter.”

  “She's still overprotective?”

  “Yeah, everyone says it’s just because she’s a new mom, and Owen is our first. I can’t help but think she still expects people to come after us.” John bounced gently as he talked, and Owen smiled happily.

  “We can discuss your wife's paranoia later. We’re late.” Christen closed her briefcase and walked around her desk to stand next to John.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah.” Christen blinked and was no longer in her office, she was standing next to John at the front of a small auditorium. The seats were filled to capacity with a diverse mix of faces; these people represented the best the world had to offer. Augie was standing at the lectern, obviously buying them time, he turned and smiled when they arrived.

  “Ah, here they are now. John, I see that you stopped off to pick up the youngest volunteer for the program.” Augie’s comment got a gentle laugh from the room.

  “Yes, I’m sorry, there was a mix up with the baby sitter.” John looked around, slightly embarrassed.

  “You give me Owen, you give your talk.” Christen didn’t have any children of her own but was no stranger to babies. And, she would never tell John (she had told Radha), but she felt Owen was exceptionally cute and was happy to get a chance to hold him. They carefully transferred Owen and John stepped to the lectern, he pulled his tablet from seemingly nowhere and opened his notes for his speech.

  “I know we have all said it numerous times during your training, but there has never been an effort like this before in human history. Not just a joint effort between mages and the governments of the world, but between so many nations, with more joining us seemingly every day. I share the same view as many of this program's supporters, that this is not just about deep space exploration, but also a step towards a more peaceful coexistence here on Earth. I have made it a point to get to know as many of you as I can over the last year and let you get to know me. So, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that I brought Owen along. No one tells Radha, please?” There were smiles and gentle laughter. John continued. “We didn’t train you as teams, we trained you as a group, as a community, for a reason. You need to depend on each other, not just as you visit and explore alien worlds, but when you come home as well. Because, as you have seen and experienced, this world is tiny and fragile. Yet, it holds the sum total of humanity, our history, dreams, and desires. I can’t put it any better than Carl Sagan did when he saw a picture of the earth taken from during the Voyager program…” John touched a button on his tablet, and the gently wise voice of Carl Sagan spoke through the PA system.