by Mark Lingane
“This is my personal chamber of secrets,” Niels said.
They entered the secret sanctum, their footsteps reverently hushed by the thick red carpet. On every wall, instead of the plethora of wires and gauges, the word ‘Sophia’ was scrawled in varying sizes, thousands of times. On one side of the room was a series of shelves arranged in a circle, covered in candles that surrounded a dusty and faded picture. In the center of the room was a tall lectern supporting a heavy leather-bound book that appeared to be locked.
“Should we be worried?” Memphis whispered.
“Only if either of us is called Sophia,” Sebastian whispered back.
They wandered around the room, examining the wall’s markings and noting the small hearts written within the letter O.
“You’ve written the word ‘Sophia’ a lot,” Sebastian said to Niels. “Doesn’t she get worried? It’s a bit obsessive.”
“Sophia writes me the most beautiful poetry. She calls them ‘fragments.’”
Niels jangled a large set of keys until he found a specific one, and unlocked the large tome on the lectern. He slowly and gently opened the cover, then offered it to Memphis to read. While she was reading the prose, Sebastian wandered around the room.
“Where’s Sophia?” Memphis asked Niels.
Niels sighed. “She lives afar.”
“Long-distance relationships seldom work,” Memphis said. “So she sends these to you?”
“Oh, yes.”
“How?”
“I, er, we have a connection.”
“Don’t tell me you use drones.”
“Of course not,” Niels said. “What we have is more ethereal, divine, pure.”
“Have you ever … met her?” Memphis asked.
“I discovered her poems in the forgotten library in New York. She called to me through them, so I escaped and will search for her.”
“So they’re not actually for you.”
“They very much are so, Margrethe.”
She sighed. “My name is …” She stepped away from the lectern and continued. “Do they mention you specifically, by name?”
He closed his eyes. A dreamy smiled drifted over his lips. “She calls me by my old, secret name. Aphrodite.”
There was a long pause. The pause, embarrassed by its own length, let out another pause.
Memphis looked at Sebastian, who was now reading the book. He appeared to be nearly in tears.
“It’s so heartfelt and gut-wrenching,” he said. “Love, desire, and passion.”
Memphis collapsed internally, defeated by the delusion of it all. Niels obviously didn’t read much outside of his chosen specialist topics, and it wasn’t her place to shatter his dream.
“Isn’t the verse beautiful?” Niels said.
“I have to admit, it’s pretty good,” Sebastian said. “But it would be better if I had something in my stomach.”
“Oh, sorry, please come this way.” Niels led them through another small doorway into a utilitarian room.
“Is this place completely underground?” Memphis said. “There are no windows.”
“We are secreted where eyes cannot see.”
“A simple yes or no would do. I’m not that interested,” she said.
He swung open a cupboard door to reveal rows of jars and stacked vegetables. Sebastian looked at the vegetables suspiciously. He picked up a carrot and sniffed it.
Memphis stepped toward a black bar on a corner shelf. “This is coro,” she said. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands, stroking the surface. “I haven’t seen one in years. We had some of this stored away for special occasions.”
“I know I’m starving if I consider eating the foul stuff,” Niels said.
“I thought everyone wanted coro,” Sebastian said. “Didn’t you say there were wars over it?”
“That’s because they don’t know what it’s made out of,” Niels said.
“And you do?”
“It’s easy to determine. What kind of animals can survive a nuclear blast?”
“None. Anything with cells is affected,” Sebastian said. “We learned that at tesla school.”
“To my knowledge, there’s only one creature that can survive radiation,” Niels said. “Cockroaches.”
“Are you saying that coro is crunched up … I don’t feel well.” Memphis placed the black bar back on the shelf. “I had so many good memories.”
“They mixed in some cooked-up heroin derivative,” Niels said. “I think they needed something to lure the people to eat it first. Then once they were addicted to the loathsome concoction and were struggling to keep a grip on reality, they got into people’s minds and started brainwashing them. Addicted people are a force to be reckoned with. You still want some?” he asked Memphis.
“I think you’ve just destroyed my childhood.”
“The truth prevailed, perhaps.”
“Hey, what’s that up on the top shelf?” Sebastian pointed to a silver bag behind the asparagus.
“Oh, that’s nothing, just potato chips.”
Sebastian clambered urgently toward the shiny object, clutched it, and fell back.
“You do know they’re not much better than the coro,” Niels said. “You’d do better to have some artichokes or leeks.”
Sebastian ripped open the bag and tipped the contents into his mouth. He collapsed onto the floor in a star. “That tasted so good. I’d probably go to war over potato chips. They were so good I’m probably strong enough to try one of your artichokes.”
Niels handed him one, and place another in his own mouth.
Sebastian chewed away. The vegetable turned into an unappetizing lump in his mouth. “Is it meant to taste like this?”
“Delectable, isn’t it?”
“Does delectable mean tastes like mud?”
“Not really.”
“Then I probably wouldn’t classify it as delectable.”
Memphis tried to eat something soft, but she still felt the effects of the green gas and swallowing was painful. She felt faint as the lack of food caught up with her.
“What are you planning on doing about Sophia?” Sebastian asked Niels. He tried to dislodge some of the lumpy vegetable from between his teeth.
“She is perfection that exists on the other side of an unbreachable barrier. The odds of getting to see her are almost impossible.”
“As impossible as shutting down the Time Flare?” Sebastian said.
Niels sighed. “I see your point. You’re right, I should go to her.”
“We’ll go together,” Sebastian said. He flicked his finger between both of them.
There was a crash as Memphis fell to the floor.
Sebastian rushed over to her and checked her vital signs. “She needs rest.” He picked her up and they took her back to the sleeping room.
“Is she okay?” Sebastian asked Niels.
“Yes, she just needs to heal. She was technically dead. I managed to save her with the various technologies I’ve created, plus some special herbs I’ve managed to harvest.”
“You saved Acacia. That life support is your design?”
“Yes.”
“Can you really fix her?”
Niels blew some dust into Sebastian’s face. He collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
“My answer shows why I don’t deserve to meet Sophia,” Niels said.
62
SEBASTIAN WOKE TO the sound of muffled music thumping through the walls. Again, he had no idea of the duration of his sleep. He gently pushed Memphis, rousing her from sleep. He got up and followed the music. Memphis slowly lifted herself off the bed and followed him. Her ribs had recovered well during her sleep and she was moving more easily. They were both surprised to hear music in this place, which had been a shrine to the quiet.
The music became louder as they moved through the small rooms. They found a solid door that was flexing from the excessive sound waves coming from the other side. Sebastian eased the d
oor open, and they were blown back by a wave of sound that nearly knocked them off their feet.
They entered a small chamber. The music blasted out of the speakers, thumping through the small room. The room was dark, but dozens of colored lights were arranged across the high ceiling. They didn’t illuminate as much as create the image of a dancing sky. Thin smoke filled the room, highlighting the beams of light as they flickered on and off.
A shrill whistling sound came from Niels, who was standing on a tall box in the center of the room facing the far wall. The lights flashed, and Niels danced with abandon. He swung his arms above his head as though he was without care, and bounced up and down on the spot.
He turned and stopped when he saw them observing him. A whistle fell out of his mouth. The music came to a sudden halt, and the silence swung in like a badly aimed punch.
“That was an interesting display,” Memphis said.
“I was just testing the lights.” Niels tapped a button with his foot and the music restarted at a much lower volume. They both noticed he had an irresistible compulsion to tap his foot as soon as the music played.
“Are you sure you’re interested in a woman?” Memphis asked.
“My love for Sophia is unquestionable and unquenchable.” Niels twirled on the spot.
“So, you’re not gay?”
The music came to a screeching halt again. “Why would you say that?”
“Your dancing is a bit … enthusiastic,” she said.
“The world’s gone mad if a man can’t get up and dance to an up-tempo melody without being labeled a homosexual. I thought I would have one last rave before we left on our journey.”
“These few days here have been great. I can’t believe how quickly I’ve healed,” Memphis said. She flexed in demonstration and found little pain in her ribs.
Niels laughed. “Is that how long you think you’ve been here? Days?”
Memphis and Sebastian looked at each other.
“Yeah,” she said.
“You’ve been here for weeks.”
“Weeks!”
“What I find interesting is that you, young lady, have lost weight, but Sebastian seems to have gotten bigger.”
Memphis glanced down at her waist, and pulled her clothes tight. She smiled at Sebastian, but Niels was leading him away to yet another room. This one was large and airy. Light flowed in via a series of cylinders and mirrors cut into the ground above. Bright light poured into the room from a blue sky.
“I’ve repaired your vehicle,” Niels told Sebastian. “It had been badly battered after your recent exertions. But it’s a thing of wonder. Even more wonderful now as I’ve made some improvements.”
“My steambike is more popular than me,” Sebastian said. He laughed to signify it was a joke.
There was an awkward silence.
“It looks great,” Memphis said, after the silence had gone on too long. “It looks shiny, and dangerous.”
“The twin turbo-charged steam jets are all well and good,” Niels explained, “but it takes too long for the bike to reach boiling point and the temperature’s unstable. There’s no recovery or ancillary power.”
“Eh?”
“You work the energy source too hard. It needs to be more adaptive to your needs. So I’ve added a solar ignition. There’s a small hydrogen battery that’s charged by the sun, allowing you to get going straightaway while the boiler heats up.”
“Sounds cool. That’ll be handy.”
“There’s also a preheating chamber, some fancy predictive solenoid switching, and a multidirectional flow system to deliver power to where it’s needed. I formed some new tires that should be more appropriate for this terrain. And the balance was out. I fixed that. And painted an eagle on the bike.”
“I’m not sure if I understood any of that except for the eagle bit, which I have to admit is pretty good.”
“I didn’t think you would, so I wrote a manual for you.” Niels handed over a small but thick book that had an alphabetical series of tabs sticking out the side.
“Do I have to read all of it?” Sebastian asked.
“You should if you want to operate the bike safely and effectively.”
“Can’t I just, you know, work it out as I go? It can’t be that hard.” He flicked through some of the pages, which showed detailed diagrams and dense text next to them. “Maybe it’s a bit hard.” He let out an exasperated sigh and sat down, opening the book at page one.
Niels continued to explain the various improvements.
Memphis sat on the bike to get some attention. She coughed loudly, and Sebastian looked up. She struck a pose for him.
“Good point, Memphis,” he said. “We can’t fit three on the bike. Where are you going to sit, Niels?”
“In this.” Niels whipped off a cover that covered a small vehicle roughly two-thirds his size.
“Do you sit on top of it?”
“No.”
“Do you carry it?”
“No.”
“Do you inflate it?”
“No.”
“Does a horse pull it and you sit on the horse?”
“No. I sit in it.”
Memphis chimed in. “How do you fit in it? It’s smaller than you.”
“It’s deceptive.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said. “Is it bigger on the inside?”
“Watch.” Niels opened a door on one side and folded himself into the microcar. He folded his knees up in front of him, and reached forward to grab the steering wheel. “See?”
“And it looks so comfortable,” Memphis said. “I mean, you must be able to sit for minutes like that.”
“You may mock me, young lady, but I’ll be the one who has the last laugh.”
“Only if we die from laughing. Can you carry any supplies in it?” Sebastian said.
Niels smiled and awkwardly maneuvered his hand to press a button on the dashboard. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he squirmed. A small hatch at the back of the vehicle fell open and hit the ground with a metallic clang. Sebastian and Memphis both peered around at the rear of the microcar without moving from their positions.
“I’m guessing you could fit several hats in there,” Memphis said.
“Does it go fast?” Sebastian asked. “The engine must be tiny. Or do you stick your feet out the bottom and push yourself along?”
Niels wriggled and squirmed until he was able to move his right arm, but his knee continued to present a problem. He stuck out his tongue again as he stretched his finger toward a large khaki button. Eventually, he managed to press it with the fully stretched tip of his finger, and an intense buzzing sound came from beneath the car.
“It’s battery powered,” he said. He pushed his foot to the floor and the car instantly stuttered to life and came to an abrupt halt.
“Run out of batteries?” Memphis said. She folded her arms and smirked.
“I must’ve set the gearing incorrectly.” Niels fiddled with some levers on the left and pressed the start button again. Very slowly, the car shuddered forward, vibrating badly as it inched ahead.
“It’s not the fastest vehicle I’ve seen,” Sebastian said. He frowned as the small vehicle moved around the room with immense slowness.
“It’s in indoor mode,” Niels said. “Once we’re outside, you’ll see the marvels it can perform.”
“I’m not sure if I can take all the excitement,” Memphis said.
“I’ll prepare the car,” Niels said earnestly, “and we’ll reconvene in an hour.”
Memphis and Sebastian looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to their room.
Niels tried to open his door. He pushed against it, but it failed to budge. “Excuse me,” he called out, “I appear to be somewhat stuck.” He shook the door violently, but it stayed resolutely stuck. He sighed. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
DENVER
63
THE FOREST WAS quiet. Several petite birds chirped peacefully i
n the branches. A giant oak started to shake violently, and the birds took off for the sky. The tree continued to shake and leaves fell from the branches, fluttering down and catching the sun’s rays. A grinding sound echoed up through the ground, and the vibrations eventually stopped.
The forest was silent.
The tree continued shaking, and a recessed panel in the huge trunk slowly slid aside. Niels, in his tiny car, at half walking speed, crawled out from the tree elevator. Sebastian and Memphis followed, frustrated by the slow speed of the vehicle in front. Sebastian blasted his horn.
“Would you stop that?” Niels said. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
“You said it could go fast,” Memphis said.
“When the correct gear is selected.” When Niels was several feet out from the tree, providing enough space for the steambike to exit, he stopped the car and fought briefly with the tiny door until it opened. He unfolded himself from the interior. He looked around at the trees and stretched.
“This is it, folks, the final frontier. We go where no one in their right mind ventures,” he said. He pointed dramatically to the east.
“Back to the future?” Sebastian asked.
“We invade the enemy.” Niels stared mystically out at the horizon.
“Three people aren’t technically an invasion,” Sebastian said.
“A cold snap or a bad cough would be more dangerous than us,” Memphis added.
“You haven’t seen what Veronica can do.”
“Who?”
“Veronica, my car.” Niels patted the roof of the microcar. “We must devise a plan.” He opened Veronica’s trunk and pulled out a large sheet of paper that was badly folded.
“Where we’re going, we don’t need a plan,” Sebastian said. He jumped on the bike and revved the engine. The others stared at him. “What?”
“Did you even hear yourself?” Memphis folded her arms and stared at him. “No plan! How have you lived for so long?”
“As Margrethe said, we need a plan,” Niels said. He nodded in agreement with Memphis.
“Okay, we go east and go through the Great Wall, then overcome the bad guys, and fix the Time Flare in New York,” Sebastian said. They both stared at him. “What’s wrong with that?”
