“Sir,” he yelled over the power generator. “We have prearranged a room for you in an apartment building on the east side of the ci…”
“No, I will be staying at the Stellar Grand, Jeff,” Mantys said.
“Sir, I do not advise that. It’s not safe to stay in such an open, public place,” the little man counseled. “This place has…”
“I’m a hundred years old. If I die then so be it.” Mantys said.
Levi was first to follow Jeff into the ship and wondered how he was going to sit down in a seat if there was no such seat in the cube. He stood hunched over, with his Extensions back pressing up against the ceiling of the ship. Again, Mantys started laughing.
Fletch entered the ship last. “Lower your body into a seated position like you have an invisible chair behind you, then press this button on your avatar.” Fletch lifted his shirt and opened a flap on his Extensions stomach, revealing a flat black button. “Like this.” He sat down and then pressed the button on his avatar. “The button disconnects the sync between our white suits and the avatar, but only below the waist so that we can sit. In fact, I am sitting cross-legged right now in my cube, resting my feet. Only the cells above the waist will stay synched. When we land, get back into the seated position and press the button again to reactivate it.”
Levi did what Fletch explained. He pressed the button and his avatar fell back into the seat even as Levi stood back up straight. “These things definitely take some getting used to.”
“Well, let’s hope that never happens. I am finding it quite entertaining,” Mantys chuckled.
The ship lifted off the ground and ascended vertically until it left the cylinder of concrete. Then it turned and started flying up towards the ceiling of the asteroid where the Stellar Grand was located.
“The conference begins tomorrow. I will give you both badges so that you can enter the student box. There will be other students there, mostly Extensions who have been chosen to attend the conference. I will meet with you for a few minutes afterwards to get your impressions and answer your questions. It is scheduled to last for two weeks, but it may be extended for up to three if need be. Levi, as someone who doesn’t care about politics, are you familiar with what is going on?”
“A little bit. I know that when the midaki rescued Earth twenty-two years ago, an agreement was signed that you would help sustain our planet until the sun dies, and, in return, we are not allowed to interfere with other planets or explore outer space without the permission and shepherding of the midaki. Humans want to renegotiate the contract so that they have equal rights in space.”
“Yes. Have you heard anything else?” Mantys probed.
“Just that the bombers could have been a human extremist group who is for breaking the agreement completely, as well as severing all human-midaki relations. Oh, and that you are ‘wary’ of changing the agreement,” Levi said.
“Ah. Is this old man stuck in his ways or is his opinion wise and informed? Even I do not know. I was one of the first to visit Earth, you know. By the time we realized your planet was in danger, we could not help you without being seen. The DSO was hoping your technologies would thwart the monster we are inside of now, but just in case, it was up to me to decide if your species was worth saving. I visited Australia first, then Japan, India, Africa, Italy, and Spain. I flew to the United States and travelled there for a while — I visited the cities and the farms; the beaches and the mountains. Obviously, we saved you and that was the right decision. I saw that love and goodness were intrinsic to your souls. However, there are certain things I saw that make me hesitant to give humans as much responsibility as we carry.”
He waited for one of his mentees to ask what it was that he saw. When neither of them did, he continued. “Humans are divided, greedy, competitive, materialistic and selfish…especially the ones who are in power and make the decisions. I am not closed on the idea of re-writing the agreement, but my concerns are legitimate. I do not wish for us to play God in the universe, but we have certainly played doctor. By the time we saved your species, Earth was nearly destroyed and all the living things on it were sick.”
“I actually completely agree with you,” Levi surprised him by saying. “I think that…”
Suddenly Levi saw his Extension’s legs lifting off the seat. Uh, oh. He didn’t think to put his harness on. Then his whole bottom started lifting out of the seat with his legs stuck in their bent position. In surprise and haste to fix the problem, he flailed his arms looking for something to grab onto. Mantys began snorting with amusement. Levi was on the ceiling of the ship now, watching a famous world leader about to pee his pants with laughter. When they started descending on the other side of the asteroid, Levi floated back down until he eventually landed on the floor. He held his arms out and was able to grab hold of the base of the seat he had been sitting on. With the help of Jeff, Levi was able to get back up into the seat and put his seatbelt on.
“Too…late…now,” Mantys chortled. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. “Oh…oh....that…was….hi…larious!” The man could barely talk over his cramping stomach.
When the ship landed, Mantys had finally calmed down. As the doors of the ship opened, Levi unfastened his seatbelt and lifted up the Extension’s shirt. In his haste to get out the ship and stop embarrassing himself he forgot to put his real body back into the seated position before he pressed the button again. The Extension shot up out of the seat, matching the standing position Levi’s body was actually in and the machine hit its head on the ship’s ceiling with a loud thud.
“Darn it!” Levi said, feeling the pressure on the back of his skull.
They had to wait another few minutes for Mantys to stop laughing before continuing on their journey to the Stellar Grand. Levi was sure not to repeat any mistakes as he prepared to sit in the hovering car waiting for them. The hotel was just twenty blocks from where the ship had landed, and Jeff spent the ride going over Mantys’ itinerary for the next day. When they did finally pull up, Caleb Burger was hovering in his usual spot, greeting guests entering and exiting the hotel.
“We’re here,” Jeff said as they pulled into the arrival circle. “Sir, I think you should let me go in and talk to the managers about using a back entrance. We should try to make your stay here as inconspicuous as possible.”
“Well, in that case,” Mantys said, pulling his baseball cap back out and tucking his shoulder-length hair into it, “let’s go.” He opened up the car door and stepped out, followed by the rest of them.
Caleb hovered over to greet them. “Good day. Checking in?”
“Yes, we are,” mumbled Mantys under his baseball cap.
“Delightful. The check-in desk is just through those doors, straight ahead. Have a great day and fare thee well.”
When Levi walked into the hotel, he could see Bockie working at the front desk. She had just said something to make the menagerie of female employees giggle in delight. So much for the elderly passing on wisdom to the younger generations.
“I have it from here, Levi and Fletch. Wait here and Jeff will get your conference badges for you. I can’t wait to have a nice bubble-bath,” Mantys said.
“It was very nice meeting you, sir,” Fletch said.
“Yes, thank you for everything,” Levi added
“No, thank you. Fletch, for your passion and Levi, for your clumsiness. The Academy could not have given me better mentees.” And with that, Mantys turned and walked away.
Jeff stayed behind, sorting through his bag for the badges.
“Can you believe it?” Fletch said as soon as Mantys was out of earshot. “Mantys Ti just spent his last hour with us. Us.”
“Yeah, he’s really cool. I can’t believe he’s a hundred years old,” Levi remarked. “He seems so young.”
“I know. I wish I had some of those Sydces genes. They live longer than all the other species. Their one hundred is like your sixty.”
“Speaking of the old, I am going to go me
ss with Bockie in this Extension. She is going to be so surprised that it’s actually me,” Levi said, turning towards his grandmother. “Uh oh.”
Mantys mistook the concierge desk for the check-in counter and was now about to meet Orella “Bockie” Avondale. Levi watched them exchange words from his spot across the lobby, praying that his grandmother did her job and remained hospitable. He shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. Levi watched in horror as Bockie whipped the baseball cap off of Mantys’ head and slapped him across the face with it. She seemed to be yelling at him for his grungy appearance, not knowing that Mantys’ choice of dress was actually a disguise. Levi heard her yell ‘security’ before dipping out of a door in the back of the room she was standing in. Suddenly security guards came streaming out of the side of the lobby, jogging to the concierge desk.
“Oh, my God,” said Jeff, who had just caught on to what was happening and broke out in a run towards his employer.
Mantys looked wide-eyed at all the people who seemed to be running at him and took off as well, disappearing around the corner of the building. Levi and Fletch looked at each other in dismay, wondering what they should do.
“You go tell the hotel that the dirty old man is actually Mantys Ti and I will go find Bockie,” Levi suggested.
Fletch nodded and they both broke out in a run and then…
KABOOM!
Levi’s extension went flying across the room, the pressure of the shockwave taking his breath away. An explosion of red, fiery plasma hit his face and then everything went black. Levi felt a searing pain all over his front side. He ripped the helmet off his head and started tearing at his white suit, trying desperately to get it off — to free himself of the burning pain. The suit was so hot that when it mixed with the sweat on Levi’s body it produced an ominous steam that rose upwards into the cube. He heard Fletch screaming near him but could only concentrate on his own agony.
Levi finally ripped the suit off and assessed the burns on his body. Parts of his skin looked like a water painting, with every shade of pink and red forming spots and swirls all over his chest and legs. The insides of his ears were also burning and he could hear muffled voices around him but could not make out any words. He fell to the ground, closed his eyes and put his hands over his ringing ears, trying to block out the sharp pain he felt everywhere.
A few seconds later Levi felt a hand on his cheek and heard a stifled voice. He looked up to see who it was but did not recognize the man standing over him. He couldn’t tell what he was saying, but the look on his face showed absolute concern. The man started rubbing an ointment all over Levi’s body that caused a sharp pain like someone was stabbing him on top of his burn wounds. He protested, trying to swat his hand away but then the pain went away and he felt a cool rush of relief wash over his body. What the hell had just happened?
It was a bomb, it was a bomb. His subconscious started screaming at him.
Bockie!
12 The Revolution lounge
The thought made Levi shoot up from his supine position only to be thrown back down by a set of hands. He could hear someone telling him to relax and that everything would be alright. No, everything was not alright, Levi thought. He didn’t know how Bockie was supposed to go, but it wasn’t by combustion…or cancer apparently. He needed to get to her. The ringing in his ears was starting to cease and he could hear a man speaking.
“He is not critical. He has first degree burns covering his right arm, chest, stomach, and legs. No blistering. Eardrums intact. He was in an Extension during the blast so no chance of a concussion.” The man was shoving a flashlight into Levi’s eye. “Heart rate eighty-five, blood pressure one-ten over sixty.”
“Try to take care of them and get to the other locations. They need you,” another voice said between static.
“Copy that.”
“Levi, how are you feeling?” the man said to him.
“I’m fine. Just a little ringing in my ears. What’s going on?” Levi asked.
“Bombs have gone off at four separate hotels at the same time. I am a senior here at the Academy, training to be an EMT. Wanted to make sure you and Fletch were okay first before I left to go help the other victims. You are so lucky that you were in that Extension. The cells on the suit only go up to a certain temperature, otherwise you would have had some serious burn wounds…if you had lived,” the boy added.
“No, I’m fine. Can I please catch a ride with you to the Stellar Grand? My grandmother was working during the…explosion.” Levi could not bear to think of the worst case scenario.
The boy breathed through his teeth and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry, but only EMT students are allowed to leave campus.”
Levi couldn’t blame him for wanting to follow the rules. “Well, I am an EMT student according to the schedule I just received today. I’m new.”
“In that case, of course you can come,” the boy sighed, sounding relieved. “It is the closest hotel to the Academy. Hurry and throw this blanket over your shoulders or something. We’ve got to go now.”
Levi got up and noticed a throng of people surrounding his cube in concern. Then he noticed he was in his underwear. Great. A blanket was being thrown over his shoulders and he stood up, glad to feel like he was in his own body again. He grabbed his belongings from the locker room and followed the boy out of the Extension building in a run. They hurried to one of the ship docks and climbed into a hover vehicle that contained about twenty other students. Some were frantically reviewing EMT training material while others were talking about the bomb.
“I can’t believe someone would do this,” one girl said, choked up with emotion.
“I know,” a young lady to her right replied, “I heard two of the hotels might actually be collapsing. All those people.” A tear actually did fall from her cheek.
The vehicle weeooed all the way to the Stellar Grand and landed in the street next to it. Uniformed people were running chaotically through the soot-covered mess and smoke rose from the hot debris scattered around the hotel’s entrance. Levi jumped out of the vehicle and watched a white covered body being wheeled away next to him. He needed to find Bockie. Levi ran into the shattered wall of the hotel and saw his Extension lying on the floor, unmoving and singed. It was a strange feeling to know he had made the hunk of metal seem so real less than half an hour ago. Now its eyes were open and empty like it was another victim, sending chills down Levi’s spine. He looked up and immediately saw Bockie at her usual post, alive and well talking to an investigator. The relief he felt was monumental, and it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and thank God his grandmother was alright. Instead, he just said a quick thank you and ran to her.
“You’re alive!” He threw his arms around her and squeezed her tight.
Bockie’s eyes went wide at the surprise of seeing her grandson. “Well, of course I am. If I can send lung cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, and gum cancer with its tail between the legs, I can certainly handle a little fireworks.” She pulled away and looked at Levi, wrapped up in a blanket with his hair in disarray from wearing the Extension helmet.
“You were sitting in Bale’s apartment all day playing video games, weren’t you? You look like you just woke up. I told you to go to school, Levi Kai,” Bockie snapped.
“There you go again judging people on their appearance.”
She gave him a confused look.
“I was actually in an Extension escorting the man you slapped across the face with his own hat. That was Mantys Ti, the leader of the Sydces in that space organization.” Levi explained.
“You were here? In a robot? So, did you look for me?” Bockie asked, pointing to her nether regions.
“No, I didn’t think to look down my pants at my robot groin, sorry. But…” Levi opened up the blanket to let Bockie see the damage.
“Only my grandson could make burns look good.”
Levi laughed. “Thanks. You don’t have a scratch on you. I saw you here in the hotel. I thought
you…”
“I had stepped outside for a second trying to find something.”
“What?” Levi asked, remembering the unfortunate scene he had witnessed.
“I don’t know. Like something big or sharp to hit that man with. When I was outside I heard the explosion. I am fine.”
“Well, is he okay?” Levi asked, thinking about how nice Mantys Ti had been to him.
“Yes, he is fine. His assistant, however, did not make it,” Bockie said solemnly.
Levi remembered the little orange-haired man named Jeff running across the lobby when the bomb went off. He had seemed very nice also. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yes, he and ten others who were in the lobby area did not make it. But, from what I am hearing it could have been a lot worse. I do not think the other hotels fared as well as we did.”
People died. “What if you had been in the lobby when the bomb went off? What if mom had been working down here instead?” Levi got a sick feeling in his stomach thinking of the possibilities.
“No point in ‘what-iffing’ now. And I wouldn’t have minded going out with a bang,” Bockie said with a nod.
“A bang?” Levi repeated. “Really, Bockie? Do your jokes ever end?” Ding. It was Kierra.
Are you and your family okay? Fletch told me what happened. He is fine BTW.
Journey to Ohmani (Across the Infinite Void Book 1) Page 17
