The Shining Cities: An Anthology of Pagan Science Fiction

by Lauren Teffeau

  She didn’t look convinced, but she wasn’t going to argue with me. I felt a bit of guilt as I took my knife and cut off those curly brown locks, but I knew that I needed to do something to help hide her identity. Every city has those who fall between the cracks, children who lose their parents and take to the street, living on the kindness of strangers. I would make her into one of them. I replaced her hospital clothes with a tattered set of my own that I’d outgrown long ago, which had been previously serving as a pillow. I wrapped her head with a rag to keep the sun off of her scalp, and finished the look with some fresh mud, which should flake away and just look like old dust by the time we reached the city.

  “How are we going to stop Marko, though?” she asked. “If he sees us, we’re done for.’

  “He can’t see me,” I said. “Pluto Gifted me with that ability. And you can glimpse the future. We just need for you to figure out what I have to do to get to Marko, then stay out of sight until I’ve taken care of him. I’m sure I can handle him.” That was a lie. I wasn’t sure of that at all, but it was the best thing I could say at the time in order to give her hope. We both needed that. I’d made a promise years ago to live a virtuous life. It was time for me to live up to that promise.

  She nodded, standing a bit taller. She was trying to look brave, just as surely as I was. “You’re right. We can do this.”

  An hour later, we’d taken the functional cruiser and were on our way to the city. Though my father had taught me to pilot one, I was reluctant to do so. I knew that the tracking device on the cruiser would allow them to follow us, but I had no idea how to disable it. I figured that if we could reach the city before they caught up to us, we could at least get lost in the crowd. I did destroy the communications equipment first, though, so they wouldn’t be able to see who was driving the cruiser.

  Lucy spent the brief journey using her Gift to see what needed to be done. It was simple, really. I would find him at the Promethean Futures Technology complex. He had a major project in development there, which he was overseeing personally. I would have bet money -- if I had any -- that this major project had something to do with the glass pods that Lucy was seeing in her visions. All I had to do was infiltrate the facility, find Marko, and make certain that he couldn’t make his plan a reality. I didn’t bother to tell Lucy that I wasn’t certain I’d be able to maintain the Helm of Darkness when the time came. It required a lot of concentration to keep it active, and quick actions and sudden movements tended to cause me to lose that concentration. Still, it was the best plan we had, and all she had to do was stay out of sight. It would have been nice if she’d actually done that.

  ***

  The city had changed a lot in the ten years I’d been gone. Some of the buildings were a bit taller now, and many of them were shinier, the desert dust clearly being washed from them on a regular basis. More notable were the numerous screens showing Regis Marko. Everywhere I turned, he seemed to be staring at me. He was a handsome young man, with shiny blonde hair, a muscular build, and an air of nobility wrapped around him. Distinguished, brave, and kindly. His praises were sung in the streets, sometimes by mechanical voices informing the population of his greatness, sometimes by regular people doing the same thing, with just slightly more feeling in their voices than the machines.

  The people… I felt sick. Most moved with all the passion and grace of the automata, focused on whatever tasks they’d been given by Marko. The rest kept their heads down, hurried about their business, and tried to make as little eye contact and conversation as possible. “Keep your head down,” I said quietly to Lucy as we left the cruiser, though I needn’t have bothered. She’d grown up with this, and already knew to do so. I was the one that needed to worry about giving myself away.

  There was no shortage of soldiers walking amongst the crowd, and an entire squad of them suddenly started running in the direction of the cruiser. Others started investigating the crowd. Lucy and I moved to one side, and slipped past them while they were busy inspecting a girl with long, curly brown hair.

  “Look, you’re going to need to be really careful,” I said to her quietly, once we’d managed to duck into an alley. “You’re going to need to stay out of sight. Find other kids on the street, and stay close to them. Try to act like a boy, and most importantly, act like everything around you is perfectly normal.”

  “You’re the one that needs to worry,” she said. “You’re the one that’s going into danger. Be careful. Don’t let him get you.”

  “I won’t,” I said, silently praying that I wasn’t about to make a liar of myself.

  I allowed the light to flow around me, like water flowing around a stone in the river. Lucy’s eyes went wide. Being told that I could make myself invisible and actually witnessing it herself were two different things. She quickly turned and ran off into the alleys of the city, while I began the long journey to Promethean Futures Technology. I would have liked to have put on the Helm when I was a bit closer, but I didn’t want to take any more risks than necessary.

  The PFT complex was enormous, though given the work they did there, that wasn’t surprising. For over sixty years, PFT had led the field in state of the art technological developments, and they had large research and development laboratories operating on almost every inhabited planet in the Imperium. Their laboratories worked around the clock on a broad range of applications, from improving personal communication devices and home appliances to creating better weaponry and battleships. Given the nature of many of their projects, the security would be intense, and it would likely take me hours to subtly find my way through the complex.

  I waited until the doors opened for a blonde technician, then slipped in behind him. There were monitors everywhere on the walls, playing advertisements for PFT products on a constant loop. I bit my lip to help focus my mind, the pain and the faint coppery taste of blood helping me to drown out the din of the advertisements. I wasn’t used to this many distractions. I silently prayed to the Gods to let the rest of the facility be less distracting, fearing that I’d lose the Helm if the sounds overwhelmed me.

  I slipped past the first security door from the Omega clearance level accessible to the public to the Psi clearance level, cursing when I found the monitors still present. The cold and sterile grey walls had no color beyond the countless monitors. Apparently, PFT wanted to make certain that its own employees were well aware of the wide variety of useful products PFT offered for the enrichment of their everyday lives. There were many things I’d missed about the city when I’d fled to the desert. Advertisements were nowhere on that list.

  When the blonde technician stepped into one of the labs, I found a different one to follow through the next level of security.

  I had reached the Lambda security level, more than half way through the complex, when the monitors changed. They showed an image of Lucy. I stopped to watch, fearing what I’d see.

  A deep male voice spoke. “The young terrorist, Lucy Celandine, is still at large. The suspect stole an enforcement cruiser, and executed three enforcement officials who gave pursuit. Suspect is twelve years old, and was trained by insurgents seeking to overthrow Regis Marko. Any information leading to her capture will be rewarded.”

  I silently cursed. With a hefty reward on Lucy’s head, even the people who weren’t under Marko’s control would be likely to turn her in. Then the image changed, and my heart skipped a beat.

  A handsome man with curly blonde hair and his brown haired wife were now on the screen. “Known accomplices include the suspect’s parents: Petrus and Decima Celandine. They have been taken into custody, and will be interrogated to determine the whereabouts of Lucy Celandine. If cooperative, Petrus and Decima Celandine shall receive a reduced sentence upon the apprehension of Lucy Celandine.”

  I felt my blood run cold. I didn’t need to worry about someone recognizing Lucy and turning her in. This story had to be playing on every monitor in the city. She would see it. She would try to help her parents. And the
n they’d have her. I hoped that she’d have the good sense not to walk into their trap, but she was young, and I wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t do something stupid in the hopes of saving them. If I was going to succeed, I needed to hurry.

  It was a risk, but I saw no way around it. When I saw a red-headed technician sliding an Alpha pass into his pocket as he went by, I fell into step behind him. He was going in the wrong direction, but with that pass, I could hurry through the security levels and get to Marko sooner rather than later. The trick was to steal the pass and get away with it before the technician realized it was gone. Luck was on my side, though, and I said a prayer of thanks to Mercury. The red-head paused to talk to one of the others in the Lambda level, and that gave me the opportunity to relieve him of his pass.

  I hurried through the levels as quickly as I could without risking the Helm, timing my passage through the doors with the movements of technicians whenever possible, using the pass whenever there wasn’t anyone around. I knew that the surveillance system would note my passing, but hopefully, they wouldn’t realize what was going on until it was too late. Barring that, hopefully they wouldn’t be able to figure out exactly where I was.

  My sigh of relief was probably audible when I reached the Alpha level. This hall was a bit wider than the others. There were only a few other labs on this level, but only the center lab had much in the way of security in front of it. I hurried down the hall towards it. Black uniformed soldiers stood passively in front of the doors, staring forward with a glazed look in their eyes. I was pondering how I’d manage to get by them, when an elevator directly across from the lab opened. A trio of soldiers walked out of it, dragging a struggling Lucy between them. My heart sank. They’d gotten her, and I wasn’t certain that I could rescue her this time. The soldiers in front of the door parted to allow them access, and I slipped in behind them.

  That was when I first saw Regis Marko. The real Marko, not the image he showed to the public. He wasn’t quite as tall, and his blonde hair was already thinning. He’d put on quite a lot of weight, the sign of a life of ease earned at the expense of everyone around him. He smiled triumphantly as Lucy was dragged before him.

  “Stop struggling and stay where you are,” he said sternly, and Lucy abruptly ceased her struggles.

  “Let my parents go!” she yelled defiantly.

  “Of course,” he said, chuckling. He barked some instructions into a communicator clipped to his chest, and a minute later, Lucy’s frightened parents were brought in by a group of soldiers and unbound.

  “You see, Lucy? They are released. You have bought their freedom.” Marko's grin widened, as he turned his attention to Lucy’s father. “Kill your wife,” he said. I almost lost control at that moment, but before I could react, Petrus reached out and snapped Decima’s neck. Lucy let out a blood curdling scream, paralyzed by Marko's order. Petrus caught his wife and dropped to his knees, crying as he cradled her body.

  Marko chuckled. “Now take the knife and kill yourself,” he ordered. One of his soldiers held out a combat knife to Petrus. He reached over and took the knife. Lucy begged for Marko to stop him. She couldn’t watch as her father carried out the order, squeezing her eyes shut. I wanted to stop him, but I wouldn’t be able to keep the Helm active if I did so. Then Marko would have me as well, and everyone's doom would be sealed.

  “Why did you do that?” Lucy asked through a haze of tears.

  “Because they don’t matter, and because I can,” Marko said. “Without them, you’ll have no hope of someone coming to your rescue. Now, come along.”

  Lucy stiffly followed behind Marko, and I fell into step behind them, quietly moving closer as he walked into the cavernous laboratory. His machine was three stories tall, ringed with three levels of human sized glass pods, each glowing a faint blue. I could make out the shapes of people within, wires embedded into their skulls. They seemed to be in a state of suspended animation. The soldiers lining the room watched passively, awaiting orders from their master.

  “Stay there,” he said, Lucy stopping so abruptly that I almost walked into her. “Do you see this, Lucy?” he asked, tapping one of the pods. “Each of these is a Phoebean, just like you. They can see things far away. They are important to me because of that.”

  “I can’t see things far away,” Lucy said, the sadness replaced by anger, though tears still flowed down her cheeks.

  “Tell me what you were Gifted with,” Marko ordered smugly.

  “I can see the future,” she blurted out.

  “As I suspected,” he said, his grin spreading wider. “The fact that you ran so quickly after your Gifting gave it away. That makes you even more important than the others. You see, my Gift has its limits. I can only control people that I can see. ... Like the Enyo Senate. With this machine, the Phoebeans’ Gifts are added to my own. I can see through their eyes to faraway people, and make them obey me as surely as they would if they were standing before me. Anybody, anywhere. All of them, mine for whatever purpose I wish. The Imperial Senate controlled with even greater ease than I command the Enyo Senate now. The Imperator himself bowing before me. All wonderful things that I shall treasure. But you .… Your Gift will seal my power in perpetuity. With your Gift, I will see any threats to my power before they come to pass ... and I shall then deal with them accordingly .....”

  “I won’t help you, ” she said, standing up straighter.

  “Oh, you’ll help me,” he said. “You won’t have a choice.”

  “Someone is going to stop you,” she said. There was a confidence in her voice that hadn’t been there before. I had almost managed to sneak close enough to Marko to make my move when he suddenly spun around, forcing me to move out of the way. I knew I’d lose the Helm if he touched me, and if I lost the Helm, then I would be lost as well.

  “Nobody will stop me,” he said. “Enyo is already mine. Soon, the rest of the Imperium will follow. I am the master of all I survey.” He gestured towards what seemed to be a glowing glass crown. “I place this crown upon my head, my mind links to theirs, and I see everything. Make no mistake, you will be a useful tool to me, dear Lucy, but I am a God, and Jove himself will one day bow before me.”

  “No,” she said quietly. A satisfied look crossed her face. “You have failed.”

  “I have not failed,” he said smugly as I carefully extended my arms to the sides of his head. “I cannot fail. I see all.” I pressed my thumbs into his eye sockets, clutching the sides of his face. His eyes popped out. Blood and vitreous humor flowed down his cheeks. An agonized scream erupted from his throat.

  “Not anymore,” I said bitterly, knowing that I was visible now. I spun to face the soldiers, but they hadn’t budged from their places, still awaiting orders from Marko.

  “Adrian! He’s getting away!” Lucy called, still unable to move.

  I spun back, and saw Marko blindly fumbling to grab the glowing glass crown. I raced towards him, leaping upon his back and wrapping one arm around his neck. He struggled beneath me, his hand closing around the crown and pulling it towards his head. With my other arm, I managed to grab the other side of the crown, and started pulling it in the opposite direction. I could not let him regain his sight and powers through the Phoebeans.

  “Give up,” he gasped. “You can’t win … I … am … a … God .…”

  “No … you’re … not …,” I gasped, struggling to maintain control of the crown. I pressed my legs into his back, then yanked upwards with the arm wrapped around his neck. There was a snap. Marko’s body went limp. His fingers slowly slid from the crown and his body dropped to the floor with a sick thud. I threw the crown away from me, hard, and it shattered against the wall.

  “Adrian! Adrian, you did it!” Lucy exclaimed, running over to me.

  “He’s dead,” I said, nodding. “But it’s not over yet.” The soldiers had begun to stir. When they looked over at Marko’s body, though, they began to laugh and hug each other. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  �
�Are you the one who killed him?” one soldier asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. “Thank you so much.” When he pulled away from me, I could see tears in his eyes.

  “You’re welcome,” I said, awkwardly. What else could I have said to such a display? I scooped up Lucy and climbed to my feet. “You need to get some Aesculapians in here and get these people out of these pods.”

  The soldier nodded, and ran off to get help. Other soldiers pulled out their communicators, calling their loved ones to share the news of Marko's death and their newfound freedom.

  “They won’t be able to help my parents,” Lucy said, barely audible. Tears were beginning to flow down her cheeks once more.

  “No, I’m afraid not,” I said sadly.

  “He took everything from me,” she said bitterly. “Everything.”

  “Not everything,” I replied, holding her more tightly. “You still have a friend.”

  She looked up at me, and I gave her the most comforting smile that I could. She returned the smile. It was weak, but at least it was a smile. “Can we go now?” she asked quietly.

  “Of course we can,” I said. “Nobody’s stopping us.”

  I carried her towards the door, stepping back just long enough to let the Aesculapians and the technicians into the lab to take care of the rest of the Phoebeans. I hoped that they’d destroy the damnable machine while they were at it. I shielded her eyes from the sight of her dead parents as we passed through the previous room and out into the halls.

  “What will we do now?” Lucy asked, as we walked through the now hectic PFT complex.

  “Whatever we want to do,” I said. “We can go back to the Wastes and eat some more snake, or I could take you to meet my parents, if they’re still around…” I said.

  “I’d like that,” she said.

  “Which one?” I asked.