by Peter Ponzo
I walked carefully, hand extended in front of me in case I ran into a wall. I kept asking quietly for Susan or David of Gill, but there was no response. I felt a solid object, a handle, a door. I turned the handle. It didn't move. I pushed and the door seemed to rotate. Beyond the door there was light and my dark room became brighter. I stopped and looked about for my colleagues. Damn it! No one was there! Gill had dumped me into this hellhole…alone!
Part 13.3
I peeked through the crack left by the partially open door. I could hear voices, arguing. I thought I heard someone squeal. Jesus! Maybe I was mistaken and shouldn't have dropped down. I carefully opened the door and slipped out, clinging to the wall. The arguing stopped. Three guys and a girl were staring at me. The guys looked huge, like wrestlers, with shortcut black hair. The girl was petite and wore an inadequate dress that was more like a burlap sack. One guy walked in my direction. I looked at the door to that dark room, but another guy headed in that direction to cut me off. Then I was confronted by this tall fellow with a scar running diagonally across his right cheek.
"This is our space," he grunted. "What ya doin' here?"
"I just, sorta…uh, dropped by," I stuttered.
He reached out with his right hand to grab me by the neck. His hand was like a ham hock, his fingers thick stubs. I could hear the girl laughing. "Get him, Chicago," she shouted. "He's trespassin'."
I closed my eyes and heard Chicago grunting again, this time seemingly in pain. When I opened my eyes he was holding his right hand in his left. I could smell burning skin and saw wisps of smoke.
"Ya bastard!" he groaned, stepping back. "Sam, come and fix this guy!"
Another brute stepped forward and threw his fist in my direction, then recoiled in pain. "Shit!" he snorted. "He burned me! Look at dis!" He held out his hand and it was red, blistering. The girl had stopped laughing. The third guy was running away with the girl behind him. The two with the scorched hands started walking backwards, swearing but looking beaten. Then they turned and ran and I was alone in this large, bright room.
If those guys were shocked, so was I. I ran my hands over my chest and down my sides. Normal temperature. How did they get burned? Did I do that? I opened the door to that dark room to let in more light, went in and looked for Susan and David. The room was still empty. I tried to make mind contact with Gilgamesh; no go. I could think of no way to get back. Maybe those thugs wouldn't bother me any more, so I slowly walked out of the dark room. On the far wall, next to a large door, were several dozen guys, all huge. One was pointing at me. I turned to go back into the dark room.
"Wait!" someone yelled. "We wanna talk. No hurtin' and no burnin', okay?"
I nodded and they all started walking slowly in my direction. The guy with the scar raised his hand. It was purple and blistered. He said: "How'd ya do that, okay?" he asked. "We need somebody like you, on our side, okay?"
"Your side?" I asked. "Want does that mean?"
"We is Devils Number Four," he said. "You join us and you burn 'em and we get to be Number One." He smiled and I could see just a few crooked teeth.
I was thinking quickly. I could refuse, then what? Would all of these hoodlums try to overpower me? I could agree, then wait until I was rescued by David and Gill. Surely they would come…soon.
"Okay," I said. "I'll join Number Four."
They all cheered. There were no girls in this group. Scarface, the guy they called Chicago, he put his arm about my shoulders and we all walked out of the room and into a large amphitheater with doors on all sides. It was empty, but Chicago shouted: "Hey, Devils, screw you!" Then we waited. I kept looking back the way we came, hoping to see somebody friendly, like David or Gill or even Susan. Actually, on second thought, maybe it'd be better if Susan didn't show up.
After a few minutes one of the doors of the amphitheater flew open and a dozen ugly looking individuals staggered out.
"Hey Chicago, you asshole, you wanna challenge?" one said.
Chicago stepped forward. "Yeah, Dallas, a challenge. One on one, okay?"
The other guy laughed. "You and me? You kiddin'?"
Chicago pulled me up front and put his arm around my shoulder and whispered, "They is Number One." Then he turned to the guy called Dallas. "Meet the newest member of Devils Four. He'll do ya, one on one, okay?" Dallas started in to laugh and everyone behind him joined in.
"He's just a runt," Dallas said. Then he turned to me. "You really wanna do dis?" he said and before I could reply, he threw a punch.
I closed my eyes and raised my hand in order to stop being bashed in the face, and Dallas was flung back against his buddies. Chicago was chuckling, then all my gang began to laugh. When I opened my eyes, Dallas was on the floor.
"You stupid bugger," Dallas said, staring at me. He quickly got to his feet, then came at me swinging both hands. I raised both my hands and he crashed into some sort of invisible wall. His hands went limp, hanging from his wrists like wet cloth. "You broke my hands," he moaned. "He broke my hands!" he said to Chicago. Then he turned to his buddies. "He broke my hands." Dallas started to cry and Chicago was ecstatic. I was astonished. Where did I get this power?
"Okay, we is Number One, okay?" Chicago said. Everybody in the amphitheater nodded agreement. In fact, all of Dallas' boys joined us. We were now Devils Number One. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it surely meant that I was no longer in danger of being damaged. In fact, it was clear that becoming Number One was entirely my doing.
I turned to Chicago and said with some swagger: "I'm the head of Number One, just remember that."
Chicago seemed a bit flustered, but said, "Okay…chief."
Part 13.4
For over an hour, Chicago and I wandered about the Aquadome. I felt like the Pied Piper. A crowd formed behind us as we marched in a long procession from room to room. Chicago, at my side, was beaming.
"Now we gotta eat, okay?" he said. "You hungry?"
I hadn't even thought of food, but now that he mentioned it, I was starving–and said so.
"Good! We'll get a burger and fries, okay?"
I couldn't believe my ears. Burger and fries? "Yeah, okay! Very okay!"
Chicago swung to the right and entered a huge cafeteria and walked to the counter and ordered two burgers with the works and two large fries and two chocolate milkshakes. I'd gone from hellhole to heaven. I saw the sign with the prices for burger, fries and milkshakes. Everything cost one 'token'. The fellow on the other side of the counter started to ask for money, then changed his mind. Chicago wasn't going to pay. I suspect that he never paid.
We sat and ate. The burgers weren't very good, certainly not pork, and the fries were soggy and the milkshake didn't taste too chocolatey, but I wolfed everything down nevertheless. Then I turned to Chicago.
"Have you any money?" I asked.
"Why? We don't pay nothin'."
"Answer my question. Do you have any money?"
"Yeah, some."
"Then pay the man," I said, rising to my feet.
Chicago seemed stunned. He rose slowly, muttered "Okay, Chief" then walked to the counter. The server looked frightened. Chicago punched his ID on some flat screen and I could see 6 tokens displayed. The server was smiling.
"Thank you very much, Chicago. You're a good guy."
Chicago gave him a curious look and said, "Yeah, okay, I'm a good guy."
I could see that Chicago was pleased with himself. He turned to look at me, beamed and said, "I'm a good guy."
I saw that others had now gone to the counter and ordered exactly the same thing…and they all paid their tokens. Most of them were members of Devils Number One and I suspect this was one of the few times they paid for food. Chicago watched, amused. "They is all good guys," he chuckled.
After a time we all left and Chicago pointed out features of the Aquadome: the library filled with 'junk stuff', he said. The theater with 'damn good videos'. The exercise rooms, all empty. The Observation Lounge where one could 'see
da fishies'. Everywhere, smiling people watched us pass. Chicago said, "You is a ace." It seemed that my reputation had traveled like wildfire through this part of the Aquadome. We stopped and sat on a park bench. There were no swings, no fountains, no statues and absolutely nothing for children. In fact, children seemed to be absent from the crowd.
"How did you make your money?" I asked Chicago. "Do you have a job?"
He laughed. "A job, like work? Me? No, I don't do no work. I just ask for money and they give it."
"Ask who?"
Chicago got up from the bench. "Watch," he said. "Watch and learn." Then he walked over to the nearest gent who was dressed in a slick body suit and cravat and said something I couldn't hear. The guy looked a bit worried and reached into his pocket and handed something over to Chicago. When Chicago came back to sit beside me he showed me what he had gotten. It looked like some sort of thin metal sheet, about two centimeters on a side. I was obviously confused so Chicago explained.
"See da writin'? It says 10. That's worth ten tokens."
"That's money?" I asked.
"No, it ain't 'xactly money. It's more like a I.O.U. I can use that guys ID for up to ten tokens."
"But why did he give it to you?" I asked. As soon as I asked I realized it was a stupid question. Chicago just grinned.
Part 13.5
Much later, Chicago and I were sitting in the Observation Lounge 'watchin da fishies'. This scarfaced brute had taken to me. I was 'a ace', whatever that implied, and he seemed happy to associate with such. The crowd had dispersed, although there were still a few sitting nearby. A short, fat gent approached and Chicago whispered, "Dat's da brass man."
"My name is Sebastian. May I speak to you," the gent said, speaking to me with a slight bow.
"Sure, go ahead," I said.
"In private," he said, looking askance at Chicago.
I looked at Chicago who was about to leave when I said, "My friend here can hear whatever you have to say." Chicago sat, smiling, his scar now a brighter pink. The gent looked concerned.
"The Supervisor would like to speak to you…in private." He gave a dirty look to Chicago who returned the look.
"Sure, take me to your leader," I said. I was in great spirits. I was 'a ace', I had a bodyguard, I had a burger and fries and I hadn't thought of Susan or David in hours. In fact, I was really beginning to like it here in Aquarius Atlantica. Sure, it had a bad reputation, but things could only get better. Maybe I could help make things better. I had, after all, got some of these thugs to pay for their meal. That was a start. In fact, I was feeling like I was a somebody…for the first time in my entire life.
We followed Sebastian through several rooms and down several corridors then came to a rather ornate plastic door. The door had embossed designs: fish, whales, anemones and, surprisingly, sailing boats. It led into a smallish room. If this Supervisor was the Head Honcho, as Shatoya was on Pacifica, then this was a pretty crummy anteroom.
"Please wait here," Sebastian said as he knocked on another door. Someone said to come in and Sebastian opened the door and waved me in. Chicago was a good guy; he stayed in the anteroom. I walked past Sebastian into what must be the Supervisor's office. I admit I had a slight swagger. There was a bald guy with a crooked nose sitting at a small plastic desk. He immediately got up, came around his desk and held out his hand.
"Glad you could come, Mr. Blend," he said. "My name is Aspen."
"How'd you know my name?" I asked, sitting in a hard-backed chair.
"We've been in contact with your Godship," he said. "Indeed, I was speaking to your wife, Susan, I believe."
"How'd you do dat? I sort of lost dem when I came transported down." Shit! Was I speaking like a Devil? "In fact," I added, "I ain't neither seen or heard from my wife and…" That wasn't me talking. Chicago was a bad influence, especially on my language abuse.
"Can we get to the business at hand?"
I started right away to dislike this guy. "As far as I know, we have no business at hand," I said.
"Well, it's about your association with the families."
"What families? My family is Susan and I'd like to know…"
"The thieves and robbers and evil-minded fellows you've become attached to."
"Families, eh? Just like the Mafia. That's hilarious."
"Mafia?"
"Don't worry about it. It was well before your time," I snorted. "So what's our business with these families?"
"We have tried to bring them to lawfulness but without success. We assumed you would be willing to assist us in this endeavor."
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the idiot. His crooked nose looked like it got caught in a revolving door. His bald head almost gleamed and his mouth was just a horizontal line without lips.
"I think I can help," I said. "On one condition."
I could see that this jerk, Asp-something, was upset that I didn't immediately jump on his bandwagon, but he'd have to climb onto mine. He waited for me to continue.
"First off, the Family Leaders must be given jobs on your police force."
This Aspirin guy gulped and sat heavily in his chair. I could see his throat swallowing hard and his Adam's apple pulsating.
"I'm afraid that's quite imp–" he began.
"Second thing. Children must be given playground stuff in the parks, like swings and slides and pools and such."
"But that requires–"
"Next thing. Mandatory exercise times. Everyone has an hour off work to exercise…and it's compulsory. Your new police force will see to that."
Aspirin just sat, his mouth gaping.
"Soon, after discussion with my wife, I'll have other demands."
"Impossible!" Aspirin nearly screamed. I needed something to back up my demands and was hoping that my newly found powers were still around. I rose and pointed at a picture on the wall. The picture came off the wall and floated to his desk and landed hard.
"See?" I said. "Nothing is impossible."
Part 13.6
I was in the Observation Lounge with Chicago and some of the other Family Leaders, explaining the new regime. They would all be junior members of the police force, with salaries. They would see that the new rules were enforced: automatic exercise periods, the building of children's play things in the parks, cleaning up the streets of trash, periodic washing of soiled walls and ceilings, absolutely no graffiti anywhere, everyone pays for their food and under no circumstances were they to use force…just simple but forceful requests.
There was a low snicker at the 'forceful requests' bit. Chicago stood and looked around. "Everybody got that?" he said. "Okay, we got us work to do. Our tokens start now, okay?" With that they all left and I was alone. I started to wonder. It seemed too easy. Where did my power come from? I suspected that Gilgamesh had something to do with it. Whatever, I was happy but missed my friends on the Godship.
"Hi, ace!" someone shouted. I looked about and saw Susan, David and Gill strolling across the lounge. "We saw everything," Susan said, sitting beside me on the bench. "Gordie, you were positively wonderful, masterful, I didn't know you had it in you." She threw her arms about my neck and kissed me hard. "Gill had set up a video link and we followed you wherever you went. It was hilarious, that first encounter with Chicago, and when Dallas ran into Gill's invisible wall and cried, we all laughed so hard."
"Wait! Did you say Gill's invisible wall?"
David grinned. "Did you think you had acquired some super ability, just like that? Gill had Gilgamesh extend its range and allow you to wish for these events to transpire; an invisible wall, tossing a picture on the desk of the Supervisor, whatever you wanted to happen."
"So I thought of something and it just happened?" I asked.
Gill was pleased and I could see his gills vibrating merrily. "Just as though you were on the Godship," he said. "In fact, although you didn't particularly like your burger and fries, you could have thought of more suitable versions and it would have been granted."
"There are no cows in the Aquadomes," Gill said. "Neither are there cocoa trees to provide the chocolate. The chemical ingredients are identified and improvised, here in the Aquadome…but the Godship does a much better job."
"But what about the Godships that visited Atlantica?" I asked. "What did they do for this Aquadome?"
"Nothing," Susan said. "Apparently they came here, saw the social mess and concluded that these people weren't worth helping…so they left."
"But they are worth helping," I said, upset at the Godship behavior. "I know I can help."
Gill placed his hand on my shoulder. "Mr. Gordon Blend," he said in a solemn voice, "You have been chosen."
Huh? Chosen? What the hell did that mean?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Part 14.1
It was about a week later and we were gathered in the nearest amphitheater. There were four amphitheaters in the Aquadome. They were the largest enclosures but were rarely used because they were usually inhabited by the Families. However, the Families were now gainfully employed with their leaders on the police force, so when I called for a general meeting of Aquarians, the amphitheaters quickly filled to capacity. Closed circuit video of my speech was to be broadcast to all amphitheaters. When I stepped to the podium, all went quiet.
"I have called you together today to speak of many things," I said. I was tempted to talk about cabbages and kings, but instead raised my arms and the amphitheater glowed with a pale green light. There was a murmur, then the crowd became very quiet. I saw Susan, David and Gill in the front row. Susan was radiant in a dark blue gown. I raised my arms again and the amphitheater glowed blue. You could hear a pin drop.
"I have been sent to change things in Aquarius Atlantica, to fulfill your destiny, to save you from your sins. My powers descend from God and it is God's love that you must seek."
I could see Susan placing her hand over her mouth, a very surprised look on her face.
"Now hear this: each night before you retire, you must seek the love of God, pray for his guidance, ask that he ease your burdens, give you the strength to overcome grief and adversity. I give you rules by which to live: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shall honor your parents and protect and assist them. Thou shalt obey the laws of Aquarius Atlantica. Thou shalt do undo others when they…what they…"
