But they were unaffected by the canisters.
“I think they’re genetically resistant to the gas,” Ambergris said.
“Try your laser rifles,” Touchdown instructed. “Setting three. Stun only.”
“Use a wide spread burst,” Nguyen said. “Not enough time to target each soldier.”
Titan Four quickly and quietly reached for their TR5 laser rifles and set them for a wide spread stun.
“Fire,” said Blade.
Five red beams, each ten feet in diameter, swept over the cube’s replacement troops. The soldiers froze in their tracks, looking like a grotesque tableau in a museum, before falling to the cold, hard concrete platform next to the monorail.
“What if commandos inside the cube are dispatched to investigate?” asked Blade.
Quiz reached for some of the electronic equipment he’d brought. “I’m going to set up a dampening field in the vault,” he said while producing a slim, black rectangular shape with a mini antenna dish and aerial on its top. “It’ll mask the energy signatures of the commandos. They’ll be out for an hour, maybe two.”
“Agreed,” said Caine, “although someone is going to notice that the replacement troops are overdue. We’ll deal with that eventuality when it arises.”
Ops Center
Beneath Mount Whitney
“I’ve got the results of Hawkeye’s liquid metal sample from the Sent,” Ambergris said. “Sents actually do have a skeleton, but not in the conventional sense. They have what is called an MOF, or metal-organic framework.”
“Give us the short version,” Caine said. “Time is of the essence.”
“MOFs are crystalline compounds made up of clusters of metal ions,” Ambergris said. “Organic materials are attached to the ions using an organic compound that’s known as a linker. The resulting materials can be porous and elastic — even semi-transparent at times — yet highly durable. Even malleable. We’ve already seen such characteristics in the cube. In twenty-first century science, the technology is in its infancy, but it’s starting to be widely used in various manufacturing processes. The entire cube uses a somewhat similar MOF technology.”
“But you claimed that the cube was alive,” said DJ.
“And Quiz said that the sentinels are sentient beings, not robots,” Touchdown pointed out.
Ambergris nodded. “Yes, that’s true. The unique aspect of the cube’s metal-organic composition, however, is that its organic components contain large quantities of DNA, as previously noted. I’d venture to say that the Sents have some kind of neural network resembling a brain, although they don’t appear to exhibit higher cognitive functions. They’re simply guards and little else.
“The cube is a different story. It’s also composed of DNA-infused metal-organic compounds, but as sophisticated as its technology is, it wasn’t designed to think. Various parts of the cube can communicate with each other the way cells in a plant or the human body can communicate. It’s a marvelous organic machine — and very much alive — but one that is under the control of human intelligence at present. What its intended function was when it was constructed eons ago is unknown at this time.”
“Why does it appear hostile?” asked DJ.
“That’s a matter of perception,” Ambergris stated. “It would not have been regarded as menacing to its builders thousands of years ago, who knew its function and could doubtlessly have accessed it without the harmful side effects experienced by us. Think of it like this: Titan Six are ants crawling around the inside of an enormous machine, such as a computer.”
“But what do we make of the Sents?” asked Caine. “Guards are always posted for reasons of security.”
“The most likely possibility is that they’re guarding something quite unique and valuable apart from the technology itself.”
“The more we learn,” said DJ, “the more complex this entire mission becomes.”
Ambergris nodded. “That’s the way it is with all knowledge. The more you know, the more questions are generated. As Alexander Pope said, ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring.’”
“Well spoken, Joshua,” Caine said. “You’ve pretty much summarized Titan Global’s mission: to explore the limits of knowledge. Unfortunately, Titan Six has drunk about as deeply as is possible. They’ve stumbled into the ultimate puzzle, and I intend to get them out safely.”
There was renewed silence in the Ops Center.
Titan Six
The Cube beneath Mount Elbert
“Titan Six,” said Touchdown, “there’s a room guarded by eight commandos one level down. Must be something important there. Up two levels is a room with three human life forms — probably the three men we saw on the video broadcast — guarded by ten commandos.”
Portals began appearing and disappearing in the left wall.
“Where do these lead, Ops?” asked Hawkeye.
“Most lead to the outer wall and would take you out of the cube,” replied Touchdown. “You’d slide right into a dark, rocky chamber. One, however, leads down to a hallway outside of the room guarded by the eight commandos.”
“It’s a crapshoot,” said Tank. “We jump into the wrong one and we’re out of the ballgame.”
“Tell me whenever the right one appears,” said Aiko. “I have an idea.”
“Okay,” said Touchdown. “The correct portal is . . . now!”
The portals kept appearing and disappearing in different sections of the wall. They stayed open no longer than ten seconds.”
“Get ready to jump on my command,” Aiko said, glancing at Hawkeye quickly for permission to give the order.
Hawkeye nodded his assent. “Make it fast when the time comes, everybody,” Hawkeye said. “I don’t want the wall closing around a leg. Everybody bunch up and get ready to dive through when Saturo gives the word.”
Aiko’s lips moved silently. She was counting.
“Prime numbers again,” she said. “The correct portal appears every ninth time. Three . . . five . . . seven . . . jump!”
Shooter and Gator dove first, followed by Tank and Aiko. Hawkeye threw his body into the portal at the last second. He could feel the elastic wall scrape against the bottom of his combat boot as it closed.
“We’re sliding down a tube!” Hawkeye exclaimed.
“You’re going to have to rock and roll as soon as you exit,” Touchdown warned. “Those guards won’t be far away.”
Titan Six, gliding rapidly but smoothly through the tube, grabbed their weapons.
“Exiting . . . now!” Hawkeye said. “Do an L and R, Titan Six. Left and right.”
Titan Six tumbled onto the floor of a corridor thirty feet away from a portal guarded by four commandos on each side.
Shooter and Gator rolled to the left. Hawkeye, Tank, and Aiko rolled to the right.
All eight commandos raised their assault rifles, fingers curling around the triggers.
Titan Four
SURP Station 872
Quiz, whose given name was David Denton, had earned his moniker while living with his grandparents, Charles and Mary Whittington, in their mansion on Long Island. He was somewhat of a recluse after his parents died, and as a teen he spent years in his grandfather’s study, devouring thousands of classics representing all cultural and literary traditions. He was the quitessential encyclopedia of information and a wizard at using gadgets of all kinds. His great intelligence and skill with computers made him an invaluable asset to Catherine Caine.
His best friend was someone that the entire world knew by first name: Dante Alighieri. Quiz’s favorite work was the Divine Comedy, and after rereading the book dozens of times, Denton’s thoughts were frequently framed in the voice and diction of its fabled Italian author. One day, however, Dante began addressing Quiz’s mind without any prompting from the youth. Over a period of many years, the two had engaged in thousands of lively discussions, and Quiz took it as an inexplicable given that he and Dante shared a sym
biotic relationship. Some thought Quiz brilliant but strange, but no one knew of his secret dialogues with the poet.
* You have some scientific work to do. *
It was Dante speaking.
* At the cube. Be careful, however. I sense multiple life forms in this area. *
Can you be more specific, Quiz thought to himself.
* I’m afraid not. *
“Okay. No time like the present.”
At times, Quiz forgot to keep his thoughts to himself and vocalized his responses to Dante.
“What did you say?” asked Blade.
“Um, nothing. I just need to get some biometric readings from the cube,” Quiz said as he picked up his gear.
“Tomahawk, give him an escort,” said Blade. “And make it quick.”
The two team members walked down the tunnel to the cube, which was once again shining a bright, metallic silver. Tomahawk, one-eighth Cherokee and a former Marine, stood tall at six-foot-four. He was incredibly muscular and was an exceptional marksman with any firearm, from a pistol to a modern automatic weapon.
Quiz knelt on the black rock under his feet and took out a slim laptop.
“It’s just a computer,” Tomahawk noted. “I thought you needed to gather some scientific data.”
Quiz smiled and shook his head. “It’s much more than a PC. It’s got sensors that allow me to gauge temperature, density, chemical composition, force fields, and cellular activity. Dr. Ambergris was right. This mother is definitely alive.”
“If you say so,” Tomahawk said, casually strolling around the area near the cube. He craned his head but could not see the top of the enormous metallic structure. “Never seen anything like it. Now that we’re here, I hope Titan Six can complete its mission quickly so we can all get the hell back to the Alamiranta. This thing gives me the creeps.”
Tomahawk walked several yards along the edge of the cube before turning around and heading back to his former position.
“Quiz?”
Tomahawk broke into a run. The young scientist and soldier was gone.
Ops Center
Beneath Mount Whitney
“What’s going on, Tomahawk?” asked Touchdown.
Quiz and I trekked down to the cube so he could collect some data. I took a few steps and when I turned around, he wasn’t there.”
“Verified,” said Touchdown. “He’s inside the cube.”
“God, I feel awful,” Tomahawk moaned. “Do you want me to go in after him, Ops?”
“Negative,” said Caine. “Return to the station and wait with the rest of Titan Four. The cube acts very erratically. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“Okay,” Tomahawk said dejectedly as he began walking back to the vault.
“He shouldn’t have taken his eyes off of Quiz,” Touchdown said with clear annoyance in his voice while switching off his COM momentarily.
“What’s done is done,” Caine said. “Let it go.”
“Quiz, do you read?” Touchdown said, after turning his COM back on.
“Yes,” said Quiz. “A Sent pulled me in and then disappeared. I’m alone in an empty room.”
* Not completely alone. *
True. Are you sensing anything now that we’re inside?
* An overwhelming intelligence, although it’s not centralized. *
“Just hang tight,” Touchdown said. “Hopefully Titan Six can find you.”
“Roger that,” said Quiz. “I wouldn’t know where to go anyway.”
Titan Six
The Cube beneath Mount Elbert
Shooter and Tank were the first to fire from the left and right respectively at the eight sentries. They hit their targets, and two guards dropped immediately after clean shots to the heart.
The commandos opened fire.
“I’m hit!” said Aiko. “In the left shoulder. Son of a bitch!”
“She picks up the vernacular pretty fast,” Tank said, squeezing his trigger again.
Hawkeye fired from the right as Gator pulled the trigger on his SAW from the left. The remaining commandos fell backwards against the cube as machine gun rounds tore into their skin. Blood spattered the wall of the cube behind them for a length of twenty feet, forming bright red blotches that turned into trickles running to the floor.
“Cease fire!” ordered Hawkeye, standing. “One of them is still moving. Maybe we can get some intel.”
Hawkeye approached the dying soldier, who was attempting to speak. Blood bubbled from his mouth.
Hawkeye leaned close to the soldier’s face. “Sounds like some eastern European language,” Tank said, kneeling next to his brother.
“It’s Serbian,” Hawkeye said. “Go figure.”
The soldier closed his eyes, his head lolling to the side as he died.
“Look at the wall!” Shooter exclaimed. “It’s absorbing the blood!”
“Damn,” muttered Hawkeye. “Never saw anything like it.”
“Just like Ambergris explained,” said Tank. “The thing’s alive. I guess the wall’s DNA structure recognizes the blood and is assimilating it.”
“Releasing anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory agents into Aiko’s bloodstream,” said Touchdown. “Also boosting autoimmune factors to prevent infection.”
“I’m okay,” Aiko said. “A little sore, but it could have been worse.”
Shooter removed a bandage from her backpack and applied it gently across Aiko’s red wound. “A small hole,” said Shooter, winking. “You’re good to go.”
“Let’s get inside the room and see what’s so important that it merits eight guards,” Hawkeye said.
Titan Six passed through the portal.
“Largest room yet,” Hawkeye said. “Big as a museum gallery.”
“Holy crap,” Tank said. “This place must have a hundred rows of crystals and glass disks. What is this stuff?”
Ambergris broke in from the Ops Center: “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve just entered what I believe is a library containing the history and culture of the Ancients.”
Quiz
The Cube beneath Mount Elbert
Quiz took readings on his laptop and then walked about the empty room. Whenever he touched a metallic wall, it turned blue and semi-transparent.
I get a mild static shock every time I touch the cube.
* Then don’t touch the cube. *
Very amusing, but I’m here to investigate.
* Your metabolism is falling. Ops will be picking it up any minute now. *
Ten minutes later, Quiz sank to his knees, weak and perspiring.
“I feel terrible,” he said. “Like I’ve been awake two days straight. Little energy. Confused.”
“Your temperature’s rising,” Touchdown said. “One hundred and two. Your body’s immune system is also kicking into high gear. Just lie down and rest. Hydrate yourself with an electrolyte drink from your backpack.”
“Okay,” Quiz said, “but black lines are appearing on my hands.”
“I copy,” Touchdown said. “We’re working on it.”
* * *
“Oh my God,” Grace said.
“What is it?” asked Caine.
“We didn’t anticipate sending Quiz on any mission to the cube. He didn’t get the BioMEMS injection that is protecting Titan Six from infection. My team back on the Alamiranta has found a med composed of DNA sequences that are restoring cell structure to our engineers. They’re recovering slowly. The cell disintegration is very similar to gangrene inasmuch as it kills living tissue. The soldiers and their human superiors inside the cube obviously have some kind of immunity, just like T6.”
“Have the med flown here immediately,” Caine said to Nguyen, “and we’ll send it through the SURP system.”
“If there’s time,” Nguyen said. “If there’s time.”
Titan Six
The Cube beneath Mount Elbert
“Watch out!” Shooter called.
Titan Six spun around, weapons raised, as four Sents entere
d the library through a different portal, their tubes raised and glowing.
Gator put a fresh clip in his SAW and took aim. “I’ll dispatch these little mothers!”
“Wait!” said Hawkeye. “Hold your fire!”
The Sents were motionless, their photon tubes no longer glowing.
“What’s going on?” asked Tank.
Ambergris spoke from the Ops Center.
“I believe they’re programmed not to fire inside the library,” he said. “The energy bursts from their tubes could damage thousands of the glass and crystal volumes, erasing valuable history of the Ancients. I suspect they’re in communication with the cube or its human operators, awaiting instructions.”
“Make use of the time,” Caine said. “Exit the library.”
“Move out,” Hawkeye said, pointing to the portal through which the Sents had entered.
“Another empty room,” said Aiko as they stepped through the portal. “Except for more of those cylindrical elevator tubes in the far wall.”
“And six balls of light dancing around in the air to our right,” Tank added.
“Where do the cylinders lead, Ops?” asked Hawkeye.
“Seven pneumatic tubes,” Touchdown said. “The last one on the left will take you three levels up, where you’ll find the three human life forms you saw in the broadcast.”
Hawkeye advanced to the tube. “It’s closed. How do we get the curved door to slide open?”
“Any buttons or symbols on the wall?” asked Touchdown.
“Negative,” Hawkeye replied.
“Notice the colors of the floating balls,” Aiko said.
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