by R. E. Carr
“CALA, come on!” Jenn cried.
“Got Steam. One more to go—”
Jenn screamed as the array turned all black and formed the pattern of a gigantic spider. She could see one group of Machidonians out of the corner of her eye. “Did we do it, CALA?” Jenn gasped. “CALA?”
“Negative. The order was incorrect. Entering the symbols on the statues in a clockwise direction does not seem to be correct. However, my internal failsafe system is coming online. I cannot cause you any more harm. We must cease and desist.”
Jenn slunk against the altar. She rolled her face against the cold stone and began to cry. She saw the tip of the electrified pike coming at her a second too late. The stick knocked her flat on the ground. She flinched, awaiting the inevitable.
A cat’s roar cut through all the other sounds of battle. Jenn opened her eyes to see Kei standing over her, holding the head of her would-be assassin. He couldn’t stay for long. A second later, he flew through the air, tackling the next round of assailants.
Jenn blinked as she looked up at a skylight overhead. The etched-and-leaded-glass window depicted various constellations. Spiraling out from the star in the center was a colored swath of glass. It started with red and followed the colors of rainbow—all the way out to black.
“That’s the order, CALA!” Jenn whispered.
“We start with red? The first in the sequence must be Fire.”
Jenn shook her head on the floor. “No. It starts with black and curls in. Each one in sequence . . . we want to follow the path to the stars.”
“There are only seven colors, however. Where does the lion of light fit in?” CALA asked.
“The star in the center is white, just like the lion. Light is last.”
“I am unsure whether my failsafe system will allow us to continue. Your physical and mental stress levels are exceeding all acceptable parameters . . .”
“Damn it, CALA, just do it. Kei and Eon are dying out there!”
“I am—”
Jenn cut off her construct assistant by leaping to her feet and grabbing the array herself. Her gem sparked to life once more.
“This is unacceptable!”
“Deal!” Jenn cried. “Just hurry—before we get shot, or worse.”
At the head of the room, Eon fought to maintain control of his meditation. Some of the main line soldiers had broken off from the assault and had turned their attentions toward freeing the main gun. Their pikes fizzled out as they approached.
Even from a distance, Jenn could see the sweat pouring off Eon’s face. She grimaced.
“CALA, now!” Jenn barked. The array turned into a black spider.
“Shadow,” CALA said calmly. “Next is the violet eel, Thunder.”
Kei managed to hurl a Machidonian corpse at Eon’s feet. The body knocked back half of the advancing force. He had to scramble back to sweep a pack of pike men advancing on Jenn.
As he stumbled back, exhausted, a vent of steam tore through the rear of the Machidonian advance. Lady Helena grabbed onto a column for dear life. Only a flicker of golden light was left in her gem.
The array changed from violet to the indigo fish that represented Water. As it began to change into Licia’s light-blue jellyfish, however, the exhausted Eon fell off the back of the mechanical beast. Jenn cringed as she heard the terror whirring back to life.
The jellyfish changed into the green turtle of Earth, and then the yellow albatross of Air.
Jenn pushed against the wall, seemingly oblivious to the battle raging all around her. “Almost there,” she gasped.
“No!” Eon screamed. He fell to the floor in the middle of a throng of the enemy just as their pikes all burst back to life. Before they could swarm him, however, the Oracle of Steam threw her hands over her head one last time.
The array changed to a golden-orange crab. Helena dropped her hands and steam poured over the army, sending the screeching invaders to the ground with Eon. Their rubbery armor bubbled and melted around their flesh. The Oracle took a tentative step toward the altar, saluted her symbol on the array, and then collapsed. As she hit the ground, the citrine in her forehead shattered and then mixed with blood as it sprayed across the floor.
The array melted into a fiery horse as the main gun on the giant charged. Eon stumbled to his feet only to be knocked down again by a pike. The electricity coursed through him and made his metallic tattoos glow and spark.
Kei continued to fight, even as the blood dribbled from his panting lips. He swung wildly at the ever-advancing Machidonian army. The cannon whined, charging as it aimed at Jenn and the array. Kei looked back at Jenn once, before ripping the guard off his right hand. It clattered against a corpse’s helmet before disappearing into the mess on the ground.
The array started shifting. Jenn screamed as energy began coursing out from the stones and into her. CALA continued to focus, changing red to white even as targeting lights began to shine.
The last stones of the lion’s paw began to shift to pink. Kei hurled himself at the visor on the giant. His bare hand touched one section of the cannon’s exposed circuitry. His eyes changed from their usual feline hue to inky bluish-black.
Eon bashed his way through the throng, fighting to get to the giant. He once again stole a pike and began to skewer anything with gray skin in his field of vision.
The last stone turned just as the cannon fired. Jenn screamed as thousands of gem shards rained down on her. She curled into a ball, desperately trying to avoid the worst of the damage.
“Communications error. Communications error. Jenn, are you online? Jenn? Jenn!”
“Everything hurts.”
“Can you move? Can you regain consciousness, Jenn?”
“My head is killing me—”
“Failsafe measures coming online.”
Jenn’s eyes snapped open. It took her several long seconds to move her arm up to touch her face. She stared at the blood on her fingers. The shattered stones had shredded her clothes and exposed skin. The Machidonians around her suffered similar fates, but their more delicate bodies were no longer moving at all.
“Kei! Kei, get off the thing before you are killed!” Jenn heard Eon cry.
“CALA, did we do it?” Jenn asked weakly. “The array is gone.”
“I am detecting open access to the Network here, but without the array there is no way to control it. The Oracles will still be able to tap into the raw power of the mountain with their I/O gems, but all of the knowledge—and the code keys—are gone.”
“Did you get through to Rheak?”
“Affirmative. Contact was made and the seal was broken. However, the damage to the Oracles and their society may be irreparable—”
“We’ll fix that later. For now, we gotta get out of here.”
“I can stimulate an adrenaline surge to help facilitate our escape.”
“Go for it.”
Jenn jumped to her feet just in time to see the glow of the cannon building up in the center of the giant’s arm. She looked back to see Dianna still unconscious and covered by gem dust. Back at the giant, Kei bled profusely from his bare, cyst-covered hand as he fought to hold on to the back of the beast.
She dropped to the floor and rolled both herself and the priestess into the shadow of the altar. A split second later, searing heat forced Jenn to curl in a ball. She heard the stone cracking and saw burned tatters of her clothing falling to the ground.
“Kei, you have to stop! You can’t control—”
Jenn shook Dianna as hard as she could. The priestess’s eyes fluttered a little. “Come on, wake up,” Jenn muttered as she peeked around the now-much-smaller stone altar.
Kei’s grip failed. The young Beast flew over a pile of Machidonian bodies. Now only a battered Eon and a few inches of rock stood between Jenn and the next blast of the cannon. The other troops had fallen back to the outside of the temple. A burst of flame streaked between the statues of Air and Water.
“Eon!” Jenn scream
ed. “We have to get out of here!”
At the sound of Jenn’s voice, Eon raised his head to glare at the Machidonian terror. The color once again drained from his eyes. The machine didn’t waver from the target even as the Phantom took slow, deliberate steps toward it. The closer Eon got, the brighter the tattoos on his back became.
“You are shutting down,” Eon said calmly. He reached out and pressed his index finger against the smooth steel carapace of the giant’s chest. A jolt passed through the monster and into the Phantom. He arched his back and shuddered for several seconds, until an eerie white light began dancing along the scales tattooed into his flesh. Eon gritted his teeth and continued to make contact until all the lights on the monster faded and its motor fell eerily silent.
“Open,” Eon said in his native language. His normal accent had faded into a robotic monotone.
“Jenn, I am detecting abnormal energy readings coming from our companion. He seems to have drained the energy cells from the powered armor unit. I am unsure how that much voltage will affect—”
CALA’s observation was interrupted by the clatter of Machidonian armor hitting the floor. Jenn peeked around once more to see the pilot’s hatch open and a tube of viscous liquid slide out.
“What the—?” she started to say.
The energy that had drained from the powered armor into Eon suddenly burst from the tattoo of Kukulkan. Green and blue sparks coalesced along his arms until, in one bright flash, all the energy streamed back into the inky tube. The glass shattered. Finally, the naked, shivering little pilot raised his bulbous gray head once, just in time to see Eon’s boot coming down to crush his neck.
Jenn winced and curled behind the altar just before the sickening crunch echoed through the now-silent temple. Beside her, Dianna moaned and reached to touch the cuts on her face. Before Jenn could say another word, however, a pair of gray and furry hands yanked her to her feet. She yelped as the blisters on her back popped. What remained of her shirt fell away in shreds.
Kei didn’t pause. With a growl, he swung Jenn over his shoulder and began running for the door. Jenn looked back to see Eon still standing over the corpse. He stared at his hands until the last of the energy glow faded from his fingertips.
“CALA, do you have any idea what just happened? How did Eon do that?”
“Jenn, I do not fully comprehend all of my readings. There is no documentation of anyone from the Phantom Tribe ever performing such a feat. My theoretical matrices cannot comprehend his actions either.”
“Well, he is a legend.”
“I am unsure as to whether his status in local folklore has to do with his ability to discharge large quantities of stored energy. I need a chance to do an in-depth analysis of his tattoos. They seem to possess some conductive compounds.”
“CALA, now is not the time for that in-depth analysis. What is going on out there and how can we escape?”
“Kei seems to have the matter well in hand. The Machidonian army is falling back into a position surrounding the council hall of the Oracles. Eon has moved to the vanguard and is clearing our path. Shall I disengage and let you see for yourself?”
“No, CALA, I can’t look at it anymore, not right now. I just can’t.”
“Understood. Your stress levels are far beyond acceptable margins. You are also burned and bleeding. I count seven hundred and eighty-two individual lacerations—”
“I don’t need that report right now. I just want to hear that those driller things didn’t get Winowa and that we are crawling our way to safety.”
“See for yourself, then.”
Jenn’s eyes flickered open, but all she could see was a red glow. She could hear scuffling off to her right. A blue flash caught her eye. “Kei?” she asked.
Eon lit the first of the torches. Their soft burn revealed the hazy outline of a natural cave to everyone. Water poured down from one wall, forming a river.
“We made it,” Jenn whispered. She felt a soft hand against her cheek. The blue glow was still there, but closer.
“You’ll be OK,” Kei said softly. In the dim light, she could see him taking off one of his bracers. The other one was already slung on his belt, coated with blood and silver dust.
“How did we get here?”
“I followed Winowa’s scent once we got back to the cave entrance. Thank the Lost God that the drillers didn’t pass this way.”
“I doubt that the bathhouse was high on their list of tactical targets,” Eon added.
Jenn tried to sit up, but Kei gently pushed her back down. “Rest for a minute. Winowa is making bandages for your burns.”
“Does anyone have any idea where we are going?” Jenn asked.
Kei took a few deep breaths. “There is a trail. People have made the path by the river stink of men. If we follow it, we should reach wherever the Oracles wanted us to go.”
“I won’t argue with the nose of the cat-boy,” Jenn said.
Winowa eased to her knees beside Jenn. “This is going to sting,” she sighed.
“So, CALA, what do you think of them Broncos this season?” Jenn asked.
“I am unable to follow your logic. What broncos are you referring to?”
“It’s a football thing. I’ve discovered that when I am talking to you, I don’t feel nearly as much pain, so I decided to strike up a conversation with you while Winowa is slapping bandages on my burns.”
“So, I am a diversion and a pain reliever to you now? I find my change in status amusing.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, CALA. Haven’t you ever needed to escape for a while?”
“I have never had that luxury. I am designed to be ever vigilant. That is my nature.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
“You do?”
“I really do.”
Jenn winced as she came to. Winowa had wrapped her chest and back with strips torn from her hem. “I look like a mummy in a corset,” she muttered as she looked at her arms.
“You had no clothes left. Would you rather be naked?” Winowa asked.
“I’ll take the bandages,” Jenn sighed as she struggled to her feet.
All of them slipped at first, as they made their way down the steep grade and into the bowels of the mountain. As they reached the riverbed, Kei passed his torch to Jenn, opting instead to navigate by sprouting whiskers along his nose.
“I wish I knew how long this cave is. We could be walking for days and wouldn’t even know it,” Jenn said.
“I can provide a clock for our journey. I am also currently cross-referencing our position to our known maps of this area. Soon, I will be able to design an accurate timeline and route.”
“Anything dangerous coming up?”
“No danger detected currently. I will keep you well informed should any arrive.”
“Kei, do you smell anything funny?” Jenn asked.
“No,” he said. “I think we have a long, boring walk ahead.”
True to his prediction, the four travelers found that they faced little more danger than some slippery pebbles as they started their journey toward the Mortuary Complex of Yinepw.
“How long have we been walking, CALA?”
“One day, four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and twenty-three seconds-including rest intervals.”
“Any sign of the end?”
“Negative. I predict several hours more of travel before we reach the desert.”
“You know, I thought you were supposed to have my endurance increased or something. I am exhausted.”
“Your capacity is still within human limits, Jenn. You have also been injured recently.”
“It’s times like this when I really want to go home.”
“Only two seals remain, if my calculations are correct. I am still experiencing some difficulties accessing ancillary memory banks. The damage seems to have been sustained when I accessed the sixth seal in the waters around Delphi. Until I can repai
r the damage, I will be unable to confirm the absolute opening of the sixth seal.”
“Keep working on it, CALA. Tell me something, though. What happens to you when I go home? Are you going to be stuck in my head for the rest of my life?”
“Negative. You will be returned to your original genetic parameters when you are reconstituted on your home planet.”
“Oh, so what happens to you?”
“My purpose as a Construct Assistant will be finished. I will rejoin 14B-Rheak and either be transferred to an auxiliary data bank or be permanently dismantled.”
“You mean you’ll die when I go home?”
“Unable to process. As a being of artificial intelligence, I am unable to ‘die.’ Death implies some sort of transcendence and finality. I will merely cease to exist. Perhaps, one day, parts of my program will be recycled into a future Construct Assistant, but all the individual emotions and experiences that I have accumulated will be lost.”
“But can’t Rheak just use you again? You’re wonderful, CALA.”
“I am bonded to your particular thought patterns. I am unable to continue existence without you. I am no longer an entirely self-sufficient program, Jenn. In our time together, I have come to depend upon you more and more.”
“Maybe I can talk to Rheak. We’ll figure something out—”
“I do believe that, on your home planet, a person who talks to herself all the time would be committed to an insane asylum. Now, if you do not mind, I will return to my analysis of the Nanut Scroll data. We should have all information possible about the last two seals before we reach them.”
“I’m sorry if I brought up a painful subject, CALA.”
“The issue had to be addressed eventually. Jenn, I am detecting a slight energy surge coming from behind us. You should probably alert the others.”
“Hey, Kei? CALA says that there’s something behind us,” Jenn said as she returned to consciousness.
He turned to sniff the air. “Smells like snow,” he muttered.
“Snow? In the middle of a cave?” Winowa asked.
Eon stopped and shook his head. “Not snow—Ice. Brace yourselves, because I think our Oracle friend has decided to follow us.”
