Soul Taker

by John Garforth

  Commander Tilson felt impotent, watching the painfully slow turn of the great ship. His eyes on the instruments told him that they were going to miss the optimum entry angle, only by a few degrees, but that could make all the difference. At this angle, he needed to ride up and over the Tsunami, rather than drive straight through, he gave the order to cut the speed.

  The wave was upon them, Tilson stared up at it in horror, a wall of water 1,500 feet high was a thing to behold, filling everyone on the ship with terror. The President was strapped in a chair in a watertight bulkhead, deep in the middle of the ship, eyes closed, chin on her chest, praying for survival.

  The wave lifted the giant ship like a toy, it felt like riding a fast elevator until they reached the crest, they seemed to hang, suspended for a long time. Commander Tilson looked down to the trough and his heart sank, he took one last look around at the familiar surroundings of the Bridge, then he braced himself.

  The Aircraft Carrier, began its descent, hurtling down the wave like a missile. The stern came out of the water and the propellers began to race, a great drumming sound filled the ship, then the rudder lost contact with the water and became useless. The ship continued its descent, picking up speed all the time, everything that wasn’t secured was falling towards the bow, many of the crew died as they fell. The stern of the vessel was still being pushed up by the power of the wave, until it finally reached its tipping point.

  The ship was travelling so fast that when it hit the water, the bow buried itself in the ocean, the impact was devastating. Commander Tilson left the ship through one of the windows on the bridge. Clara Powell, President of the United State of America, was still strapped in her seat when its retaining bolts snapped, and she hit the steel bulkhead at somewhat in the excess of 100 miles per hour.

  The stern of the vessel cartwheeled, overbalancing so that it fell face downwards onto the ocean. Then, still upside down, the great warship slid slowly beneath the waves. Meanwhile, the Tsunami swept on towards Naples. Day turned into night as the wall of water submerged the Island of Ischia and carried on, towering over Naples, people tried to run, but there was nowhere to run to.

  The wave crashed into the city, carrying everything before it, causing devastation on a biblical scale. Capri, Sorrento, Amalfi and Salerno were all destroyed in the flash of an eye, as the sea tried to regain dominion over the land. Once the wave hit, it then began to diminish, finally running out of steam when it collided with the Lattari Mountains. The land was devastated, most of the population were dead, the Americans and their base in Naples were wiped out. Rome however, the Eternal City, was untouched and unscathed, the Soul Taker endured, growing in strength and power, its dreams of worldwide conquest continuing unabated.

  CHAPTER 19

  The road disappeared and so did Tom, in the blink of an eye she was transported to an outcrop of black rock, jutting out of a flat, featureless Dessert of bright yellow sand, that stretched all around her. But, dominating her line of sight, was a breath taking, white marble Temple that rose out of the sand, directly in front of her. Its beautifully fashioned main Dome, towered 500 feet above her, framed by a cloudless blue sky and bathing her in a long, cool shadow.

  To her right, snaking towards the shimmering Horizon, was a long and winding queue of people, standing five deep, every one of them, wearing a white Monks habit and cowl. Piper examined the ones at the front that were staring back at her, they were like Robots, their faces slack and their eyes blank. Dotted amongst them, she noticed the crude, pink soldier Drones, moving amongst the crowd without real purpose, the people stood quietly, waiting for a signal to move.

  Her stinking companion. Henry, was still at her side, quietly watching.

  “Is this what I think it is, Henry?” She asked, her face cold with anger, “and what have you done to Tom, where is he?”

  Yes Ma’am, this is the Temple that was built in your name, the people are simply waiting for you to lead them in. Your friend Tom is unharmed and I would be grateful if you would dress appropriately Piper Reed”

  She turned to look at him, he was holding out a robe for her to slide her arms into, it was a Golden Habit and Cowl. When she’d pulled it on over her clothes, she tied it at the waist, with white rope.

  “This is important, My Lady, the people have waited a long time for this. If you would begin, they will follow, I will be nearby, should you need me.

  Piper realised that she had no choice, so she began to walk slowly down a row of steps that were cut into the rock, then, head up, she continued towards the Temple. Six people, wearing red robes, detached themselves from the front of the queue and fell in behind her, forming a symbolic honour guard. She led the way down the long marble walkway that led to the large ornate Temple doors, behind her the people began to follow in silence.

  Once inside, Piper felt dwarfed by the vastness of the building, she paused for a moment, trying to take it all in, filled with a feeling of awe at the grandeur of the structure. Henry ushered her past the rows of seating and down the red carpeted main aisle leading all the way to the back of the Dome, where a Majestic Alter of filigree gold towered above the congregation. Drawing closer, she could see a short flight of marble steps that led to a huge red velvet and gold Throne that was perched on a silver dais, nestling beneath a tall white laced canopy, encircled by four colossal, flaming, bronze urns. Her honour guard had held back the crowds until she’d reached the flight of steps, once she had climbed to the throne, they all followed.

  Seated and flanked by her red cowled entourage, Piper had time to look about her and absorb the quasi-religious ceremony that was taking place around her. People, who had made up the vast queue that stretched into the dessert, were entering the Dome in two’s and alternately turning, one to the left and the next to the right. Each of them walking in a different direction around the perimeter of the Dome.

  Piper followed their progress on both sides, until, at last, they stopped almost in front of her and fell to their knees, prostrating themselves over a silver sphere that had been set into the tiled floor, on the left and right of Piper’s throne. They paused briefly, pressing their foreheads to the gleaming sphere, before getting to their feet and leaving the Temple by the back door.

  Piper was intrigued and kept her eye on the Pilgrims that walked on both sides of the Temple. Then, to her shock and horror, she noticed that a young woman touched their head to the sphere and in the flash of an eye, disappeared. Her clothing lay in a pile on the floor, until a Drone appeared from somewhere behind Piper and cleared everything away.

  Standing up, much to the consternation of her Honour Guard, she singled to Henry, who was stood on her right, by the short corridor that led to the exit.

  “Yes, My Lady?” he asked, as he came towards her, “how can I be of assistance?”

  “What’s going on down here Henry?” She asked, pointing, “people are disappearing, why?”

  “They are donating some of their Life Force to the ‘Elites’. Gladly giving their essence, doing what they can to make the Soul Taker triumphant in its struggles with mankind.”

  “Why are some just vanishing Henry, what have they done wrong?”

  “They’ve done nothing wrong My Lady, they are patriots, they have sacrificed themselves for the good of the Soul Taker. We citizens of Rapture have no way of knowing just how much of our own ‘Life Force’ we still possess. If people have been good citizens and have previously donated too much, they run the risk of oblivion.”

  “So, you’re telling me that they’re are all down there playing some crazy, spiritual version of Russian Roulette. This does not sound good Henry, I’m guessing here, but do they all donate using that little silver disk on their forehead?”

  “That is correct Ma’am, you are very perceptive. When you finally cross over to our side and become one of us, you too, will be issued with a Node.”

  “I’ll look forward to that Henry,” said Piper sarcastically, “tell me? Who are these lucky Elites that
are the recipients of all this good juice?”

  “They are our new interface between the Soul Taker and Humanity, our meters and greeters, our wheelers and dealers. The first true Human replica’s that the Soul Taker has ever managed to create.”

  “So, where are these ‘Elites’, Henry, are there any here today?”

  “No Ma’am, they are still being grown, the Soul Taker is creating them near to the Colosseum, as they are physical beings, they cannot inhabit Rapture.”

  “Why do you need ‘Elites’ when you’ve got the Drones?”

  “The Drones are a very rough and ready makeshift set-up, a simple organism that the Soul Taker uses for many chores. They’re not up to negotiating with Homo Sapiens and are unable to pass unnoticed amongst them.”

  “I take it that the creation of the ‘Life Force’ is a step too far for the Soul Taker, that’s why you’re milking it from your Residents.”

  “Indeed, My Lady, the Soul Taker operates each day on a steep learning curve as it struggles for omnipotence. What is out of reach today, will be commonplace tomorrow.”

  “There is one thing here that concerns me Henry.”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re suddenly giving me a lot of information about your plans for the future, including your plans to infiltrate my species. It seems to me, that your Mr Soul Taker would not normally allow your Top Secrets to be bandied about in this manner, am I right?”

  “Yes, Piper Reed, that is a very accurate summary.”

  “Then I would presume that you have no intention of allowing me to return to my body. This being the case, I would guess that it’s your intention now, to keep me here against my will, right?” She continued, without waiting for an answer, “if that’s the case, then when my body finally dies, the next logical step would be for you to fit me with one of those ‘Nodes’, that everybody else wears, then, when that’s done, you can declare me a citizen of Rapture and a full member of team Soul Taker.”

  Henry stared at her without blinking, his face expressionless.

  “Yes ma’am, your race has a saying for this kind of situation, I think it is, ‘you’ve hit the nail on the head’.”

  • • •

  Zhuo Yatsen, China’s Supreme Leader, looked through the small window of his Boing 737 that had just landed at Yichum Provincial Airport. Outside, it was a misty grey day with heavy cloud, the driving rain was bouncing off the concrete Runway. As the Aircraft taxied to a stop, members of Yatsens team were climbing to their feet, their voices hushed out of respect for their master. The Supreme Leader had arrived in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, this was the closest you could get to the Russian Border, Yatsen smiled grimly to himself, he intended to change all that.

  Ouyong Xiu, chair of the National People’s Congress and one of Yatsens closest aids, came and stood in the aisle, just as the Hongqi Limousine pulled up at the side of the Aircraft.

  “Do you want me to ride with you Sir?” Said Xiu, nodding towards the car, “or shall I take the bus with the others?”

  “No, ride with me Xiu, I want to clarify a few things with you on the way.”

  An Air Hostess, came down the aisle towards him, she was wearing her Raincoat and hat and was carrying a large Umbrella. She stopped a respectful distance away and looked down at her feet.

  Xiu stood aside as the Supreme Leader got to his feet and followed the girl to the door and down the steps to the car. Xiu hurried after them, just managing to climb into the Limousine as it pulled away.

  The local Mayor had laid on a few stragglers to line the road in the pouring rain. As the Limousine swept by them, they all waved their flags as ordered.

  “How far is this God forsaken Base, Xiu,” Yatsen asked, absently, staring out at the dull, rain-sodden countryside, “Dongfeng-41, is that what you called it?”

  “That’s the one, it’s part of the Strategic Missile Brigade Sir.” Xiu was desperately trying to keep the mood light, “it should take us about 10 minutes to get there. They’ve been expecting you for days Sir and I’ve just had a call to say that everything is ready.”

  “Good, have they activated the Time Sphere yet?”

  “No Sir, they’re waiting until you arrive. The Pilot is all prepared and ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

  Yatsen opened the cabinet drawer in the back of the driver’s seat and poured himself a large Scotch Whisky.

  “You want one?” He asked, without enthusiasm, as he looked sideways, brandishing the bottle.

  “No thank you Sir.”

  Xiu would have loved a glass of Whisky, but years of experience had taught him the right answer.

  “From what you’ve told me, I understand that our man is going to shoot down the original Trident Missile, right?” Said Yatsen, taking a gulp of his drink

  “That’s right Sir, his actions will change History and resurrect eight Russian Cities in this area.”

  “What’s he using for a weapon?”

  “We’ve packed the latest FN-6, third generation, Passive Infrared Homing Missile into the Sphere, without compromising its performance. It’s a shoulder fired weapon, so our man should have no difficulties.”

  As he finished speaking, the car swept through the entrance to the base, pulling up outside a pair of double doors, set into the grey concrete wall of the operations building. General Feng of the People’s Liberation Army and several other Officers waited to greet their Leader. A Lieutenant Colonel was positioned by the car door, umbrella in hand. Yetsen ignored them all.

  “There’s one more thing that I want to ask you Xiu, how did you track down the Missile Trajectory?”

  “There are freely available records on the Internet Sir. It was the British Nuclear Submarine ‘Vanguard’ that originally fired the Missile from under the Indian Ocean.”

  “For God’s sake Xiu, I’ve warned you about this before, why can’t you listen when I ask you a goddamn question, it was the missile trajectory that I was talking about, not the Submarine. It’s vital that our man has the correct details fed into the FN-6 Launcher’s on- board computer, or he won’t have a hope in hell of bringing it down.”

  “I know Sir, I’m very sorry Sir,” Xiu was becoming nervous at his Leaders tone of voice, “I was coming to that Sir. Because the UK was destroyed, the Vanguard was unable to return to its Base. It had been issued with clear written orders on what to do in this eventuality, so there was no ambiguity, it had to offer its services to the nearest friendly Power. That happened to be the American Naval Station Norfolk.”

  “On its arrival, the vessels computer banks were downloaded at the American Base, our experts managed to hack into the computer records of the original Trajectory without leaving any traces. That’s the reason why we had to move the Time Sphere away from this base, it’s now situated about 100 miles to the West of here, further down the valley near the ruined city of Novosibirsk. By using the co-ordinates that we’d gleaned from the Americans, we were able to calculate that this position was the optimum point in the Missiles Trajectory. So, when everything is in place, we’ll be able to blow it out of the sky, a full twenty minutes before it’s due to release its Warheads.

  “Well done Xiu, you’ve finally got the right answer to the right question,” said Yatsen sarcastically.

  “I think you ought to know that the Sphere is on a mobile platform Sir,” Xiu continued, “we had to have it specially constructed because the correct positioning of the Pod is crucial. Because lateral Time Travel is not yet possible, we needed to position the Sphere at the exact spot that we need it to materialize in the past. We have cameras ringing the city, recording everything and transmitting it back here to Dongfeng, you’ll see it on the screens when we get into the base Sir. So, when the time comes, you’ll be able to see all the grateful people that you have restored to life.”

  “Thank you for explaining that Xiu,” Yatsen mumbled, stifling a yawn.

  “I know that it’s tedious, but there’s one more thing that I must te
ll you Sir, a word of warning really. Nothing will happen until the Time Sphere returns; no resurrections will appear until the Sphere is back in this Time Zone. We had to use a Space Time structure exhibiting closed paths in Space. The American Chronos drive reduces the Pilot and Pod into quantum Particles that then travel through a Wormhole back in time. Then you return through the same Wormhole to this location in Space and Time.”

  “Xu, I’m beginning to lose my patience, do I really need to know all this?”

  “Nearly finished Sir, then you will be right up to date. I would quickly like to add a personal dimension to the proceedings Sir. It does fills me with immense pride that you have allowed me to play a humble role in the resurrection of all these millions of people who were murdered during in the war.”

  Yatsen was sat with his eyes closed, his head nodding slowly, fingers drumming on the car arm rest. Xiu could tell that he was pushing his luck, clearing his throat, nervously, he continued.

  “Sorry Sir, I just have to tell you this last bit of info….”

  “Enough Xiu,” Yatsen screamed the order, holding up a fist as if to strike his aide, his eyes were like ice and his face like thunder. He turned and signalled to the Officer outside to open the door.

  Yatsen climbed out of the car and General Feng stepped forward to shake his hand, Xiu came around the other side of the car, to stand waiting in the pouring rain, until the Leader stopped chatting to the General. Then they were all ushered inside the Base, Yatsen was shown to the quarters that had been prepared for him, Xiu followed.

  When he walked into Yatsen’s Apartment, he found the Leader and the General huddled around the Dining table.

  “Is everything ready for the resurrection General? Have you followed the instructions that I sent you?”

  Xiu found a seat in the corner of the room and sat down, listening to what was being said.

  “Yes, my Leader, everything has been prepared, we have used many small Neutron bombs, suspended on Gantry’s, they surround each of the Cities. Once the Resurrection is complete, we will detonate the devices and flood the area with short term, deadly Radiation, this will destroy all living tissue in that area, we are confident that there will be no survivors.”