by Stefan Bolz
"Hold on a second," Seth calls out to the others.
Aries stops, completely unprepared for what this might do to her equilibrium. She turns her head toward the mossy rocks. Much better. When she closes her eyes, she has to stop herself from letting out a scream. There is a tunnel. It's wider than the others and leads to a set of doors at its far end. Rows and rows of androids march toward it. Then the door slides open and the androids enter what must be an elevator. The doors close. On the other side, as far as her eye can see, like a slow moving serpent, the androids march in unison toward the door.
This has been going on for a while, thinks Born-of-Night. I have counted close to two thousand so far. The elevator holds about thirty and it takes about a minute for it to go down and come back up. They are coming down toward you, Aries. They must know where you are.
Aries opens her eyes. When she repeats to the others what she has just seen, they cast their eyes down.
"Let's get past this and to the pillar," Ty says. "From there we might have a better idea."
An hour later they climb through a narrow opening between two large rocks and arrive on a flat surface. The pillar is less than four hundred feet away. It is massive, formed from almost completely black stone, and seems to have been chiseled out of an existing rock formation. Aries has trouble comprehending the size of whatever it was that had carved the pillar out of the stone. It reaches far up—so far that she can barely make out the ceiling. It seems that over centuries vines have claimed a large part of its lower sections.
"I hear a humming sound," Tevis translates Max's signing.
"Come again?" Ty answers, a perplexed look on his face.
Max shrugs.
"I hear it, too," Aries says.
"Well, you must have good ears because I can't hear a damn thing," Ty says.
"Me neither," Tevis replies.
"I can't hear anything, either," Kiire says.
"I c-c-can," Jeremiah says.
Mila nods. "Me too."
"I hear it," Sam says.
"I hear it, too," Seth replies.
"I can hear it, too," Amber says.
"Me too," C.J. says.
"How come some of us can hear it and others can't?" Amber asks.
"I'm more interested in finding out how you can hear it?" Tevis says to Max while signing to him.
"I don't hear it in my ears," she translates his signing. "I hear it inside. In my thoughts."
When they continue, Aries realizes that as uncomfortable as the rock formations were before, being out in the open and exposed like they are now is not much better. When they reach and pass the pillar, it’s as if a curtain opens, revealing the landscape before them.
The rear side of the pillar stands inside a large lake. Its still, crystal clear water shimmers in turquoise and deep blue. The lake extends to their right and disappears around the pillar. In the distance, a settlement of ruins stretches along the edge of what appears to be a massive indentation in the ground. The crater reaches far into the distance and past the point that is visible to the naked eye. Among the ruins stands a tall tower. It has partially collapsed but the right side seems to be intact. The landscape seems ancient, untouched, yet not abandoned. The light spilling out from the crater is soft, golden, illuminating the walls, reaching far up toward the ceiling in the distance.
"Where does the light come from?" Mila asks.
"I haven’t the slightest idea," Ty answers. "Must be inside the crater."
"If we follow along the shore, we'll come straight to the tower," Seth says. "We might get a better view from there."
"Shouldn't we... hide somewhere?" C.J. says. "Rather than try to get closer to whatever is there?"
Aries can't help but think that C.J. spoke out loud what each of them has been thinking, herself included. She picks up a narrow piece of black rock from below her feet. It’s shaped like a small scythe and one end fits perfectly into the palm of her hand. The stone feels cool to the touch and she wonders if this would be considered an artifact from a time long since passed.
"We should go," she says. "There's no sense in avoiding what must be done."
But her words belie what she knows to be the truth—that they are walking straight toward their end.
* * *
Keeping the lake to their right, they travel along its shore for close to three hours. There is a heaviness to their stride—not the light footsteps of children, but the burdened walk of someone who has recognized the harsh reality of what is to come. Not much conversation is exchanged between them. Once in a while, Jeremiah and Amber talk quietly. Jeremiah tells her that, in his estimate, the amount of androids passing through the elevator and coming down toward them is approximately eighteen hundred per hour and that, by now, there could be as many as five thousand of them down here, if not more.
Aries has been walking next to Ty when possible, enjoying her old mentor's company. Once in a while he'd put his hand on her shoulder as if seeking to steady himself.
"I'm glad you're here," she says, overcome with concern for him.
"I'm glad you're here, too," he answers. "Even though I'd feel a little better if 'here' were someplace else."
"When we crossed the sky bridge between the buildings, we saw the city," Aries says after a while.
"How did it look?" Ty asks.
"I guess like any city that has been abandoned for eighty years. And to think that, all this time, it was perfectly habitable. People could have lived there, grown up, raised their children..." Aries's words trail off. "We have been taken advantage off. We've been whipped around like cattle in a pen. We can do better."
A smile crosses Ty's face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because you remind me of myself."
"How so?"
"I felt the same way when I was your age. I just never had the guts to do something about it."
She looks at him for a while.
"You do now."
"That is true," he says.
Their gaze turns to the large tower ahead. Standing on a hill, it seems even more imposing now than it did a few hours ago. Its lower walls of stone hug the black granite-like formation on which it is built. The individual square stones look polished, giving the black patina depth and texture. There are almost no visible lines where one carefully chiseled square meets the next. The deep green vines have made the tower their home a long time ago and left only a few patches of stone bare. To the right of the tower, the ruins extend along the edge of the crater behind it. Aries can now see the light illuminating what's left of the ancient structures.
I think I've found a way down, she hears Born-of-Night think. But it's getting more and more difficult to stay undetected.
I hope to see you soon, Aries replies. Once in a while she’s managed to close her eyes long enough to get a fleeting image from Born-of-Night. But it has mainly been tunnels and other unidentifiable places.
We have come so far that I want to see it through to the end, Aries thinks. But right now I would rather not have started this.
We do what we must do, Aries Free-Born, she hears. That's how it has always been. That's how it will always be.
Why do you call me Free-Born? Aries asks.
Because you are born free, the hawk answers.
But I am not free.
Yes, you are. You have not claimed your freedom yet. And once you do, you will make it possible for others to free themselves as well.
Born-of-Night's thoughts echo through her mind. For a moment, the fear in her eases, making room for something else to take hold—something ancient and powerful, waiting at the threshold of her mind. But as much as she wants to welcome it, the dread that returns doesn't allow her to open the door. She realizes at this moment that the terror of whatever fate awaits them here deep inside the mountain, the terror of facing an enemy of overwhelming proportions, is nothing compared to the fear of what sleeps inside her and is about to awaken.
"Look at this!" Sam interrupt
s her thoughts.
He stands in front of a door that is half-buried in the ground. A small mound behind it suggests a passageway of sorts, leading toward the tower about two hundred feet away. When Sam and Seth move the vines out of the way they realize that the door is halfway open, leaving a narrow space to crawl through.
"I've had enough of tunnels for a while," C.J. says.
Aries can't help but laugh out loud, as this is exactly what she’s been thinking too.
"There doesn't seem to be an entrance in the walls of the tower," Kiire says. "At least none that I can see."
Seth and Sam hold the vines apart, waiting for everyone to climb through. When Aries enters the inside of the passageway she is surprised by its size. The light coming through the gap left by the open door illuminates the first twenty feet. The polished black floor is clean, as if the dust of the centuries hasn't settled on it. Her feet tingle slightly and when she touches her palms to the floor, the fine hairs on her hands stand up.
"Oh, it tickles," she hears C.J. say behind her.
"Some kind of force field, maybe?" Kiire asks.
"It's magnetic," Ty says, while moving his hands over the smooth surface. "And pretty powerful."
On an impulse, Aries takes out the small stone scythe from her coveralls pocket and lays it on the floor. It feels as if it attaches to it and, once on the ground, Aries has to use a good amount of force to pull it back up.
"The stone must have metal in it," Kiire says.
"And a pretty high percentage," Ty adds.
"This is strange," Amber says.
"What is?" Jeremiah asks.
"I don't know what makes me think that but I'm certain the light source outside has something to do with it."
"It's not that far ahead," Sam says.
They begin to walk toward the light that spills down from an opening in the ceiling on the other side of the passageway. When they reach the other end, they stop at the foot of a long stone stairway leading to a landing far above. A narrow opening in the tower wall allows the light to come in, immersing the steps in golden light. Aries counts one hundred ninety-two steps until they reach the landing. From there, another set of stairs similar to this one continues in a ninety-degree angle to their left. The openings in the tower wall are too high for them to be able to see the outside.
After the fourth set of stairs, they come to yet another landing. The light there is already much brighter than in any of the other stairways.
"Almost there," Ty says, catching his breath. He and Tevis have been walking slowly but steadily up the long staircases, but they both look as if they could use a break. Tevis has used her handkerchief several times to wipe the sweat from her brow. She’s continued to hand the same handkerchief to Ty, who uses it willingly.
"Next time, an elevator would be nice," Ty says.
Tevis smiles at him. "You know, when this is all over, you'll have to walk all the way up to the surface again," she says.
"I'm going to have Sam carry me," Ty replies.
"You got it, boss," Sam replies. He and Mila have been walking together for most of the way and Aries becomes aware again of the strong sense of protection she feels from Sam toward Mila and the others. As if his presence alone lays a protective shield over everyone he meets.
One by one, they reach the domelike structure. It is made of the same polished black stone as the rest. The rear side, where they stand, is fully intact, its walls reaching up to the highest point. But the front part facing the light source has collapsed, leaving a hundred and eighty degree view of what lies beyond. The floor they stand on is filled with the broken pieces of the roof structure.
Not one of them dares to move. They stand still, trying to comprehend the sheer scope of what they see. After a few seconds, Aries puts one foot slowly in front of the other. Far in the distance, past the crater below that is still hidden from their sight, several of the large stone pillars reach far up to the ceiling, of which only a vague outline is visible, so strong is the light that touches it. Mounted to two of the nearest pillars on either side of the crater are tracks leading up toward the ceiling and down below.
"Elevators," Jeremiah says, before Aries recognizes what they are. On one of the tracks, a cylindrical cabin moves downward. Its glass enclosure lets them see what's inside. The dark forms of the androids fill the cabin as it descends out of their line of sight.
"Make that F-f-fifteen thousand," Jeremiah says.
Aries reaches the front of the platform. The crater must be easily two thousand feet deep. Not unlike a funnel, its sides slope gently toward the center—an expansive level area. And there it sits. Two massive, bowed pillars reach from the bottom at least four hundred feet up, leaving an opening toward the top. In the center between the two pillars, a massive three-dimensional blade turns slowly around its own axis. The circular shape surrounding the blades turns as well, very slowly on both the horizontal and vertical plane. The circle is surrounded by a triangle, probably the most impressive of the shapes, as the length of each side must measure at least four hundred feet. The triangle, made from the same slightly transparent material, slowly turns on the horizontal plane, as if held by an invisible string from above. But neither of the objects—not the large fan blade nor the circle—has any visible connection to the pillars.
Aries cannot help the tears that come. When she looks at Amber, she sees her weeping quietly as well. Tevis and Ty hold each other, and Sam has Mila on his arm. Kiire shakes his head over and over. Seth and C.J. have taken each other's hands. Max stands next to Aries. Her hand searches his, grabs it, and holds it. Never before has she seen anything so graceful and powerful at once. The slow, fluid motions of the blades in unison with the circular shape around it give it an almost otherworldly quality, besides being a feat of engineering that must go far beyond what she knows is possible. A light beam passes through the two pillars, reaching up toward the ceiling.
It takes a while for them to take in the whole scene. Aries slowly becomes aware of the rest. Surrounding the machine, an ancient city covers most of the bottom of the crater. There must be hundreds of small buildings, tucked against each other and only separated by roadways that lead from the center outward toward the edge. There and surrounding the city stand a number of tall statues, facing inward. Aries counts six of them. Made of the same dark black stone, their heads remind her of a lion’s. Their eyes are closed in an expression of deep reverence. Interspersed throughout the city stand a number of larger buildings that also face inward. There is a large lake to the left, its surface shimmering in shades of cobalt and turquoise. Several structures reach up from inside the lake as if part of the city lies submerged there.
In the area immediately surrounding the machine stand several dozen smaller towers, each with a hemispheric cupola for a roof and arranged in a circle around the machine. In between them lies what at first glance looks like dark ground cover. But as their eyes adjust to the light, they see that the black mass is made of individual dots. And then Aries recognizes what the dots are.
"I think I was wrong before," Jeremiah says quietly. "This is closer to f-f-fifty thousand."
"You must have really pissed them off," Ty says to Aries, without taking his eyes off the scenery.
"I think it's you they’re upset with," Aries replies. "You left the hatch door to the water reservoir open. All kinds of bacteria can get in there and pollute it."
"I guess I should go down and apologize."
"Not sure, at this point, if a mere apology is going to do it, Ty. But it's a start."
"We are so screwed," Kiire says after a while. "We don't even realize how screwed we are."
Dizzied by what she sees, Aries sits down where she stands. It’s as if all the strength she’d managed to muster instantly drains out of her. The others sit down as well. All of them except Amber. Her gaze is fixed on the machine.
"Are you okay?" Tevis asks her.
Almost imperceptibly, she nods.
I think
I found a way to you, Aries hears the hawk think.
When she closes her eyes, she sees one of the locks. Born-of-Night must be sitting on one of the steps on the circular staircase, looking down. The whole area is abandoned. The hawk jumps off, gliding down and toward the walkway that surrounds the shutter-like mechanism. She lands on the walkway and slips into a narrow opening no more than a few inches in diameter. For a few moments, Aries can't see anything until the hawk jumps and lands again on a thick cable leading into what look like small transformers.
Where is this? Aries asks.
Right below the last lock, Born-of-Night replies, as she jumps onto the transformer unit and from there onto another one. Aries can see that there are several dozen of them, all arranged in a circle and mounted to the underside of the lock. Each of them must be at least twenty feet wide and as high. A bright light illuminates the units from below. This must be the beacon reaching up from the machine. Then something in the hawk's peripheral vision grabs Aries's attention.
Wait, what's this? Aries asks.
When Born-of-Night turns her head, she sees it.
Can you get closer?
The hawk jumps toward the edge of the transformer unit. From there, Aries has an unobstructed view of the lock's underside. Where the transformer units are mounted underneath the platform surrounding the lock mechanism, a thick plate of what must be crystal or glass-like material sits in its center, spanning the whole aperture of the lock. A slight red glow emanates from it. Its edges are connected to each of the transformers.
I'm coming to you.
The hawk drops into the light beam below, opens her wings, gliding through the air and away from the ray. The machine becomes visible below as the hawk descends next to the beacon. From here, the city stretches in all directions. Its deep black stone buildings are in stark contrast to the sandy ground of the crater. Several large parabolic antennas sit on the slopes of the crater, facing inward. Scaffolding is mounted to one of the larger pillars next to the machine. Aries opens her eyes. Ty is the first who catches her glance.
"You were right," she says.
