by Craig Gaydas
“Sit there.”
I was hesitant at first. I was unsure of Grillick's plans for me. He never told me why he rescued me and I had no idea who this Vanth character was. I sat reluctantly, ready to bolt for the door at the first sign of trouble.
“Put your right arm there,” he motioned to the right armrest and I did as requested. He placed the cybernetic hand about two inches from my wrist and retrieved a syringe from a nearby table. He held it to my neck. “Now this will sting for only a second.”
I watched the needle warily. “What's that for?”
Grillick cleared his throat and uttered a dry chuckle. “The process of attaching a cybernetic appendage to existing flesh is rather…unpleasant. This will render you unconscious and allow me to conduct the procedure without you squirming like a stuck fish.”
Being unconscious was really not what I had been planning, but my options were limited. “Okay,” I muttered.
He placed the needle against my neck and depressed the plunger. At first it felt like the normal pinch of a needle but it suddenly became a burning sensation which enveloped the entire right side of my neck. It was as if someone placed a bag of hot coals there. It became nearly unbearable but before I could voice my protest everything went black.
When I woke I felt a tingling sensation radiating from the right side of my body. Grillick was standing on a stool hunched over one of the wash basins. The right side of my mouth felt ten times too heavy and when I spoke it was mostly from the left side. “What happened?”
Grillick jumped. “Holy Griselda and the Seven Isles!” he exclaimed. “Don't scare me like that.”
“What did you do to me?” I cried. “I can hardly feel the right side of my body.” I looked at my right arm and saw the cybernetic hand attached but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't move it or any of the fingers. “The hand doesn't work!”
He hopped off the stool and waddled over. “Of course it doesn't work, silly. I had to wait until you were awake to calibrate. Is your kind always this impatient?”
He grabbed something that resembled a neon flathead screwdriver from a nearby toolkit. He pressed down on my wrist, like he was feeling for a pulse. Once he reached the bottom of the palm I could no longer feel his touch. I heard a snapping sound and a small panel opened to the left of my thumb. Grillick shoved the screwdriver inside and sparks flew. Every finger closed in on itself, forming a fist.
“Oops, wrong wire,” he muttered. “Let's try that again.”
“Wrong wire, he says,” I grumbled but he ignored my barb.
The second time he did it I felt an itching-burning sensation, as if ants were building a colony underneath my skin. “This itching is driving me crazy,” I complained. “Can you do something about it?”
Without looking up, Grillick muttered, “Son, never rush an engineer during a calibration. If I make one mistake, I might have to take your entire arm off in order to fix it.”
My eyes widened but I shut up and let him work. With one hand I was nearly useless. With only one arm I was an appendage away from being a floor mat. He stabbed at my wrist again and my fingers twitched. Grillick stuck his tongue between his lips in a comical parody of a person deep in thought. “I almost got it.” He poked again and my hand formed a fist.
“Hey I felt that!” I cried triumphantly.
“That is the desired result we were looking for,” he acknowledged. He closed the panel and tapped my forearm. “Okay, we are almost done. Can you flex your hand?”
I squeezed and the fingers moved, forming a fist. I could hardly believe my eyes. The movement felt so natural. It was like Grillick magically returned my hand. “It's a miracle,” I gasped.
Grillick waves his hand in front of his face like he was trying to swat a fly. “No, no, no. I simply applied a formula for success. Calculations and skills are not miracles.” He tossed the screwdriver aside and slapped his hands together. “Do you want to know what a miracle is? Trying to get Grog to part with his Hydrophanic laser swords, now that's a miracle. Now that we're done here, I suppose you want to know why you're here and where we're going.”
I squeezed my new hand a few more times. “I guess that would be nice,” I replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Why don't you start from the beginning and make it easier on both of us?”
Grillick let out a dry hacking cough that proceeded to get worse. Patches of skin shone crimson through his furry face. He continued to hack and I realized he was choking. I put my hand on his shoulder but he waved it off.
“Hey, are you alright?” I asked with concern.
He started making a god-awful retching sound and coughed up a ball of fuzzy slime at my feet. After taking a few deep breaths he admired it as a cat would an unconscious mouse. “Whoa,” he wheezed. “That was a big one.”
“What is it?” I curled my lip in revulsion, trying to get as far away from it as possible.
Grillick wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Hair ball. They come on every once in a while, usually when I get excited.”
“Hair ball?” I watched the thing on the floor as if it were about to come alive. “What are you?”
“What am I?” He looked insulted. “I am not a what, I am a who. Grillick the Artificer is my name. Science, invention, alchemy and chemistry is my game.” He bowed.
“What do you want with me?”
He cocked his head. “Well, for starters a thank you for giving you a new hand would be nice. But to be honest it isn't I who needs you.”
I scratched my head in confusion. “Who does?”
“I have my orders,” he replied calmly, “to deliver you to Vanth.”
“I don't want to go to Vanth. If you really want to help you will take me to my friends,” I explained. “They are on Xajax and could use the information I have.”
Grillick folded his arms and rubbed his chin, giving him a very philosopher-like appearance. “Where to start…where to start?” He held up his right index finger and began to count off. “Dilemma one: I suppose I will start with the Insurgents, if these are the friends you speak of. They are no longer on Xajax. Dilemma 2: Word has reached Vigil that human survivors are being transported to Vexall by the Kamilians so he has agreed to assist in the safe transition of the survivors. They are relocating their base to Vexall. Dilemma 3: um…oh, wait. Where was I?”
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “You know Vigil?”
Grillick sighed. “Such a silly boy, of course I know Vigil. He is one of us.”
“Do you mean to tell me you're one of the Twelve Timeless?” I looked at him with disbelief.
He narrowed his eyes. “I'm not sure I appreciate your tone, but yes I am.” He strolled over to a workbench and picked up a vial containing a bright green liquid. “I am the inventor of the group. I'm charged with coming up with new gadgets, trinkets and designs to keep the universe going.”
“Wow, the whole universe,” I replied sarcastically.
Grillick began to cackle. “Ha-ha-ha, I see he doesn't believe the almighty Grillick!”
He waved his arm dramatically before hurling the vial at my feet. It exploded in a plume of green fog. As soon as it cleared a black bear the size of a bus appeared before me.
“Holy hell!” I cried and leapt from the chair, tripping over a stool and smashing the side of my head against a cabinet. A crown of stars fell before my eyes.
The bear stood on its rear haunches and let out a blood-curdling roar. Just as it was about to pounce, it vanished. Grillick brayed like a donkey. “Oh-ho-ho-ho!” he shouted as tears streamed from his eyes. “HA-HA-HA! Not so brave, are we, against the might of Grillick the Great!”
“What the hell was that?” I asked and rubbed the side of my face as I checked for blood.
“I haven't given it a name yet because it still doesn't last as long as I would like,” he admitted. “As of right now, I file it under Liquid Holography.” He waddled over, picked up the stool and set it straight. “Oh well, as I was saying, the Insurgen
ts are not strong enough to fight a war on two fronts. They are going to build their forces, assist with Earth's relocation and let the Consortium and Ascended fight it out. Corvus and Calypso have gained strength. With the assistance of Janero and the bolstered ranks of the Scarlet Moon added to his pieced together Lumagom army they make a formidable foe. Meta and his cronies are flying around the universe making sure that planets aligned with the Consortium are truly loyal. Right now they hold the edge over Corvus' forces, but the margin is growing thinner by the hour.”
“Who is Vanth?”
Grillick chuckled. “Vanth the Adjudicator. In short, he judges. If you ask me his true purpose is King Grump. But if you ask the others, his true purpose is training. He is proficient in all forms of weapons combat, hand-to-hand combat as well as the art of transcendence.”
“Transcendence?” I asked.
“It's an ancient art form that originated on his home planet. I'm not entirely sure how it works but supposedly it's some form of meditation.” Grillick shrugged matter-of-factly. “If it doesn't involve science than I have no time for it, to be honest.”
“Why are you taking me to him?”
Grillick turned and fiddled with a pile of circuit boards on a nearby desk. “I am never going to get this thing functional,” he muttered. “If I have to make another prototype I will simply blow my top. If only I could find my magnetic tube wrench the repairs would be much easier.”
“Can you please answer me?” I demanded.
Grillick sighed. “We fear that there is sinister work afoot. Corvus' appearance is not a coincidence. Destroying a time hole may have dire consequences. The stability of the entire universe is at stake.”
“What does that have to do with me?” I asked.
“I suppose there is time,” he mumbled as he glanced at a wall clock above the work bench.
The clock read 31:43:11. So much for me figuring out time while aboard Grillick's ship. “Time for what?”
He looked at me and smiled. “Time to start from the beginning.”
The Beginning
Grillick led me to a room down the hall from the lab. It came equipped with a bed, desk, two chairs, a bathroom and a couch. All the comforts of home; a home aboard a flying research center in outer space that is.
“Have a seat and I'll explain everything.”
I plopped down on the couch and admired its softness. It was like sitting on a cloud. I kicked back, stretched and laid my head back. On the ceiling hung a large ring, about the size of a chandelier. A cool breeze wafted from it. I recognized it as some kind of air recycling system.
“Do make yourself comfortable,” Grillick said, slightly annoyed. “Anyway, in the beginning this universe was created after an enormous explosion on a cosmic scale.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I interrupted and waved my hand in the air. “I paid attention in school. I know this already.”
Grillick stopped and fixed me with a hard stare. “I'm sorry was I interrupting you? Do you have somewhere to be? You know nothing, Nathan Chambers, so I suggest you sit back and shut your face hole.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and looked away. Sometimes I let my immaturity get the best of me and Grillick's scolding was an embarrassing reminder.
“As I was saying,” he continued. “That is how this universe was created. I won't rehash the birth of this universe because frankly it is common knowledge and the subject bores me. But what few people realize is the explosion destroyed the previous universe.”
“Previous universe?” I sat up. He now held my interest.
“The Timeless were the only survivors of the Big Bang.” Grillick paused for a moment before breaking out in a high-pitched giggle. It sounded like a squeaking mouse. “Big Bang. What a silly name. Since sound does not travel through space it should have been called the Big Light Show. Anyway, I digress. Where were we? Oh yes, the beginning.”
Watching Grillick babble was like watching a crazy person in a straitjacket sitting in a padded cell discussing chess tactics with a toilet. I remained silent, however, and listened to what he had to say.
“Vigil's home planet of Kron was the first to be destroyed. Mine was the last. Ibune gathered us like a shepherd but we fell into a state of suspended animation from the cosmic radiation. Time passed while we drifted aimlessly aboard her ship.”
I blinked. “This story is ridiculous. Are you telling me that you not only survived the Big Bang, but you lived before it even happened? That would make you billions of years old.”
“That about sums it up, but I suppose the suspended animation helped along the way,” he responded coolly. “So I guess maybe we are only millions of years old. Who knows?” He shrugged. “You tend to forget a lot during such a large amount of time but I will never forget the beginning.” He paused. “None of us will.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my face. “I'm sorry, I don't believe that at all. You don't look like you're older than forty-five,” I muttered sarcastically.
Grillick tapped his foot impatiently. “I will ignore your japes for now. I may be ancient, wise and good-looking, but I don't have all the answers. The universe is mysterious and no one will ever unlock all of them. I have done billions of calculations and conducted twice as many experiments but it all revolves around the cosmic radiation. I assume I will achieve enlightenment on the subject someday. This brings me to the part about why you are here.” He cleared his throat for a long time and I was worried that he would cough up another hairball. After a few moments of dry hacking he continued. “The universe is beginning to destabilize again. Not because of any natural occurring phenomena, but because of the actions of High Prince Meta and this Solomon Corvus fella.”
When he saw that I was completely confused, he shook his head and continued. “Traveling through a time hole for research is one thing, but traveling through a time hole and starting a war is another thing altogether. When Corvus stepped through the time hole, his actions disrupted the flow of time. We must repair the damage before the universe become one big fireworks show again.” He ran his hand through his thick beard and scratched his chin. “Meta on the other hand attacked an inhabited planet, destroyed its atmosphere thereby starting a chain reaction which will ultimately lead to the demise of the time hole on Earth. Destroying time holes also disturb the balance. He needs to be stopped.”
“I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with me?”
“Ibune hopes you will bring balance by restoring the Consortium to what it once was. They have lost their way. They have forgotten their primary mission.”
“Who is Ibune and how does he propose I do that?”
“Ibune is a she,” Grillick clarified. “I'm not exactly sure what she has in store for you but I'm sure she has a plan.”
“Oh. Well, that makes me feel much better now.” I rolled my eyes.
“There is a reason I am explaining this to you so be quiet and listen. Over the centuries we have seen much. Species had been born and species had died. Wars have been fought. We lived through the destruction of planets, galaxies and a universe.”
“So, are you guys some sort of gods then?”
He shook his head. “We are immortal only in the fact that we do not age. We can still be killed.” He stopped suddenly and rubbed his hands together, as if he were recalling a distant memory. I thought I saw pain in his eyes.
“There were more of you.” I meant it as a question but it came out a statement. His fidgeting at the mention of death gave it away.
He nodded slowly. “Sixteen of us, originally,” he lamented. “I will not bother delving into their history at this time. But it serves a valid point. We can die.”
When I didn't press the issue further, he continued. “Wars have come and gone in this universe. There was the War of Galaxies, the Vaire-Charr trade embargo, the Lumagom-Consortium war, the Exorg conflict and many others. Throughout the centuries there was one constant. That constant was us. We remained vigilant but stayed out of the con
flicts. We chose to stand aside in order to let the natural order of things progress. We agreed to be the watchers, only interfering if the integrity of the universe was at stake.”
“Which is now, I assume?” I asked.
“When Corvus came through years ago, we took notice but stayed our hand. We were alerted every time someone traveled through a wormhole. Heck that was the only job Lapiz the Protector had. His job was to monitor wormholes. He was alerted every time someone stepped through. We realized that people have been traveling through wormholes for centuries.”
“Aren't you concerned that what they do in the past could affect the future?” I found it difficult to believe that these sentient beings did not interfere with people who jumped through time.
Grillick shook his head. “What they did in one time period would have not affect the one they came from.”
“Why not?”
He scratched his head vigorously before replying. He scratched so hard I was afraid he would remove his hand with large tufts of his hair. “Time is like a river. If you place a rock in the water, the waters will simply flow around it. If you try to block it with a dam, the force of the river will tear it asunder. Time cannot be stopped. It can only be redirected.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I pressed.
“It means you cannot simply travel back in time within your own time period. What has passed has already passed. It can never be recovered.”
“But how do you explain Corvus?”
“Easy!” Grillick smiled. “Corvus is from another timeline. His past has already been written. Even though this time period is technically from his past, he is in the wrong timeline. Nothing he does here will affect where he came from.”
“I'm so lost right now,” I admitted.
