As his mind continued fighting the illogical thoughts that filled him, the silence started to become thick, enveloping him. Other thoughts started to creep into the edge of his mind, those of creatures scurrying in the darkness, waiting to feast on his flesh. Panic began to set in and he knew if he continued to lay still, his fear of the darkness would grow and he would go mad. Resolving himself, he spoke
"Hel...Hello!" His voice cracked as he shouted into the utter darkness. In response, the room suddenly brightened, momentarily blinding him. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust, and he found he was no longer in his fake apartment. Instead, he was surrounded by white walls with a single plain table in the center and a jumpsuit hanging from the far wall.
"Please proceed to cloth yourself with the provided jumpsuit." A strangely monotone voice emanated from all around him. He froze for a moment, but quickly overcame the surprise he felt from being startled.
"Who...who are you? What do you want with me?" he asked desperately, trying to force emotion into his ragged voice in the hopes it would help garner a response.
"Please proceed to cloth yourself with the provided jumpsuit." The monotone voice repeated the words. He wanted to scream again, demand an explanation, but a sudden draft reminded him that he was indeed naked as the day he was born. Swallowing his words for the moment, he moved slowly across the room and removed the jumpsuit from the wall, studying it carefully.
The base color was blue with white strips down the sides of the legs and arms. There was a small patch on the breast, of Earth, with lettering in a language he could not recognize. Finding nothing odd, he slipped into the jumpsuit, the material sending a shock of pleasure down his spine. It was an odd sensation, the feeling of fluffy silk that seemed to contain a strength beyond any material he had ever worn. He turned his attention back to the small room.
There was no door or windows, just four walls with a strange white table in the center. The table, which had seemed plain at first glance, actually had an intricate design carved into its face. It was odd, seeming random and slightly hypnotic, but he couldn't get a clear view from his place, so he started to slowly approach.
"Take your position by the table when you are ready to begin." Trent froze as the monotone voice appeared again, seeming to originate from the air itself.
"Begin what? What am I beginning?" Silence was the only response. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated intensely on the table, straining his mind to try to comprehend what the voice meant...what would begin? As Trent nervously rubbed his sweaty hands on his sides, a lump he had not noticed before became apparent, like there was something in his jumpsuit. He carefully searched for a pocket and to his surprise, found one seamlessly hidden in the crease of the leg. Reaching in, he pulled out a stack of flat, white rectangular pieces that appeared to be made out of plastic, each about seven centimeters long. Examining them closely he found no marks or distinct features, being solid white like the rest of his surroundings. He glanced at the table again, then back to the strange plastic pieces, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.
Understanding finally struck him...the strange carvings on the table weren't random! He could make out 10 raised pathways zigzagging from one end of the table to the other, with small gaps appearing randomly along each. He quickly surmised that the white pieces he found in his pocket were the same size as these gaps. Starring for a few more moments, he made a decision...standing here wouldn't do any good. He took the last few steps and stood before the table.
The walls fell away with a boom and a strong gust of wind struck his face. His jaw fell open as he took in his surroundings, a grey nothingness that extended out in all directions. Confused, he carefully moved to the edge, finding that there was indeed something besides the grey nothingness. Below the room, which appeared to be slowly descending, was a large white landscape. It appeared barren, with nothing on its face, but as the room continued its decent, he began to notice deep gullies, with smooth walls leading to long narrow plateaus. Trent found it fascinating, and began slowly moving around the edge of the wall-less room, trying to find the best angle, when his eyes caught a sight beyond all comprehension.
Standing hundreds of meters tall, facing away from Trent, was what appeared to be a giant person. It was massive, wearing a blue and white jumpsuit similar to his own, with short brown hair and a face he couldn't easily discern. He carefully took a few steps back and froze as the giant did the same.
After a few moments he realized it wasn't moving...and he couldn't help but wonder why as he continued to study its massive form. But seeing that the giant human had little interest in him, seeming more concerned with something in the distant nothingness, Trent gathered his courage and cupped his hands to his mouth.
"Hello!" he shouted, stumbling back into the table as the giant human, at the same moment, also cupped his hands, yelling incomprehensibly in a booming voice. The room shook, the world suddenly thrown in one direction, then back again as he tumbled to the floor. He quickly gathered himself as the world steadied, immediately noticing the giant was gone. Breathing a sigh of relief, he recovered his feet, and the giant, once again, rose before him.
But his attention was pulled from the giant as he realized the room with no walls had descended all the way to the white landscape. Trying to keeping one eye on the giant, he studied the long plateaus cutting through the deep, smooth walled canyons, far into the horizon. It was odd and he found the layout very similar to the way the table was carved. His thoughts led him to glance quickly over his shoulder, back at the table for the first time since he noticed the giant...his mind froze in astonishment.
On one end of the rectangular table sat a small flat platform on top of the middle pathway. Standing atop this platform was a little person, looking over its shoulder at a tiny white table. Trent turned in disbelief. The small person did the same. He shuffled slowly towards the table. Again, the small person did the same. It was fascinating and he couldn't stop himself from reaching for the tiny person.
As he moved his hand closer he felt a slight breeze tickle his neck and he froze, suddenly realizing in his amazement that he forgot about the giant. Trent spun around, pulling his hand back and caught the giant doing the same. He was struck by a sudden comprehension that his mind screamed was impossible. The giant behind him and the small person on the table before him were copying his movements! He tested his theory multiple times and found that whatever movements he made, both the giant and tiny person would replicate. It was astonishing...but there was something else, something his mind wouldn't grasp. He wasn't certain, given that he could not clearly make out their faces, but he was rather confident that the giant and small people were actually replicas of him.
"What the Fu..." Trent whispered to himself as his mind continued to refuse to grasp the impossible concept. Without warning, a bright flash temporarily blinded him and he suddenly realized he was not alone.
Off in the distance, in both directions, platforms similar to his own appeared, each topped with groups of stunned people, wandering in confusion. He looked down at the table and saw what he expected, nine small platforms had also materialized, each on a separate pathway, all covered with people, the same as what lay around him.
The frightened people seemed oblivious of their surroundings, screaming and banging on walls that were not there. He cupped his hands to yell towards the nearest platform, hoping to reassure the trapped people, when he stopped, finding it futile, and suddenly realizing each platform contained only women and children. Anger began to crawl to the surface as Trent watched the crying children cling to the legs of the hysterical women...what sort of sick game had he become a part of? He fumed.
"You bastards! What is-." As he, the giant, and small versions of himself began to scream, another blinding flash knocked him to the floor. Flames suddenly erupted before his eyes, rising from the gully's in-between the pathways. The game had begun.
The first movement was slight, barely noticeable,
but after recovering his feet and taking a few deep breaths to try to free his mind of anger, he knew for sure, the platforms were moving.
Trent quickly took an inventory of what was occurring around him. There were a total of 10 platforms on 10 separate pathways, nine containing the women and children, and one containing himself. Each pathway stretched across the table, zigzagging with 90 degree turns at apparent random locations. Occasionally each track would approach another, but quickly turn away, continuing its indirect course to the other side of the table.
The gaps in the pathways were what concerned him most. If the platforms kept moving unhindered they would eventually reach a gap and fall into a pit of fire. The possible horror of seeing the women and children fall to their deaths made bile rise in his throat. He swallowed it down, and started thinking of a way out of this nightmarish situation.
He stared intently at the table, continuing to take-in and analyze everything around him, when another new sight caught his eye, a small sign at the end of his track with the floating word...Destination. At least now he was positive that yes, this was indeed a game...a sick game...but a game nonetheless. Trent let a smirk cross his face...not one of joy...but of determination. He knew games were meant to be won...and he planned to win...no matter the cost.
His first solution was the simplest. He would grab each platform and place them near the end of the table, directly before the destination. It should work, he thought, since the giant Trent would copy his actions. He would be able to save all the women and children and quickly be done with this horrid game. Gathering his courage, he reached down for the closest platform, seeing the women and children cringing in horror.
"Guess they see the giant me..." Trent mumbled to himself as he closed his hand around the platform. The shock was sudden and extremely painful, causing him to fall to the floor like a board.
"Program violation one, you shall now be assessed penalty level one." The monotone voice he had not heard since it commanded him to approach the table exclaimed. Trent pulled himself to his feet, trying to work the tingling pain out of his hand, as he yelled back at the voice.
"What penalty? How the hell am I supposed to play a game if you won't tell me the rules?" In any other situation, the sight of three different sized versions of the same person pumping their fists in the air and screaming at an empty grey sky may have been comical, but with the flames lashing from between the pathways, and the women and children cringing in horror...it was anything but.
As if in response to his question, the temperature started to drop. At first, it was only slight, but as the seconds ticked passed, Trent felt the chill start to creep beneath his jumpsuit. He started rubbing his arms and quickly figured out the penalty he was being assessed...he would have to work in the cold. But there was no time to dwell. He quickly went back to thinking of a solution as a platform slowly approached the first gap in a pathway...it was his.
Time ticked by and Trent started shivering noticeably. He stared at the slowly approaching gap, knowing that there had to be a way across...then it hit him. The sudden knowledge was like a punch to the head...the plastic pieces he'd found in his pocket! He once again removed them, pulling out 40 or so of the thin rectangular pieces that just happened to be the exact size of the gaps...they were saved.
Carefully, he leaned over the table, trying to ignore the tiny people cringing on the other platforms and his own shivering hand, and placed a piece in the gap he was slowly approaching. The giant hand appearing in front of his platform created a gust of wind that almost caused him to the drop the piece, but he was able to place it without fail. An audible click filled the air as it locked into place.
"Successful integration with path unit five. Please continue." The monotone voice sounded again, not even phased by the tongue lashing that Trent, with his small and giant friend, had given it moments before.
Confident in the knowledge that he had solved the puzzle, he prepared to place the next piece in a gap and save an approaching platform, when he stopped midway. He must have been subconsciously counting the number of gaps present, since he suddenly came to the realization that the number of rectangular pieces he had pulled from his pocket were well short of what was required to allow every platform to reach the end safely. He pulled his pockets inside out as a horrible thought struck him. Would he have to sacrifice some to save the rest? He shivered, pushing away the horrid idea while rubbing his hands together, trying to keep his blood flowing in the now freezing air. Looking back to the table, he decided to talk himself to a solution.
"There are 10 pathways that each contain a platform. Each platform moves, at the same speed, towards the far end of the table, following the random zigzagging pathways." said Trent in his shivering voice as he pointed to the tracks, hoping something new would present itself.
"Each track has......what looks like......10 gaps between start and finish, which would add up to 100 gaps to fill. I only have..." He quickly counted the remaining rectangular pieces. "...39 pieces left. This is enough to save four of the platforms..." That was unacceptable, he knew, but so far it was his only option.
Time continued to tick away and Trent's stress level started to rise as the gnawing cold made thinking difficult. He turned back to the grey sky, shivering noticeably.
"Could you please give me some sort of hint? Something that would help me save these people!" Trent yelled, trying not to let his frustration, and the gnawing cold, get the better of him. There was no response.
The platform, on what he counted as pathway seven, slowly approached the next gap. It would be only a matter of minutes before it arrived. Trent, seeing no other choice, made a decision, a horrible decision that no one should ever have to make. He placed a piece in the gap before the approaching platform.
"Successful integration with path unit seven. Please continue." The monotone voice sounded through the air. Trent, now with a small smile born of melancholy, absently wondered if anyone would ever know of his sacrifice. He was sure the people on the other platforms wouldn't realize he saved their lives...but he was ok with that, he wasn't doing this to be considered a hero...he was doing it to save the most lives.
He moved around the table to give himself easier access to the four tracks he planned on saving, trying to ignore the platforms he had left for dead...including his own. He would start with track seven and lay the pieces all the way to the end. Trying to contain his shivering, from now both the cold and possibly fear, he placed the next piece.
"Integration failure, path piece placed at unacceptable distance from transportation unit. Remove immediately, penalty situation five shall be assessed until proper removal." The monotone voice sounded, accompanied by a very annoying siren. Trent attempted to remove the piece quickly, but was stopped short by a sudden invisible pressure pressing down on top of him. It took all his strength to keep from falling on the table, barely being able to push clear to collapse on the floor.
Pressure...the feeling was like a thousand pounds pushing down over every inch of his body. He tried to stand, but could not, the pressure was too strong. Breathing began to become harder, his breaths getting shorter and shorter, his lungs compressing further every time he exhaled. In desperation, he pushed his hand forward, and to his sudden surprise, found that he could slide easily across the smooth floor.
As he pulled himself forward, he deduced what he'd done wrong, and cursed himself for his idiocy. There must be a rule about how far ahead of a platform a piece can be placed. That limited his choices...he would have to save his own platform along with three others. The idea made him sick, and he knew he would never sleep again, but it was his only choice. Except before that, he had to think of a way to stand and remove the offending piece before he was suffocated by the pressure.
Trent continued sliding away from the table, hoping the pressure may lessen the farther away he moved. To his surprise, and relief, his hand suddenly came free, reaching an area of normal pressure. He continued pulling himself to the ou
ter edge of the platform until he could once again stand.
He caught his breath while he walked around the edge, rubbing his chin as his mind churned in deep thought. At short intervals he would push his hand into the overwhelming pressure, and feel an apparent slap come out of midair, knocking his hand painfully down. There had to be a way back to the table, the voice would not have told him to remove the piece if it had been a fatal error.
In frustration, he punched at the invisible pressure, and to his surprise, he didn't feel anything. But after his arm stopped moving, the sensation of a slap returned, forcefully pushing his arm down. His surprise quickly faded as he tested this newfound knowledge, throwing his arm into the pressure and removing it just as fast. He felt nothing and now knew what he had to do.
Trent moved to the absolute edge of the platform, ignoring the flames that bit at his feet. He would need as much speed and momentum as he could muster, since he wasn't positive about how long the pressure would ignore his moving body...but he was about find out.
Taking a deep breath, he plunged straight towards the table. The pressure wasn't there...he didn't feel anything as he ran the few meters separating him from his goal. But as he slowed, preparing to remove the piece he placed earlier, the pressure returned, causing him to slump as he used all his remaining strength to keep from falling. Desperately, he reached across the table, yanking out the piece that had not been properly integrated into the track.
"Penalty level five removed. Penalty level two will now be assessed." Trent's sigh of relief was short lived as he noticed what penalty level two meant...the platforms speed started to increase.
Without thought, Trent quickly placed two pieces in gaps where the platforms were about to fall into the pits of fire. He was about to do the same with two more, that were not in immediate danger, but froze as something so obvious that he couldn't believe he missed it, caught his eye.
Alutia Rising Page 6
