by Aer-ki Jyr
David’s test had been two balls. Both had an inner core that was hollow, one was sealed and the other had a tiny pinprick of a hole. He could see the hollow center on both, but the one with the hole was more distinct, confirming that even though the energy field he was producing could penetrate the material, it also was being restrained by it in some fashion, the exact specifics of which the medtechs hadn’t deduced.
They had, however, come through in several other areas, namely identifying the regions of the brain that were producing the superpowers. Both David and Jason had a growth in their occipital lobes, or rather a reconfiguring of existing tissue into a denser configuration. What had caused the upgrade wasn’t known, but Archons and other Star Force personnel were now being checked for similar growths which would indicate that they were developing the spherical sight ability.
How it worked was still a mystery, but the growths were emitting the energy field, and in the case of Jason’s, the structure was four times larger than David’s, as well as many times denser, almost as if the brain tissue was developing much as muscle would. This wasn’t surprising to the Archons, but it did freak out the medtechs, given that they’d always viewed the brain like a computer core rather than a source of physical output.
In Jason’s case he also had a second ‘anomaly’ within his brain, located in the back portion of the parietal lobe, that was responsible for the telekinetic energy fields he was capable of producing. They’d also been able to identify new tissue interlinking the two, and the more he developed his abilities through training, the more complicated and intricate the tissue became, almost as if the brain was running new wires between the two to increase processing speed.
The medtechs had also been able to detect and measure disruptions/anomalies in other portions of his brain, all of which seemed to stem from the new tissue growth, as if it was progressing too fast. That was their assessment, but David put that down to no more than a guess. He’d seen the scans, and could tell that the new areas were the source of the changes, but as to how they were causing them wasn’t clear. The medtechs didn’t understand that training could progress slowly or lightning fast…it was unpredictable, but repetitive, and given the leaps and bounds Jason was making with his training now, and the gradual improvement he was making inside his head, speed didn’t seem to be the deciding factor in what was going on.
So it wasn’t with any great surprise that on his way through the halls, just as his spherical sight was fading, that something else in his head began to clench up…just slightly, as if his mind didn’t want to completely relax. David noted the change then dismissed it, having had all kinds of little tweaks happening over the past months. He hit the track next for his second run of the day, a short 5k, then he swung back by his quarters for a quick shower and nap…the latter of which usually helped to loosen the tension in his mind, a trick that Jason had passed along and David had found to be effective.
He was out for 20 minutes in a foggy trance where his mind seemed to be far more active than it should be, chewing over what he didn’t know, but the clenching seemed to ease a bit until he stood up.
David pressed a hand to his forehead and massaged the knot a bit, which helped in some way he couldn’t explain. He kept it up for several seconds on his way over to the comm terminal to check his incoming messages, expecting an update from Seraph-822 either today or tomorrow. He was following one of the leads that Kilmeade had provided them, or rather that the student who Kilmeade had identified had provided them.
After David had finished his interrogation of the operative and sent him on his merry way to a prison facility on Luna, he’d returned to the pyramid while sending other members of Green Team around the star system to track down the students that had been carrying the blood samples inside their bodies. Those had turned out to be very clever data transfers, and completely biological, leaving no nanites or other machines present to be detected even if someone was looking for them.
Instead, the blood contained genetically altered cells, matched to the target’s blood type to avoid rejection. These cells were nonfunctional as oxygen carriers, but where that capability was missing there were dense regions of material containing genetic patterns that could be readable by certain types of analysis equipment…nothing standard or handy, but advanced models that could give you a complicated genetic string, from which a computer program could synthesize data.
And not just a little data. These cells were capable of carrying entire programs, charts, books…they were essentially a biological equivalent of a data chip, one with low memory capability, given the size, but more than enough to send brief packets of intel out to operatives without leaving an electronic trail behind for Star Force or any others to track down.
Each cell in the blood sample they’d recovered was identical, with the idea being that at least a few should survive in the body long enough to reach their target. The extraction process was unknown until Green Team recovered one of the handlers that the student/colonist had met up with, and though the individual was not forthcoming with information they had recovered his equipment.
A small probe would be inserted into the carrier’s vein, whereupon it would sit and wait for one of the special blood cells to pass by. When they did a component of their design was attracted to the probe and would attach. In this way the operative would ‘sift’ through the carrier’s blood until they got their message packet, then they’d remove the probe and send the colonist on their way to begin their new life…either as the endpoint of their service to The Word or on to another assignment within the colony itself.
The students/colonists that Green Team had been able to track down were much more forthcoming with information than the operative had been, given that their association with The Word was only in the beginning stages. Unfortunately they didn’t have a lot of information to offer, but some of it was valuable, in so far as identifying some of The Word’s recruitment procedures.
Between their data, the information extracted from the blood sample, and the equipment recovered from the operative Green Team had several new leads to follow up and David had sent four members off to hunt down individuals or data trails. Seraph was currently investigating a facility on Titan where they thought The Word had set up a warehouse of sorts, but so far there was no message from him.
That didn’t worry David, because he was just in the beginning edge of the expected timeframe. However, there was another message from Davis that did concern him, detailing a bit of sabotage at a chemical plant in Mars orbit. One of the storage tanks had been detonated…nothing combustible, but it had spewed out a cloud of icy debris that caused several orbital traffic patterns to be closed down temporarily. There was already a news story out about how Star Force’s safety procedures hadn’t been sufficient on the station in question and blah, blah, blah. Point was, it looked like Star Force was being sloppy, and Davis had already tagged it as an example of The Word’s unconventional war…
Damage their reputation and turn public sentiment against them. Even if that wasn’t going to stop Star Force in any way, shape, or form, it would could cause them headaches and, more importantly Davis pointed out, create a growing opposition that in time could escalate to dangerous levels. The Word might not even have to fire a shot if they could convince others to in their stead.
That was far down the line, as the Director pointed out, but it was a concern none the less, not to mention the damage done to the station. He indicated that no one had been harmed in the sabotage, but the perpetrator had yet to be discovered.
Attached to the message was the preliminary investigation notes and David pulled those up for a quick read through before heading over to the Cerebro section of the sanctum for some more navigation drills. He got through the first few pages, indicating that the explosive had been concussive in nature and that the pieces of which had been imbedded in the ice fragments and recovered during the cleanup operation.
It had been a small device, but not some
thing you could carry around in your pocket, meaning…
Suddenly David’s head clenched up again, but this time far worse…so much so that he stumbled out of his chair and went to his knees on the floor. It reminded him of a muscle cramp, and he knew the only thing he could do was go inactive, because any movement or resistance would just make it worse.
He held position in the floor, trying not to think of anything and just enduring the pain before it began to slowly subside. David blinked away tears as he held his nerve, but like Jason had told him about his own trials, the pain didn’t go away completely. There was a small knot in his head that, once the wash of pain was gone, was still fighting him. David wanted to forcefully break it up after his nerve returned, but he held off, knowing that had made Jason’s even worse.
Instead he stood up, experimenting with the movement and finding it didn’t affect his head much, then he walked out of his quarters and headed off through the sanctum. For the first time since hearing about Jason’s story David was truly scared. Not just because of the intensity of the pain, but because of the idea that it wasn’t going to stop, rather it was going escalate to potentially fatal levels.
“Something wrong?” Aaron asked, passing him by in the hall and seeing the tears in his eyes.
“Very,” he said with a slightly trembling voice. “Do you know where Jason is?”
10
September 4, 2406
Solar System
Earth
Kian stood on the finishing platform in the dark, using a pair of nightvision sunglasses so he could watch Jason as he approached, leaping from one pillar to another across the disqualification padding a meter below. The other Archon was having to navigate the uneven pillars, using only his spherical sight for navigation, all the while Kian was attempting to knock him off.
Well, not literally, but he was trying to disorient him enough that he’d fall off on his own. Randomly he was throwing out disruption field pulses, trying to catch Jason off guard and cause him to slip up, but his fellow trailblazer was getting accustomed to Kian’s ability and had learned to guard against it so long as he used slow, deliberate motions. That had prompted Kian to not broadcast it constantly, but rather to switch it up unexpectedly and catch Jason in the transition.
He was about halfway across the course now, balancing on the tops that ranged from 15 inches wide all the way down to a mere 2. Which route he took across was his choice, but if he kept to the wider ones they also added an elevation component, forcing him to jump, not just across, but higher and lower as he progressed, making the landings even more tricky…or rather they would have been for regular Star Force personnel. For the Archons this was child’s play.
Doing it in the dark was part of the challenge for Jason, though by now his sensing capabilities had reached the point where flat objects were no longer a problem. His sense of balance had adjusted and he was able to recognize the platforms in an instant, whereas other more irregular objects took a moment to process in his mind. The more familiar the shapes were, the quicker he could react, with the geometric pillars easily recognizable.
He could also see Kian on the far end, blurry as he was. Jason’s range was continually increasing, but he didn’t like to extend it out too far for it took more and more energy to do so. Like light emanating from a star, the farther away you got the dimmer it became, and in order to see far out he had to up the intensity of the energy field considerably…unless he wanted to focus on a particular section in ‘spotlight’ mode, but that would cut out everything else around him and leave him vulnerable, and right now he needed his spherical sight active to help maintain his balance.
Jason jumped across a double gap, bypassing a 3 inch wide pedestal and getting hit mid jump with another disruption burst. His spherical sight didn’t go out, but his connection to his senses dimmed enough that when he landed he felt half numb, however he did retain enough connection to his limbs to flex his legs underneath him to absorb the landing and stay more or less upright.
He focused hard to get his balance, as if he was having to plow his neural impulses through snow-covered roads to get to his muscles, but he maintained one foot on the pedestal and wiggled around for balance, then placed his left down with only his toes touching the pillar, offering now a two legged stance.
The disruption field ended, with it feeling like his body suddenly lost 500 pounds of weight. His senses cleared up and he felt lithe again, but he knew he had to be patient otherwise Kian would catch him off guard and he’d smack his face into one of the pillars on his way down like the last time.
“Come on, Jason. Pick up the pace,” Kian said, throwing a half second burst in just to mess with him. “You’d be a sitting duck if I had a weapon.”
Unfortunately, Jason knew he was right. He was moving too slow, but it was the only way he could assure himself of getting across…and there was no time restriction on this drill, though he should probably add one later. Right now, though, he just needed to get across while holding his nerve. The disruption field Kian was producing never got easier to take and it shook him to the bone each time. He was making progress in resisting it, but by resetting his equilibrium faster, not by blocking it.
Jason hopped to a nearby 2 inch pillar set half a meter higher and skipped across to a 4 inch of equal level…with Kian not interfering. That almost tipped him over the side, having set his mind against something that never manifested. He teetered on landing…then got blindsided by a short burst, followed by a pause, then another burst.
Kian repeated it for a third time and smiled as he saw Jason topple over the side, unable to keep up with the changes. He waited for the disqualification signal to sound and the lights to come back on but the chamber remained silent…then he saw the trailblazer hanging onto the pillar with one hand and his feet mere inches from the padding below.
“That’s kind of cheating,” he called out as Jason pulled himself back up, despite another disruption field descending upon him and staying in place.
“Shut…up,” Jason said, having to force the words out as much as the nerve impulses. Most of his body was a ghost to his mind, with only thin tendrils of controllable mass, but he pulled upwards strongly, almost telling his muscles blindly what to do rather than feeling the feedback and adjusting. Soon his chin came up past the tip of the tiny pedestal and Jason reset his hands on top of one another as he snaked his head up over top of them, followed by his chest in an impressive feat of strength and balance.
It wasn’t to last. Kian kept the disruption field up long enough that the sensory fatigue got to Jason and his control slackened just a touch, but it was enough for his hands to slip and for him to come crashing down on top of the pillar. It knocked the wind out of him, for he couldn’t predict it coming with his senses on the fritz, then he toppled off the side and hit the mats.
The lights came back on, but the static in his head didn’t end.
“Enough already,” he complained, flipping over into a seated position.
He heard Kian laugh, then his head suddenly cleared.
“Can you adjust the intensity?” he asked, getting to his feet.
Kian’s merriment died out. “Sorry, but no. I’ve been trying, but right now all I’ve got is one setting. And I think it’s getting louder as I grow stronger.”
“So if I’m holding even I’m actually making progress?”
“More than that, you’re getting harder to knock off.”
“I wish there was one more of you,” Jason said, climbing up one of the shorter pillars and getting back on top, then hopping across the others easily to get to the finish platform. “I bet there’s a way to block the effect. There’s got to be.”
“I’m still surprised I’m not affected,” Kian said with a shrug. “Useful trick though.”
“Too bad we don’t know what it’s called. There’s bound to be something in the database about it.”
“Still looking, still failing,” Kian agreed.
Jason s
ighed. “Again?”
“I’ll give you three more. Any more than that and I’m going to get a headache.”
“You feeling any other power twinges?”
“Nope. You?”
“I’ve got my hands full with this one, thanks,” Jason said, hopping back onto the pillars and crossing back to the start end directly rather than going round through the exterior hallways. When he got back to the other side he triggered the start pedestal and the lights went out.
Kian hit him with a blast immediately, not even waiting for him to get to the edge of the platform. He saw Jason stumble a bit, then he hopped onto one of the smallest pillars, after which he leapt up to an even taller narrow one, seeming to take the most direct route across gap. He let him go through four before hitting him with a disruption blast just before he jumped again.
That caused Jason to only get partial power on the jump and he came up short, having to stretch out his foot to get it on the target and then leaning forward to try and regain his balance. Limber as all Archons were, he reached down and grabbed the edge of the pillar with his right hand and hung there with his butt off the side and his leg mostly extended…then he leveraged his way back up to neutral and weathered another disruption blast before standing up again.
Suddenly there was a burst of light from behind Kian. He didn’t notice it immediately, given that he had his vision augmented by the sunglasses, but Jason stopped moving immediately and Kian backtracked the whitewash around the edges of his vision to the door leading out of the finish area behind him just before the main lights came on.
“Hello,” Kian said as he turned around, a bit annoyed. People knew that when this chamber was active it was supposed to be dark.
Kara came around the corner and nodded distractedly at Kian, looking out across the pillars to where the other person in the room was standing. “Jason! Get over here!”
“What’s up?” Kian asked, taking a step closer to her as she seemed serious about something. “And when did you get here?”
