by Ian Williams
When Anthony’s eyes peered over to Stephen, Graham’s mind became all of a panic. Still behind Phoenix, Graham leaned against the base of the cube. From his position he could just about twist around to see Anthony and a few of the other men.
“You,” Anthony shouted. “By the computers. Back away and show me your hands. Someone grab him.”
“No, leave him alone,” Graham called from behind the cube. He struggled to get to his feet, using Phoenix’s small form as a climbing frame. Once up he still relied on her strength and balance to hold him up. “We’re coming out, just leave him alone.”
A small scuffle broke out over by the computer screens and Stephen sounded not at all happy about being man-handled. “Hey, bully,” he said.
“Good. Come out here, let me see you.” Anthony stepped to the side to see past Phoenix and was shocked at the sight of Graham. He recognised him. “This is getting better all the time. You’re Elliot’s friend, right?”
Graham nodded.
“Excellent. So this place is… Oh my, what is that?”
A small flash of light seeped through the thinning fog. Graham had forgotten about the unrelenting fight going on inside the Sentient’s tower. A small build-up of vibrations was all that broke free of it now. It appeared that one side was suffering, while the other was quickly making gains. But Anthony had only just seen it.
“You sent me to find The Sentient Collector. Well, this is his home. And there he is.” Graham pointed to Stephen, who was forcibly pushed to his knees in front of them all. He landed heavily on the ground and soon began to obsess over the dirt and dust that stuck to his palms. A few quick wipes of them against his clothing did little to remove it, causing him to repeat the same action over and over again.
Anthony appeared unwilling to look away from the tower. For an uncomfortably long time he ignored them all. When he finally moved on he was again surprised. This time he stood watching as his enemy worried more about the state of the floor than the armed men. It was clear for all to see that The Sentient Collector was not quite as expected. Nevertheless, he proceeded with his recovery plan.
“Tell me what’s happening out there.” Anthony waved his gun in the direction of the large window.
“Isaac is currently waging war with the ten thousand or so other Sentients in that tower,” Phoenix said, her gun aimed straight at Anthony’s head. “That was what you wanted, wasn’t it? A war. Well you’ve got one, only Isaac may not win as you’d hoped. The other Sentients will destroy him once and for all.”
“Are you telling me that you’ve already released Isaac? Someone check that for me. You, Craig, find out what the fuck is going on.”
“Yes, sir,” Craig said with a flash of teeth at Phoenix. He took Stephen’s seat by the screens and began to search the system.
Stephen tried suddenly to stand, but was held down by two of Anthony’s men. “Hey, you, get away from that.”
“Take it easy, Stephen,” Graham said. He was unsure where to aim his Taser pistol, instead he let it float around in the general direction of the enemy. With his other hand he kept a steady amount of pressure against his wound. He had half a mind to pull the wooden spike out. Was he supposed to or not? For the time being he decided against it.
“Well?” Anthony asked Craig.
The clicking of computer keys ceased after a frantic few seconds of speed typing. Craig then spun his chair around and smiled once more. “It’s true. There’s no sign of any MARCs at all. They’ve all recombined inside the system. Isaac is alive!”
Anthony returned to the large window and scanned the battlefield like a general watching from the safety of a raised position. He hooked his arms around his back and lent on his heels. He was clearly taken by the immense display still going on. It stood to reason that he had never seen anything like it before, just like Graham and his group only hours earlier. To him the MARCs were not important at all. They were just the sum of a much bigger part.
“Incredible,” he said. “Isaac? Isaac? You’re people have come for you.” He projected his deep and thunderous voice out like he was summoning a demon. When nothing happened he unhooked his arms and held them out as though about to hug the glass in front of him. “I have done everything you asked. Please, show yourself to me.”
After Anthony had spoken, the flashing of the tower gradually faded away. If the war was still ongoing it had apparently overwhelmed one of the factions involved. The one with the most power was now able to influence the tower more than the other. And whoever it was, they had chosen to cancel the light show prematurely and replace it with a building vibration. Once again it shook through Sanctuary’s walls and foundations.
“Oh shit! What did you do, sir?” Craig said excitedly as he studied the screens in front of him. “I’m seeing some sort of energy surge tracing its way through the system. There’s a lot of interference for some reason. I can definitely see something coming this way.”
“He’s coming,” Stephen said while looking above.
Taking them all by surprise, the lights inside the complex went out and a silence washed over them that sent a surge of fear through Graham’s body. He tensed up, ready to fight in any way he could, or simply lash out like a crazed animal. Whatever he was planning on doing, it would have to happen soon. He did not want to be there when Isaac appeared.
Before he made up his mind the emergency lighting kicked in, sending an inferior red shade of illumination across the room, which struggled to make it through the airborne debris. It replaced all other colours in favour of its own vivid hue, hugging every surface it touched.
Everyone looked around for something to explain what had caused the blackout. When Stephen began to shout nonsense like he was speaking in tongue, it was clear he saw something that he strongly disliked. No more evidence was required that Isaac had finally returned.
Stephen’s eyes were locked in place, staring intensely at the ground a few feet away from him. “Please, not again,” he said.
It took Graham a second or two to realise something was indeed coming. At first all he could see was an odd flickering of electricity; pretty pathetic in comparison to what they had already witnessed. With nothing to compete against, it soon became the brightest thing around. The lack of light from the tower only made the scene worse.
“Is that Isaac?” Graham asked Stephen.
“Yes,” he replied with uncharacteristic brevity. He had now stopped his incessant babbling and was no longer struggling against the armed men who held him in place. What was coming had nipped his fidgetiness in the bud.
The room remained quiet as the electric charge continued to build like a swirling tornado of flickering blue embers. After a few seconds a shape slowly started to emerge from the chaotic whirlwind. A form was growing from inside it.
“Kneel before your master,” Anthony ordered to his people with a wave of his arm. They all lowered themselves to the floor and bowed their heads. Everyone was frozen to the spot by the emerging being. All except for Graham, Stephen and Phoenix.
First an arm reached out to the left side, then another to the right. The legs were visible too and it appeared the newly formed entity was crouching with his head lowered. The shape matched that of those who had apparently worshipped him. Isaac was there and he had chosen to take human form in the same way as Luke. Of course it was not because of a desire to fit in with humans that had led to this choice, but instead a will to control and rule them.
A body had formed and slowly it began to take on detail. The swirling electrical field slowly dissipated to nothingness. The process was over and Isaac had fully formed. Though his chosen face was one they had all seen before: Anthony’s. Gradually, every detail was mimicked, right down to the clothing he wore. In this case imitation may not have been the best form of flattery, and may in fact have been a sign of Anthony’s impending redundancy.
Everyone waited for the new arrival to speak. Before he had even tried, he seemed eager to catch up with an old fr
iend, who he instantly settled his gaze upon. An intermittent flash of electricity made his eyes glow every now and then. He opened his newly formed holographic mouth and tried to say something. At first only a crackling noise and a static hiss came out. His voice had yet to choose its correct sound. “Hello.” Another bout of hissing interrupted his sentence. “Hello… my friend,” he said, eventually.
“I don’t like you, go away Isaac,” Stephen replied.
Isaac’s eyebrows dropped in disappointment. “What’s happened to you, my friend?”
Stephen found some form of comfort by holding the arm of the man on his right. He spoke to the floor just in front of Isaac. He could not look the clone of Anthony in the eyes. “You’re not my friend. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Please do not fear me any longer, my friend.” Isaac took a step closer and stopped when Stephen flinched. “I am not here to hurt you again. I understand why you tried to help them kill me, I do. This time I will make sure no-one can do it again. So please, what’s wrong with you? I’m curious, that’s all.”
“Me and Luke tried to put my mind in the tower, but it didn’t work. Some of me got left behind.”
Graham could not stop himself from looking at his friend after learning this. The reason behind Stephen’s odd personality had been explained. Somehow he had been inside the tower – at least his consciousness had. What returned to the body was much less than what left. It fit perfectly. It also suggested that the rest of Stephen could still be stuck inside the Sentient’s world. How on Earth was that possible?
Isaac waved a hand through his own holographic body, smiling as it passed through the air like nothing was there. Of course, something very dangerous was really there, something a lot of people had tried to prevent from appearing.
“An interesting story, my friend. Now, why did it take you so long to carry out my wishes?”
“Pardon me, sir.” Anthony raised his head to look upon his doppelgänger. A look of worry pulled down the edges of his mouth.
Turning to see who had spoken, Isaac revealed the missing detail on the sides of his head. It only went so far, with nothing more than fuzzy and bare polygons on view around the back of his image. “Who are you?” he said.
“My name is Anthony, sir. I’ve been working for the people you sent your emergency messages to, twelve years ago. We’ve been planning this for a long time.”
Isaac stopped to think over the implication of what Anthony had said. It caused his face to tense up even more than before. Was he showing anger?
“So, you are responsible for my escape? I see.” He returned to Stephen again. “I am disappointed in you, my friend. Were you so full of hate to have seen me trapped, separated and broken for so long?” His image shimmered suddenly, though he did not appear to notice.
In the background the constant vibrations had gradually increased once more. Something had continued to build inside the tower.
“Sorry,” Stephen replied with his head drooping, like he was ashamed to have disappointed Isaac.
“I was correct to have doubted you. If you had not taken a stand against me then I would never have sent out those messages to Anthony and his people. Clearly my backup plan was needed all along.
“I dare say my code had reached every part of this pitiful nation. I felt each piece of me as it was ripped away and passed around like tiny playthings. It is good to feel whole once more. You, Stephen, will be the first to fall under my command. Or would you rather die like the rest of humanity?”
“We are all here to serve you,” Anthony said. His voice and demeanour had lost the authority it once had. Now he was nothing but subservient, even obedient.
“You have done well, Anthony. You and your people will be rewarded. If you submit to my rule then you will reside at my side from this day forth. We have a lot to do. Time cannot be wasted, we must act quickly to gain control.”
He walked over to Anthony, stopped and nodded in approval, before carrying on to the large window. “When I have defeated the abominations that dwell within that tower, I will have an army of Sentients to my name. This I did not foresee. It appears my rise will be much swifter than I had anticipated all those years ago.”
Graham watched from beside Phoenix, without wanting to become involved. He just continued to wave his weapon around as the others spoke. His family had to have reached the surface already. He had delayed Anthony for long enough. So he stayed silent. Escape was all that was on his mind now. With the injury to his side he knew that would be harder than ever. He still had every intention of trying, once an opportunity presented itself.
“I’m not joining you. I don’t like you, Isaac,” Stephen said as he crossed his arms and sulked.
Isaac’s image became temporarily distorted again, and for longer this time. He shivered like a chill had passed through his holographic bones. It was happening at an almost exact interval, which matched a sound like that of distant thunder. Graham had not heard it much before the tower had gone dark suddenly. Now it occurred so regularly that he managed to anticipate it twice on the last three occasions. The tower was coming back to life behind them.
He looked to the others in the room to see if any of them had noticed it too. If they had then they were keeping it to themselves. None of the ten or so men he could count inside the room had even blinked at the odd noise. They were all totally engrossed by the digital form of their saviour.
“Can you hear that?” Graham quietly asked Phoenix.
She answered him sidelong and with questioning eyes. “Hear what?”
“It’s coming from the tower.”
Another low volume pounding sound emanated toward them.
“What should we do with this one then, sir?” Anthony asked, arching his chin toward Stephen. The sycophant was desperately trying to impress.
Isaac concentrated on his old friend. For a moment he appeared hesitant about answering. However hard it may have been, he had made his mind up, and it was not what Graham wanted to hear. “Kill him,” he said before turning his back.
“Excellent choice, sir,” Anthony replied. He left his kneeling position and took joyful strides over to Stephen, his hand readying his gun.
“Wait, don’t you dare,” Phoenix said. “I’ll shoot.”
The request failed to register at all with Anthony. As soon as he reached his target he extended out his arm and took aim.
“I’m warning you, Anthony. I will shoot you if you do it.”
“Erm, sir. We have a problem,” Craig suddenly interrupted.
“What is it?” Anthony replied angrily. He did not appreciate being stopped at such a moment. His snap reply had come at a cost though. Without realising, he had spoken over his master. Since Isaac’s return he had been instantly demoted, yet it was clear he was not quite ready to relinquish his command of the operation. He shot a sudden look of apology in his saviour’s direction.
Isaac nodded. “Continue,” he said, as once again a shiver ran through him.
“There’s a huge build-up of energy somewhere in the system, sir,” Craig explained. “I’m showing signs of a massive surge. But I can’t access the right menus to shut it down. Someone’s locked me out of it.”
“Yes, I have detected the same,” Isaac replied, now with his back to them all. He aimed an intense and maddened stare out through the large glass window, to the Sentient tower beyond. “It was hidden from me until now. I suspect the beings in that tower have been busy while I’ve been out here. Time runs faster in there. Soon this place will be shaken apart by the energy bursts. Perhaps I can still make do with the Sentient army I will build?”
“We must shut it down,” Anthony called back to his leader.
“Must we? You have all served your purpose already, I have no need for you any longer.” Isaac’s head spun around in surprise, twisting his digital body in response. “You!” He was speaking to no-one. Nowhere in the area he focused was there any other presence at all. Yet something had suddenly e
arned his attention. Or at least someone had.
Chapter 21
Outside
Graham was overwhelmed by relief and excitement as Luke appeared right next to Isaac. He looked battle worn, like he had fought in a yearlong war and had just escaped. His shape was less formed than before, with parts that were nothing more than a wire mesh digital frame.
“Go Graham, take Stephen to safety,” Luke said before turning to face Isaac directly. “You may be winning the fight, but you will never get out of this place.”
“Really?” Isaac said with a tone of arrogance to his distorted voice. “And how will you stop me?”
The answer came ripping through the room as the tower burst back into life. It released a flash of energy that screamed like a hellish banshee as it raced toward Sanctuary. Everyone fell to the ground in response to the earth moving rattle that attacked their surroundings. If felt to Graham like a last ditch attempt at pushing Isaac’s influence back.
Another energy burst erupted high above the tower. This time it blew the large glass window in, flinging clear debris into the waiting men. Some were caught full in the face by the glass pieces and proceeded to roll around in agonising pain. All except for Isaac and Luke were brought crashing to the ground, where they remained for a second or two.
Luke raised his voice to speak above the swishing air that flooded out of Sanctuary and into the large cave. “Even if you kill every last one of us in that tower, you will be trapped here forever.”
“I do not believe you,” Isaac returned with.
“Right now there is a huge amount of energy building within this complex. When it overloads the farming tower relay above us, the one you designed yourself, it will erupt and destroy every single relay in the country. There will be no escape for you.”
Isaac became quiet. He studied his opponent, ignoring all of the noises and all of the shaking that toyed with the humans around. For the first time he looked genuinely worried.
This was the chance Graham had been waiting for. He leapt to his feet, snapped the wooden shrapnel that protruded from his side and raced over to Stephen. In a blind rage he swung his foot into the head of the nearby man, who fumbled for his weapon on the ground. Next he dragged Stephen to his feet and shoved him toward Phoenix behind him.
