Of Minds and Masters

by Paul Ormond

  “Thanks,” SoHee half murmured as the young woman jumped on the elevator. SoHee turned and looked at her capsule. She had seen worse. She slipped inside and shut the door. There was a panel that showed different light settings and she quickly pressed the button that showed darkness. She lay on the bed and fell asleep in her clothes.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Mitch tossed and turned, but try as he might, he just couldn’t get to sleep. The pressure had mounted in the days and weeks leading up to the convention and he was now a ball of anxiety on the eve of the big event. He tossed his blanket off of his body and rolled onto his back. The air in his room was stiflingly hot so he got out of bed and opened his window. He lay back in bed and closed his eyes, but it was no use. Sleep just wasn’t coming. He felt the cool night air seeping into his room and he lay there staring up at the ceiling while an endless stream of worried thoughts ran amok in his brain.

  Of all the things that worried him, he was most concerned about Drak. He hadn’t been seen in a few days and Mitch was reluctant to admit that he might actually miss him. Although Mitch had blamed Drak for dragging him into this whole predicament, he had to admit that they were becoming friends. But he still had no idea what exactly Drak planned to do or how he planned to do it. It all still seemed so crazy to Mitch. He knew that Drak wasn’t lying, but he had no idea what Drak wasn’t telling him either. All of this talk about wormholes and masters had seemed so farfetched at first, but now he couldn’t tell fact from fiction. He knew that the device was real, and he knew what he had experienced, but the whole idea that there were inter-dimensional aliens coming to enslave the planet seemed like such a silly cliché to him. It reminded of him of video games he had played or movies he had seen.

  As he lay there trying to make sense of it all, he heard a familiar tapping at his window. He felt dread and relief at the same time. He rolled over and looked up to see Drak’s outline in the darkness. “Come quickly, Mitch. Must tell something, not much time,” Drak whispered.

  “Dude, you’ve gotta stop sneaking around like this. Couldn’t you just send a text or something? Oh yeah, they’re watching everything you do right?” Mitch whispered.

  “You know I serious, Mitch. This dangerous time,” Drak whispered back.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know dangerous. Masters coming, blah blah blah. I’m coming. Just let me put my pants on,” Mitch said as he climbed out of bed.

  “Find me by stream. I wait there,” Drak said as he slipped into the shadows.

  “Ok, just give me a sec,” Mitch whispered as he slipped on a hoodie.

  He tucked his phone into his pocket and clambered out of his bedroom window. He hopped the fence and after checking to see if it was clear, he scampered across the road and onto the path. Drak crouched by the creek and he rose to his feet as he saw Mitch approaching. “Let me see phone,” he said as he reached out his hand.

  “What are you gonna arm it with nukes now?” Mitch said. He was unsure why he was acting the way he was. Perhaps he was just growing weary of all the doom and gloom that had surrounded him for so long.

  “Not quite, but close,” Drak said in all seriousness. “When I gone this last free device in all world. It must not fall into wrong hands. I show now how to destroy it if somehow you get caught.”

  “What do you mean caught? What are you going to do now? Is this where you do your final solution and blow everything up?” Mitch asked. He still wasn’t completely sure what exactly Drak planned to do. He knew that Drak planned to sneak in and do something, but Mitch still couldn’t fathom how there could be an inter-dimensional portal generator somewhere in Kingsford.

  “I may not come back. I may fail. You must be ready to act. If they find you, they cannot find device. You in more danger than you think,” Drak said.

  “Oh, I know that this is ridiculous. Who is going to come for me? And where are you going?” Mitch asked, he had grown frustrated with Drak’s vagueness of late.

  “You see on TV today. Those men fly around with MindHIve CEO. They not here for security. They have other reason. If they find you, it will very bad,” Drak said as Mitch handed him his phone.

  “Well, what do I do then if they start closing in?” Mitch asked as he looked around.

  “We cannot activate device now or they will see us, but I can tell you how it done easily. Device may be destroyed using self-destruct. It in panel beside transfer button. If this button pressed, device will be destroyed after a few minutes. It will make big explosion, similar to portal energy but not same. Big negative energy release if device destroyed, but must be done,” Drak said as he held Mitch’s phone. “If I fail, and I might fail, then you last chance. It not too late, but this is bad time for this place. I know you make joke and this hard to believe, but believe it or suffer the fate of my people. You not slaves yet. Must fight back now or lose everything.”

  Mitch could see the seriousness in Drak’s eyes. The last few weeks had been unbelievable in every sense of the word. Mitch has seen and done things that he had never thought possible, yet he still couldn’t bring himself to believe what Drak had been saying the entire time. They stood there in silence for a moment. The night air stood still and the forest was filled with the sound of the babbling creek and nocturnal insects. Mitch looked up. The sky was clear and the stars flickered softly in the distance.

  “What will you do now?” Mitch asked.

  “I go see. Must find access. I know place. It risky but must take chance. Time is running out,” Drak said.

  “You don’t have to go,” Mitch said.

  “That true, I could stay and do nothing, stay safe. But we not safe now. None of us safe. My people will stay slaves and your people become slaves. I will not live like that. I never slave. I will fight forever until my people free,” Drak said while he looked up at the night.

  “Will you go tonight?” Mitch asked. Mitch felt a weird vibe in Drak’s voice and he had never seen hims act that way before. There had always been a constant resoluteness to his character that he held together with that ever-present grin. Drak wasn’t grinning as he looked Mitch in the eye.

  “I leave you now. Don’t follow. It too dangerous. If I succeed, it like I never here. If I fail, then you will be last hope. People here don’t know what is coming, but you have power to change it all, Mitch,” Drak said as he reached out and touched Mitch on the shoulder. “I know you don’t believe me. You still think I crazy. I know this all craziness. Before Masters come to my home. I just like you, simple life, no problem. Then they come and everything change. Now I here doing this. I know this crazy, but I must fight on,” Drak said and he looked up at the stars.

  “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Don’t go. You can’t go,” Mitch said. He couldn’t understand how he was feeling. Drak had burned into his life causing chaos and confusion and Mitch had continuously blamed him for creating the entire situation, yet as Drak was about to leave, Mitch had no idea what he would do without him. The thought of facing all of what was to come alone terrified Mitch to his core. “Well, thanks for everything, Drak. This is just my luck.”

  “Luck have nothing to do with it. You are in control of destiny. My path lies on different course. If Masters can be stopped I must try. After I go, you the only one left,” Drak said.

  “And you’ll just leave me here to take all of the blame. If you go it’s gonna be me cleaning up the mess. They’ll probably pin the whole thing on me,” Mitch said as he fought back tears.

  “Don’t worry. They not blame you. I have plan,” Drak said.

  “Yeah you always have a plan. Just run off on and do your mysterious plan. Know what? Go. It’s better if you go. Even after all of the stunts you pulled and madness that you dragged me into, I have to admit I thought we were friends. How can you just leave a friend like this?” Mitch said.

  “I go now to protect you. Don’t you see. I know you angry, but you will see that this right thing to do. If this last time we meet, I am happy to be friend with yo
u,” Drak said as he reached out and hugged Mitch. Mitch angrily pushed him away.

  “Don’t hug me. If you’re gonna go, just go. Get outta here,” Mitch shouted out.

  “You have power now, Mitch. Just believe in yourself. World needs you. Now, I must go,” Drak said and then he turned and walked away.

  “Yeah sure, thanks for everything. I look forward to seeing you on the news,” Mitch shouted after him. Drak didn’t look back as he made his way up the trail and into the darkness. Mitch turned away in a huff in the opposite direction. A million thoughts ran through his head as he walked back to his house. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks at the edge of the path. He thought to himself for a second and then he turned in the opposite direction. He had to know what Drak was up to.

  All of the strange events leading up to that moment flashed through Mitch’s mind as he walked through the darkness - from when he met Drak to the first time he tried out the device. It had all happened so fast. Mitch couldn’t make sense of any of it. He didn’t even know where Drak slept at night or anything about him. He really had no idea what was going on. He was determined to find out for himself what exactly this guy was up to even if it meant risking it all.

  Mitch knew that Drak would be headed to the enormous MindHIve complex and Mitch knew the way well. The Kingsford Hockey-plex was situated on the same grounds and it wasn’t too far away from his house. He also knew a few short cuts that Drak probably didn’t know about. He picked his pace up to a jog. His phone bounced in his pocket as he ran.

  The grounds were skirted by a dense forest that lead to a steep slope. There was a path that led up the slope and Mitch knew that there was a lookout that offered a good view of the fairground. Mitch made his way up in the hopes that he could spot Drak before he tried to enter the complex. The wooden deck of the lookout had been built years ago. It was rotten in a few places but it was still structurally sound. At this time of night, there was not a soul around, but Mitch was somewhat fearful of being seen, so instead of climbing up the stairs, he stayed underneath the deck in order to avoid detection. Before him stood the massive domes that had been hastily erected over the last few weeks. It was an impressive sight. The domes glowed softly under the bright moonlight. The whole place seemed to omit an otherworldly aura.

  There were several columns of container trucks around the back and they were enclosed inside a set of chain-link fences that seemed to stand higher than the trucks. The chain-link fence connected to a much more intricate barricade of corrugated metal that made up the perimeter of the complex. Mitch could see pairs of security guards holding posts at several spots and other guards walked the fence line. The place was an absolute fortress. Mitch had no idea how Drak could possibly get past those security guards undetected, let alone get over that fence, unless he were to use his device. Drak had said that they could track the device, but the place was probably crawling with inReal devices, so maybe he stood a chance.

  Mitch knew that Drak was deadly serious about following through with his plan, but sneaking inside that complex seemed almost impossible to Mitch. MindHIve had probably set up all kinds of security measures within the complex and satellites were, no doubt, monitoring all activity from above. Even if Drak was suicidal, the chances of successfully pulling off his plan seemed beyond unlikely. Mitch continued to scan the grounds looking for any sign of Drak. Maybe he could talk him out it. There had to be another way. He couldn’t understand why Drak was doing what he was doing. He was even angrier with him now. Sneaking into the complex was stupid and reckless. The guy had been nothing but careful up until then. Why was he charging in there like that when there was no way he could pull it off, Mitch thought to himself as he searched for any sign of his friend.

  Mitch caught a glimpse of a figure in the tree line. He could see Drak crouched near a set of bushes. If he could only get down to him, he could tell him to stop. They could go back and find another way. Mitch started making his way to the path, but he saw Drak engage his device as he crouched in the darkness. Mitch could make out the shadowy figure of Drak as he stalked cautiously beside a set of cars in the parking lot. He knew it was too late to do anything. Drak had repeatedly warned him not to come. If Mitch were to be captured by MindHIve security, he would have more than his reputation to worry about. The black site that he feared would certainly become a reality. He did not know what to do and he stood frozen with fear as he watched Drak edge closer to the complex. Drak crouched near the front of a pickup truck and seemed to be scanning for any patrols. Suddenly Mitch saw Drak launch into the air and over the fence. Mitch sat still and silent. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as the tall grass beneath the rotten deck rustled softly in the night breeze.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Drak came down silently behind a Martian storage unit after he cleared the fence. He quickly disengaged his device in order to avoid detection. He had landed within one of the open spaces between the tunnels. Several storage containers had been arranged into columns within the space. There were no people present, but Drak quickly recognized the security cameras and motion detectors that had been put in place to monitor any activity. From where he was crouched, he could see a door that lead into the complex. He had to get through that door and get inside. He could easily cloak himself and use the device to hack the door, but if he did, he risked detection. It appeared that his entrance hadn’t caused any suspicions, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew he had to act fast. He was likely to be detected at any moment. If a security threat was reported, his element of surprise would vanish and any chance of accessing the generator would be lost.

  The generator he sought was located inside the engineering station underneath the main dome. He knew this because he had obtained the MindHive Tech Conventions layout by having his algorithm harvest a wide swathe of deep wed data. It took some time, but he had finally hit the jackpot after he had narrowed the meta data filter to focus on MindHIve structural developments. The layout for a future MindHIve martian colony had been leaked somehow and the file had been passed around on the dark web for sometime. Drak had smiled when he opened the file. It contained the floor plan for an exact replica of the structure sitting in the Kingsford exhibition grounds. It wasn’t to hard to identify his target. It was the central power supply for the complex and it sat beneath the main dome.

  According to the layout there was also a vent large enough for him to sneak through on the wall opposite the door. He needed to sneak past the cameras and get to the vent or the door undetected. The conversation with Mitch still rang in his ears as he contemplated his approach. He felt bad for leaving Mitch alone like that. There was so much he still wanted to teach him, if only there were more time. But Drak knew that he couldn’t wait any longer. If he stayed he risked exposing Mitch, and if they were both caught then all hope would be lost. He had done the right thing, but he was mad at himself for parting the way they had. Mitch clearly wasn’t ready to handle the burden. If Drak failed, then he had no idea how Mitch would handle himself if the nightmare future he had foretold were to materialize.

  It seemed that the cameras had a blind spot between two of the columns. If he could move slowly enough, he wouldn’t trigger any motion detectors and draw any attention to the area. He slowly edged his way along the storage unit towards the grate. As he was doing so, he heard the access door slide open. He glanced around the corner of the storage unit and saw what appeared to be a man in a chef’s uniform walking through the door pushing a large cart. He appeared to be getting supplies ready for breakfast. Although it was still the middle of the night, there were a lot of people to feed in that complex and the kitchen staff would be preparing for a busy morning. Drak watched as the chef raised his badge and opened a door. He knew he had to act quickly if he wanted to get inside. He could either take out the cook or try his luck through the vent. Both options weren’t ideal, but he needed to act fast. He knew there would be more doors that needed accessing, and the ID badge would come in handy
, but if anybody were to notice that an employee was missing they would come looking and notify security.

  The door opened and the chef pushed the cart inside. Drak breathed deeply and deftly followed behind the chef before the door could close. The rattling of the cart had covered Drak’s movements and he managed to sneak behind the chef without him noticing. In a flash, Drak grabbed the chef from behind and slowly choked him to the ground. The chef didn’t have a chance to react and he tried to slap Drak’s arms and head but he was unconscious before he hit the floor. He was much larger than Drak and his fat torso was difficult to maneuver in the tight space of the storage room, but Drak eventually managed to drag him to a spot where he wouldn’t be detected, at least for the time being. After he had removed the man’s clothes, he took some twine from his backpack and tied up the chef. He took the ID badge and emerged from the unit pushing the cart. He walked to the door and pressed the badge as he had seen the chef do when he entered. The door slid open and Drak casually stepped inside the massive complex.

  Even though it was the middle of the night there was still plenty of activity throughout the complex. People were coming and going in different directions and nobody noticed a humble cook walking by pushing a cart. It all felt a little too easy, but Drak knew that the difficult part was still to come. He still needed to get underneath the main Dome and access the generator. He made his was down the long circular corridor which formed the circumference of the complex. The main dome could be accessed through five tunnels which connected to the outer corridor. He saw a sign on the ceiling that seemed to indicate access to the main dome. As he made his way down the hall he saw two security guards standing at the doors. They watched as people walked by, but they didn’t seem to be scanning passes. Drak walked towards the door and hoped that they wouldn’t glance at his ID. There was absolutely no resemblance between himself and the cook. If anyone looked, his cover would be blown. Luckily, there was enough activity to cover any suspicions and Drak began to whistle while he walked so as not to seem out of place. The guards didn’t pay much attention to him as he walked through the doors and entered the tunnel.