Of Minds and Masters

by Paul Ormond

  Incubator “W” was filled with the same ergonomic office furniture Mitch had seen on the way in and there were even more bean bag chairs. Hammocks were hung between the metallic tree lights and there were more mood walls which shifted colors at slow intervals. Mitch saw several people spread out on some strange looking chairs that resembled human torsos. They could be rocked back and forth and side to side and it appeared that some mechanism within them allowed the chairs to defy gravity as they could be made to lock in any position. Mitch stared in wonder as he walked by.

  Another group of people were at the coffee and snack stand. They were pouring an array of liquids into the tumblers that came with their MindHIve orientation packages. Mitch didn’t really drink coffee, but he needed something to keep him awake. He saw a fridge past the coffee bar and through its glass door there were several different kinds of energy drinks available. Mitch opened the door and grabbed a can of “MassBlast.” He looked at the label. It said it had six different kinds of taurine and it was guaranteed to take you to the next level. Mitch popped the can open and took a sip. He winced as he swallowed. It tasted horrible, like cough syrup mixed with gasoline, but he needed the energy. The second sip wasn’t so bad, so he had another. He saw a table with several baskets of baked goods and he grabbed a couple of muffins and donuts. He was actually really hungry. He realized that he hadn’t eaten anything that morning.

  He put the muffins and donuts on a plate and found a table and sat down. He grabbed a blueberry muffin and bit into it. The flavor was incredible. He had never had a muffin like that before and he bit in again. He finished off the muffin in no time and he started to devour the donut. After a moment he looked up and he realized that he wasn’t alone at the table. Across from him sat a petite Asian girl. She was looking at him in disgust as he stuffed the donut into his mouth. Mitch stopped mid-chew after he realized that she had been watching him the whole time. He was a little embarrassed, but he made a smile anyway. “These are pretty good. You should get some,” he said somewhat bashfully.

  The girl looked down at her feet as Mitch spoke. “I’m not hungry,” she said softly. She wore large round glasses and her hair hung down around her face. She wore a strange pink sweater that said “Fresh: dare to come back,” across the front. Judging from her fashion and her manner, she was clearly from some other country, but there was something familiar about her. Mitch noticed a strange box beside her. The box was about the size of a shoe box and rather nondescript, but it had several strange markings on it in a language he wasn’t familiar with.

  “What’s in the box?” he asked, trying to recover from his embarrassment.

  “It’s nothing,” the girl as she grabbed the box and placed it in her lap.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” Mitch said as he took another bite of his donut.

  “You’re not bothering me. I’m just a little overwhelmed is all,” the girl said.

  “I think I know how that feels,” Mitch said. “I’m having quite the day myself.”

  “I’m just nervous. This is my first time in a foreign country and I don’t speak English very well,” the girl said. “Everything is so strange here.”

  “Well, it sounds like you speak English just fine to me, and don’t worry this is strange for me too and everybody else here,” Mitch said. “Do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

  “Uhm, I have been in the news a bit,” the girl said as she looked down. “I also have a science blog.”

  “What’s its name? I might have heard of it,” Mitch asked.

  “Miss Science,” she said almost under her breath.

  “No way, I’ve totally heard of you. You’re that girl from Korea. You made that stuff. You were all over MindHIve a few months ago. That’s amazing. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Mitch,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m famous too.”

  “I’m SoHee,” the girl said and she almost cracked a smile. “What makes you famous?”

  “I’m a famous food blogger,” Mitch said with a grin.

  “I bet you are,” SoHee said while lightening up.

  Mitch felt a little giddy after taking in all that sugar and he may have been a bit delirious due to a lack of sleep, but he couldn’t believe that he was sitting there making jokes. Perhaps it was a combination of the excitement and the stress that made him act that way.

  “Okay people, let’s all gather up,” Cindy shouted from the center of the room. “If you could all come together before me and grab a seat we’ll get started.” All of the people in the room began to come forward and they sat themselves down in the ergonomic seats at the center of the room. Mitch and SoHee followed over as well. SoHee held the gray box in her arms protectively. They sat down beside each other amidst the group of beaming convention participants.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  There were smudge marks all over the glass. Robert could even see a fingerprint that had been left behind by some member of the strike team who had come to gawk at their prisoner. Beyond the glass, sat the gangly kid he and his minions had captured the night before. Robert found it hard to believe that a kid so scrawny could give a whole squadron of trained soldiers so much trouble. After what had happened in the dome and the pursuit that followed, Robert was surprised that he could sit there so casually. “Doesn’t it all seem a little hard to believe?” Robert asked.

  “Hard to believe what, sir?” Gerald Tobero responded.

  “This whole ridiculous situation we find ourselves wound up in. I’m looking in on a little punk that almost devastated all of my highly trained soldiers, and I can’t make heads or tails of him. Is he a threat or is he an asset? Do we keep him or get rid of him? No one has been able to get him to talk, but I know there are a few folks in high up places that want this guy badly.”

  “Perhaps the best thing to do in this situation is to be patient,” Gerald responded. “It seems to me that there are more pressing issues at play given the current situation.”

  “That may be true, but my window is rapidly closing and I’m afraid that I can’t afford to be patient. As I said, there are individuals with considerable influence anxious to get their hands on him. I may not have much time to get the information I need,” Robert said as he leaned against the glass. Drak sat at the table with his hands cuffed. His face was expressionless and he seemed to be staring into the one way window fully aware that he was being observed.

  “Well, there are several different methods to get people talking fast and I have a few favorites,” Gerald said as he looked through there glass.

  “I am well aware of your methods, Gerald. Unfortunately, I cannot unleash you on this prisoner. He has information that I would consider beyond classified. I’m afraid that all of this goes above your pay grade. I’ll need to talk to the prisoner alone.” Robert said.

  “I see, sir. Would you like me to turn off the coms system?” Gerald asked.

  “And the camera too. I can’t afford to have any of this getting leaked. The internet would have a field day with this kind of video. I’m surprised nothing has turned up from last night,” Robert said as he glanced at his watch. “Let’s do this now. I’ve got a lot of things planned for today.”

  “Of course, sir,” Gerald said and he began to flick buttons on the control panel that sat before the glass. “I’ve disengaged all communications and disabled the video feed. The prisoner is yours.”

  “Thank you, Gerald. I appreciate your sensitivity in this situation and your loyalty shall be rewarded, but if I find out that you’ve been snooping, then I’m sure you’re fully aware of the consequences. If anyone compromises this conversation, that beach house isn’t the only thing you’ll have to say goodbye to,” Robert said as he pressed a button beside the door that opened into the holding cell.

  “I understand very well, sir,” Gerald said as Robert stepped into the holding cell. The door slid shut automatically behind him.

  Robert entered the room and paused for a moment. He h
ad gone over the information package that the Masters had provided to him some time ago about their target and he had seen him in action only a few hours before, but seeing him there, chained to the desk staring back at him, was a little difficult for Robert to comprehend. As much as he hated to admit it, the kid had something that Robert had to respect. He had never seen anyone act the way this kid did. He had watched through the glass as several members of Gerald’s security team had attempted to interrogate him. He had remained unfazed by their efforts to intimidate him. The interrogators were only playing with half of the information, however. They were threatening him with jail time for terrorism related activities, but Robert knew that those kinds of threats wouldn’t have any effect on him. He didn’t give a damn about jail or the consequences of his actions. Robert knew that this kid was prepared to go the distance no matter what the odds. He wasn’t even from this world and he knew the risks before he left on his journey. Therein lay the problem: considering all the risks he had taken to get here and the suicidal nature of his quest, why hadn’t he taken more drastic measures? He could’ve strapped a bomb to his chest and sent the whole place skyward if he wanted to.

  This was the third time Robert had been face to face with his prisoner. As Drak sat staring back at him unblinking, Robert realized what it was that he couldn’t understand about him. Throughout Robert’s life he had been able to walk into a room and take control. He knew that his presence affected people and he had seen the most powerful people in the world, from ruthless dictators to billionaire CEOs, all cower as he entered the room. The kid wasn’t even phased by him at all and that was what bothered him. Even when they had him surrounded in the dome, and even after they had corralled him in the mountain valley, he had maintained his quiet cool.

  As Robert walked up to the desk a sly little grin flashed across Drak’s lips. Robert sat down across from him and leaned back in his chair. He laced his fingers behind his head and he put his feet up on the desk. “You know that I know everything?” Robert said as he looked Drak square in the eye. Drak’s eyes flashed and he grinned again, as if to say “so what,” but he remained silent.

  “I told you before, I know why you are here and I know about your people,” Robert said. He watched Drak’s eyes for any signs, but the kid’s face remained an unbroken slab of restraint. “Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference? You do realize that the Masters have more than one gateway. Blowing up one isn’t going to change anything.” Drak didn’t move or say anything, but his eyes remained fixed on Robert.

  “That’s the thing that I can’t understand. If your whole goal was to come here and blow everything up, then why didn’t you even try? Don’t worry. I’m not trying to make you talk. I know your lips are sealed and nothing can break you. I’m just wondering aloud. It’s been going through my head for the last few hours.” As he spoke Robert watched Drak’s eyes in the hopes of catching any movement that might show a crack in his facade.

  “You see, I deal with all types of people all the time. I can usually figure out what somebody is after in the first couple of minutes of talking with them. It’s kind of my special gift. Most people just want money and that’s easy. Others want power. Some want both but it’s usually money or power. Those people I can make deals with. We can come to some kind of an agreement.” Robert said as he dropped his feet to the floor. “You, on the other hand, don’t seem to care about money or power. But there must be something that you care about or you wouldn’t be here. Terrorists, like yourself, often feel that they are justified in doing what they do because they have been able to convince themselves that they are fighting true evil. They are certain that their cause is the just cause and God is on their side. So in their minds the destructive acts they carry out must be done for the sake of their belief.” Drak didn’t flinch as Robert talked.

  “Your people have been under the boot of the Masters for some time now. You’ve grown up a slave and all you’ve known is the cruel reality that the Masters have forced your people to accept. Naturally you would want to take some kind of action. A terrorist act in these types of situations, while futile, is a natural progression. Your band of rebels haven’t made any headway against your overlords, so your leaders concocted a plan to strike back. They sent you here to find a way to do maximum damage and you were able to penetrate right to the core,” Robert said as he crossed he legs and leaned back in his chair.

  “So now we come to the point that I don’t understand. If you are a terrorist and you came here to wreak havoc on the Masters plans in order to avenge your people, why didn’t you? You didn’t even try to blow anything up. There can only be one possible reason that you didn’t try to trigger an explosion. You are fully aware that if you went through with your plan, you would have wiped out this whole place, not just the town but everything. The power packed into that generator is big enough to cause a mini supernova. A real terrorist wouldn’t have given a damn about the destruction that he caused, the bigger the better in that case. You didn’t want to destroy anything. That means you are trying to protect something,” Robert said while looking directly at Drak.

  “Nothing here to protect,” Drak said breaking his silence.

  “Ah, he speaks,” Robert said with a laugh. “It’s interesting that you chose to break your silence now. You are protecting something, or you would’ve kept up that stoic routine you had maintained up until now.”

  “My mission failed, that all. Now I wait my fate,” Drak said.

  “What was this mission anyway? Come here and blow up a generator. That doesn’t seem like a very well thought out plan. That can’t be why you risked everything to come here. We’ve been aware of your activity for some time. Although you’ve been careful you’ve also been sloppy. It’s these mistakes that you made that make me wonder about your motivation. You have done a wonderful job of implanting your algorithm into the system, but you easily gave away your location. We were able to track you to this point and we were able apprehend you with little damage. Why go to so much trouble just to give yourself up? That’s why I know that you are protecting something. You think offering yourself up as a prize will throw us off the trail. I’ll hand you over and that’ll be that. I know what you’ve done. You didn’t come here to blow up anything. You came here to create dissent. You were clever enough using that video to spread the message, but you didn’t think that we were onto you from the start. #Epiccrotchshot boy, he’s your friend isn’t he?” Robert said while looking Drak in the eye. Drak’s eyes steeled over.

  “That’s it right there. It’s fairly obvious. How much does he know? Did you tell him everything?” Robert said as he stared into Drak’s eyes searching for an answer. “This is the problem with freedom fighters like you. You let your heart get in the way of your goal. You thought you could help these people by coming here and warning them. That was your plan all along wasn’t it? Well, let me tell you something. The people of this world don’t need saving. They have been slaves all along and they don’t want to be free. What they do want is comfortable bondage and that is what I offer,” Robert said.

  “No one wants to be slave,” Drak said. “You may think you in control but you not. You make deal with Masters and they make you slave. That will be no matter what you do.”

  “I agree with you there and I’m glad that you’ve decided to talk with me.” Robert responded. “The Masters may like to think that they know what’s best for everyone, but you and I both know that they are blubbering old fools. You may think that I am the enemy, but that is far from the case. I am a lot like you in many ways; however, I am not the kind of person that thinks they can rush in and start some revolution. That’s not how the world or the universe works. There will always be rulers and those that are ruled. It’s called the natural order. The Masters may have power, but they know nothing of progress. They are doddering and decrepit relics, just clinging to their ways, and they need us to keep them in power. Soon they will be cast aside and a new ord
er will rise, an order that can help the sentient beings of the multiverse realize their true potential,” Robert said and stared shrewdly at Drak.

  “You just like them, no different. All you do is take,” Drak said.

  “That’s not true at all. Look at what I’ve given back to my world. I am a benevolent ruler and the people here bow down before me in honor. This is the type of leadership that is needed and it is precisely what the Masters cannot offer. Join me and together we can bring about a golden dawn. We can free your people from the Masters and create a new age, an age of progress,” Robert said.

  “You not save anyone. You are liar,” Drak said.

  “Why would I lie? I’m telling you everything. I’m also willing to let you out of these chains. I can be a very good friend you know,” Robert said while smiling.

  “I know what you are. You are servant of masters and you do their bidding. I will never trust you,” Drak said.

  “Suit yourself, but I think I’ll go and have a little chat with your friend Mitch Mythic. I’m certain that he and I will have a lot to talk about. I bet I can convince him to help me,” Robert said and he rose up from his chair.

  “He is nothing and he knows nothing,” Drak said through gritted teeth.

  “We’ll see about that,” Robert said and he turned to leave. “I look forward to meeting him. He seems like a great kid. I loved his video anyway, probably the funniest thing I saw all year.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  “As you can see, I’ve made a fist with my my arm in front of me. This motion will activate your inReal device,” Cindy said as the members of incubator “W” looked on from their ergonomic seating devices. “After I have made this motion you’ll notice that a panel appears in front of me.” Cindy was encased in the same opaque blue orb that had become the hallmark of the inReal technology after it had been first revealed.