His brows furrowed as the feeling passed and then he saw it: a black shape drifting through the eternity of space.
‘Some have called it the Black Knight,’ Bic said. ‘Officials say it is debris from a NASA mission.’
Ophion squinted at the distant object.
‘Others even claim its extraterrestrial,’ Bic continued. ‘Or that it’s a satellite of the gods.’
‘And what do you say it is?’ Ophion said, as his craft approached the foreign object.
Forward thrusters fired, slowing Ophion’s approach, and Bic said, ‘I say it’s a GMRC black project, designed, made and launched in the greatest of secrecy. I say it’s mankind’s greatest achievement in the realm of space and the only place in your limited reality which contains all the answers to your greatest questions.’
The aircraft slowed further and Ophion now saw the Black Knight for what it was: an enormous jet-black space station, designed with stealth technology, a dark angular craft in the blackest of voids, undetectable and unseen by all but the most powerful telescopes on Earth. Ophion knew of its existence; he had, after all, had access to Dagmar Sorensen’s secret laboratories and been privy to some of the Committee’s biggest secrets.
‘My greatest questions?’ Ophion said. His ship glided past one of the space station’s five arms and on towards its spherical core.
‘Perhaps I should have said humanity’s greatest questions,’ Bic said.
The outline of an oversized GMRC logo emblazoned on one of the giant modular arms slid by on Ophion’s starboard side. The station was far bigger than he’d ever imagined and he said, ‘What is this place?’
‘All in good time, assassin,’ Bic said. ‘Although I should warn you,’ – the Sabre aircraft manoeuvred into a docking sequence – ‘there is something on board over which I have limited control.’
‘Something?’ Clamps latched onto Ophion’s plane and hollow metallic sounds echoed into the cockpit.
‘Yes,’ Bic said. ‘Something dangerous, something ... possessed.’
‘Possessed?’
‘Yes,’ Bic said, his face appearing on the head-up-display. ‘And it might not be pleased to see you.’
Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Five
Ophion Nexus adjusted the mechanisms on his backplate, ensuring his swords would release in the micro-gravity environment, and then floated through his aircraft’s hatch and into the space station’s airlock. Moments later, large doors closed behind him, sealing him within a pitch-black chamber.
Ophion activated his helmet’s visor, which slid down to conceal his face within its protective shell, the internal display making the mask’s eye-like sculpturing glow with an ice-white light. He pressed a button on his forearm and infra-red lights illuminated the chamber’s interior. He knew Bic no longer had access to his systems and felt secure in the knowledge his visuals, and indeed his life, were under his complete control. Whatever Bic had on board this ship, Ophion knew it would be no match for him, but there was little point alerting it to his presence. He was secure in his abilities, but he also knew the supreme confidence with which he was blessed could easily become the blindfold of arrogance. It was a tightrope he knew well, and it was one from which he was yet to fall.
As the air pressures in the chamber equalised, Ophion wondered again if he’d been deceived and the hacker was no longer on board the space station. When he’d first received data of Bic’s location, he’d initially believed it to be false, but the trace had been verified. There could be no mistake. The hacker had been located in deep Earth orbit, and the only place Ophion knew that matched the coordinates was the ship on which he now stood. A green light appeared on the wall and the airlock’s doors slid open with a pneumatic hiss.
Nothing stirred within the dark corridor that greeted him.
Ophion pressed a button and his armour shimmered, making him invisible to an array of visual and thermal devices – plus a host of others that were designed to reveal his existence, including the naked eye.
He floated forward and couldn’t help but glance out of an elongated window that ran down the passageway’s outer wall. The majesty of Earth shone blue in the dark expanse of space and the sensation of peace he’d felt before, returned. His brows furrowed, as he tried to ignore the godlike awe that coursed through his mind, but the beauty couldn’t be denied and he ceased to resist it, as, like any master of thought, he knew whatever you resisted was drawn to you like a moth to a flame.
The corridor’s lights failed to illuminate as he passed, which meant the movement sensors that lined the ceiling had failed to pick up his presence. Everything was as it should be and Ophion pulled himself along using a handrail, which led him deeper and deeper in towards the centre of the ship. His eagle-like eyes scanned for signs of danger, which he expected at any moment. But, despite the unknown threat being a terror that would have driven most people to the edge of sanity, Ophion’s heartbeat remained slow and steady, and if anyone had been monitoring this lethargic rhythm, they would have wondered if he was even awake.
A light ahead made Ophion pause.
Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. Years of trusting his instincts had honed his sixth sense to heady heights that verged on precognition. And, aside from his immense physical and mental powers, it was this ability that gave him the edge in every situation.
Only two men had ever come close to beating him; one was a madman, whose insanity made him a danger to all those around him, and the other was a man who Ophion knew, with the proper training, would prove a capable opponent indeed. He also knew both of those men possessed the same capability as he: they just didn’t know it, and were using it in its raw state. But when it was sculpted into a weapon, harnessed by the mind, it could be so much more, it could do so much more.
Ophion closed his eyes and searched ahead of himself with his mind’s eye, looking for anything that waited for him, unseen.
A tiny shock of electricity flickered across his brain, confirming his suspicions. He opened his eyes. ‘Reveal yourself,’ he said, his deep voice resonating with command.
Ophion waited for whoever he’d sensed to show themselves, and just when he thought he’d have to force the issue, a figure emerged from a concealed doorway, twenty feet away. It was a man, but even taking into consideration the lack of gravity, the newcomer moved with a strange motion that made Ophion reach for one of his swords.
‘That’s far enough,’ he said, and deactivated his armour’s camouflage.
The man slowed his forward momentum and came to a stop. His feet floated two feet from the ground, as he held onto the same handrail as Ophion.
‘Who are you?’ Ophion said.
‘You shouldn’t be here,’ the man said, his face a mask of unease. ‘Leave – now.’
‘I said,’ – Ophion’s voice deepened to a menacing growl – ‘who are you?’
The man glared at him, but perhaps realising Ophion wasn’t about to be going anywhere anytime soon, he said, ‘I was, I am, NASA astronaut Pilot Commander Tyler Magnusson, sole survivor of the U.S. Space Station Archimedes.’
‘U.S.S.S. Archimedes? I thought there were no survivors.’
Tyler Magnusson, shifted in discomfort. ‘You thought wrong.’
Ophion motioned at the empty hallways. ‘Where are the rest of the crew?’
‘Gone.’
‘Gone? Gone where?’
Tyler Magnusson shrugged his shoulders, but the effect was disconcerting, as if the man didn’t have proper control of his bodily functions. But before Ophion could quiz him further, Tyler turned around and floated off towards the illuminated room.
Ophion drew his sword and followed. The room which blazed with light turned out to be the ship’s control centre, a large, circular room, comprising a central console and a host of dormant computers and holographic screens.
One of the screens powered up at Tyler’s touch.
‘Wait!’ Ophion said, making Tyler pause. ‘What are you doing?’
>
‘The ship’s configuration, did you not see it?’
Ophion recalled the structural nuances, but failed to determine their meaning.
Tyler sighed. ‘How could you understand? I almost missed it myself.’ He tapped at some buttons, but stopped when a blade touched his throat.
‘Tell me,’ Ophion said. ‘I will not ask again.’
Tyler looked down at the sword without any sign of fear. A spot of blood trickled down his neck and he said, ‘The design was theorised long ago. A spherical module under rotation could produce gravitational force, a rotation produced by the propulsion systems contained in the exterior arms.’ He raised his hand. ‘If you’ll let me, I can activate it.’
Ophion considered him for a moment, nodded and then removed his blade.
Tyler entered a few more commands and the ship shuddered and spun. Ophion dropped to the floor, as did Tyler, the two men now standing instead of floating.
Ophion checked his visor to see it confirmed his reality: gravity had formed, albeit shy of the full experience found on Earth, but it was close enough to be almost indistinguishable.
‘What is this place?’ Ophion said. He moved to the window to look out at the captivating sight of Earth, framed against the darkness of space.
‘A research station,’ Tyler said, joining him at the window.
‘Research for what?’
‘The search for God.’
Ophion looked at him. ‘What?’
‘The search for God. Or should that be, the control of God. Or maybe it’s gods?’ Tyler gave a shake of his head. ‘I don’t know. My mind plays tricks on me.’ He glanced at Ophion, his eyes suddenly fearful. ‘You should know,’ – he hesitated – ‘I’m not myself.’
Ophion was about to say something when another voice said, ‘What he means is, he’s been alone for so long, he thinks he’s lost his mind.’
Ophion turned to see the hologram of a man standing in the centre of the room.
Bic moved closer. ‘Isn’t that so, Tyler Magnusson?’
Tyler stared at the hacker, but didn’t comment.
Bic pointed towards the Earth. ‘Did you see it?’
Ophion turned to look in the same direction, while still keeping an eye on Bic and Tyler using his helmet’s three-hundred-and-sixty-degree real-time camera system, which streamed onto his visor.
‘You might wonder what you’re looking for,’ Bic said. ‘But if you wait a moment you’ll see a second instance.’
Ophion watched for signs of something unusual and then he saw it: a flash of light on the planet’s surface. ‘A nuclear explosion,’ he said, unfazed.
‘Yes,’ Bic said. ‘I’ve done your work for you, Ophion Nexus. Professor Steiner and John Henry are no more.’
Ophion turned to look at the hacker. ‘And yet you remain.’
‘Yes, I am all ways and always. I am everywhere and yet nowhere.’
‘Professor Steiner’s dead?’ Tyler said, dismayed.
‘I’m sorry, Tyler Magnusson,’ Bic said. ‘His time had come. But do not fret, he lives on, in the non-physical dimension beyond.’
‘Beyond?’ Tyler said.
‘Beyond the illusion of death, of course,’ Bic said. ‘Have you not listened to anything I’ve told you?’
Tyler frowned and Ophion said to Bic, ‘Why have you brought me here?’
‘They search for God,’ Bic said, ignoring the question. ‘They search for ultimate power, but the ultimate power of the universe is divine energy, or what you might call, love. And you cannot destroy with love, you can only create, and what the Committee believes is their ultimate utopia of world domination is, in fact, a runaway train of cause and effect, which will return to them exactly what they’ve given to those they believe they rule: a soup of murder, torment and lifetimes of suffering. The world is a mirror and this cannot be changed. The strange thing is, they are already in this world of torment and pain. They just refuse to accept it. They refuse to see what they’ve become. They refuse to believe they despise and envy many of the people they torment, because those same people possess what they’ve sacrificed, freedom, joy, love and truth. They refuse to believe this because it makes a mockery of their way of life. They might be the richest people in the land, or even the entire world, but when it comes to what really matters in life, they are poorer than the poorest vagabond. Material wealth is an empty promise of nothing. Everything you seek comes from within. Courage, power, confidence, love, light, peace – everything. But no matter your circumstance, whether you are the evilest tyrant or the lowliest street urchin, your salvation is but a heartbeat away. You need nothing to find peace. You only need reside in the moment and experience the infinite now.’
‘The search for God?’ Ophion said and then suddenly realised what this place was. ‘You speak of the God Device.’
‘Ah, the penny drops. The Committee has been keeping you in the dark, Ophion Nexus. The God Device has been here for quite some time, and in your world, it is that around which all else revolves.’
‘You brought me here to destroy it?’
‘It is the source of what the Committee believes is the key to ultimate power. A divine illumination into the heart of God itself.’
Ophion glanced at Tyler, who stared at him with hooded eyes. The man seemed close to death, if not beyond it. His pale skin gleamed with a sickly sheen.
‘If you believe I can be controlled,’ Ophion said, ‘you know me not at all.’
‘I know you better than you can imagine, assassin, killer of kings. Do you not see? Each murder is the death of your true self. I know you feel it, life-ender. You have no existence to speak of. You are possessed of a void of darkness you cannot quench. You are a master of thought and body, but when it comes to the soul, you are like those you once served: set adrift in a sea of endless fog. You have a black, closed heart, Ophion Nexus, and yet you have glimpsed an awakening.’
Ophion remained silent. What the hacker said rang true. It was interesting.
‘I saw your eyes upon your arrival,’ Bic continued. ‘The Earth’s beauty is undeniable, and to see it as you have changes you, and do you want to know why? It’s because your soul remembers what it forgot upon your return to this physical dimension. It knows more than you can ever imagine and, like me, it also knows what approaches.’
‘And what’s that?’ Ophion said.
‘This station has been tracking a signal for years.’ Bic motioned to Tyler. ‘Show him.’
The Pilot Commander moved back to the console and brought up a hologram, which displayed a series of graphs and data streams, along with the representation of the planet Venus, which slowly revolved on its axis. Tyler zoomed in on the planet and to a small asteroid in orbit around it. ‘The signal emanates from this asteroid,’ Tyler said. ‘Although on closer inspection, it’s not an asteroid at all, rather a ship cloaked in dust and debris accumulated over millions of years.’
‘A ship?’ Ophion said, suddenly intrigued.
‘Yes,’ Bic said. ‘The Black Knight satellite exists, but it’s not the craft on which you now stand, like many theorised. It is, in fact, what is now on screen: an alien ship of unknown origin, drifting through space for eternity.’
‘An alien ship,’ Ophion said, unsure where this was leading. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t place it. His head felt fuzzy, as if something was interfering with his senses. His brows furrowed deeper and he drew his other sword.
‘I couldn’t believe it myself,’ Tyler said.
‘It’s strange, don’t you think?’ Bic said. ‘Man ignores Venus for its neighbour, Mars, despite Venus normally being far closer to Earth than its red cousin. Venus is often seen as Earth’s twin, its sister planet, so why ignore it, especially when it shines so bright in the night sky?’
‘Why, indeed,’ Ophion said. His breathing felt heavy. He checked his visor, but all systems read green across the board.
Tyler moved close to him and whispered, ‘You need to leave t
his ship.’
Ophion glanced at Bic, who seemed transfixed by the image of the masked alien vessel.
‘I’ve refuelled your aircraft,’ Tyler said. ‘They do not know.’
‘They?’ Ophion said.
‘The hacker and the God Device.’
‘So, Bic is on this ship?’
‘Yes, I think he brought you here to save him, but he’s being controlled,’ – Tyler hesitated – ‘like me.’
Ophion noticed a shimmering light glinting beneath the surface of Tyler’s skin. He hadn’t noticed it from afar, but up close ...
‘Where is he?’ Ophion said, keeping his deep voice low.
‘The level beneath us. He was brought here before me. I think he knows he’s no longer himself, but,’ – Tyler looked up at Ophion with haunted eyes – ‘the God Device cannot be denied.’
Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Six
‘Did your mother not tell you whispering is rude?’ Bic said.
Ophion turned to see the hacker’s hologram staring at them. He took a deep breath and forced his mind clear. ‘No more games. What it is you want from me?’
‘I have plans for you, Ophion Nexus.’
‘You, or the device that controls you?’
Bic glanced at Tyler, and then his hologram moved close to Ophion and whispered, ‘If you get close enough you can destroy it.’ He raised his voice again. ‘Do you want to see it?’
Ophion stared through his visor at Bic and knew he should do as Tyler suggested: take his ship and leave. But, despite the obvious trap being laid, he knew he possessed the ability to evade it. ‘Lead on,’ Ophion said.
Bic led the way out of the control room and Ophion glanced back to where Tyler Magnusson stood looking after them. The NASA astronaut gave a shake of his head in warning, but Ophion had made his decision and he continued to follow Bic along the corridor, down through a hatch and into a new section of the ship.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 146
