Crux

by James Byron Huggins

  “First,” Janet stated, “because they wouldn’t be able to hunt us, herd us, or kill us if they’re ghosts or shadows or some foggy image of a raccoon. That’s another reason why they have literally absorbed the neutrinos and molecules of this dimension. They have to be able to touch human beings. But I think this transformation also permanently alters their composition. In other words, it makes them vulnerable.”

  “How does that work?” asked Jackman.

  Janet didn’t skip a beat. “When they forsake their original form to assume the form of flesh and bone, they can’t change back. They are, in a sense, flesh and blood. And it makes them vulnerable. It’s, like, someone can choose to have their legs amputated, right? Okay. That’s easy. Just chop ’em off. Well, that’s exactly what these things do when they come here. They forsake their first estate. They get their legs chopped off. But we can’t just simply choose to have our legs put back on. What’s done is done. And it’s the same with them. Once they forsake their original form and absorb the molecules of this world on a subatomic level, they can’t undo it. I mean, everybody with a brain is aware that it’s a lot easier to absorb radiation than it is to get rid of it, right? You can absorb it in two seconds. But it might take you a century to get rid of it. And that’s what they’ve done. They’ve absorbed the radiation particular to this universe and it’s pretty much permanent. Which is both good and bad.”

  Roy was acutely studying a monitor as he morosely stated, “I can guess the bad part. What’s the good?”

  “The good part is that once they absorb the radiation of this dimension so that they can physically touch us, they’re limited,” said Janet with a glance. “The bad part is that they’re in this to the death. They know they can’t go back, so they’re like those gladiators of old times who would tie their foot to a stake and make a last stand against an entire army in the middle of nowhere with no retreat, no surrender. Because they know they’re in this to the death, you’re going to have to kill every one of them. And, as we’ve all seen, these things don’t exactly die easily.

  “But to answer your real question: Why do they look like monsters? Because they want to.” Janet gestured to the wall. “They could choose to be invisible. They obviously have the power to choose invisibility just like they have the power to look like angels or demons. And, so, why do they choose to look like monsters instead of gods? The answer to that is simple. It’s because they want to subdue and overcome this world by fear. That’s why they assume a mask they think is most frightening to us. A mask that makes us afraid of them. So they do have the power to construct whatever form they want in this dimension. But they’re still flesh and bone, which means that if they can touch us, we can touch them, too. And all flesh and bone has a limit to what it can take.” She glanced at faces. ‘It’s complicated.”

  “No kidding,” mumbled Roy. He went back to eating. “Well, I know they ain’t bulletproof. That’s good enough for me.”

  Janet signed, “Yeah, they’re not bulletproof, which might mean they’re vulnerable to everything we are. But you should remember that you’re only fighting a puppet made out of hijacked molecules. And whatever spirit or soul or unknown power energizes this thing probably is indestructible.” She pointed lightly. “What you killed in the hall was just an irradiated suit of clothes.”

  “You mean that that thing is still alive?” Jackman gaped. “Are you saying that blowing his ass into smithereens didn’t kill the bastard?”

  “Oh, you destroyed its molecular suit,” Janet answered. “But I don’t know if it’s dead because I don’t know if it was electrical in nature or if it was energized by some kind of bizarre, unknown power.” Her gaze roamed over the ceiling. “And, now, that power could just be floating around up there waiting to inhabit something else. To tell you the truth, I have no idea. We’re in the twilight zone in every way with this one.”

  With what seemed to Isaiah an amazing revelation, Tanto said blandly, “Maybe that explains ghosts, poltergeists, demonic possessions, and all that crap. These things can’t really be killed because what keeps them alive ain’t the same thing that keeps us alive. All you can do is drive it out or kill the body it’s possessing. But, then, it’ll just go into another body. And round and round we go. Where it ends, nobody knows.”

  With readable nervousness, every face at the table turned toward Isaiah who was, remarkably enough, dead calm.

  Finally Janet said, “Isaiah, you know, of course, that whatever shape you encounter on the far side of that portal is probably going to be its true form, don’t you? It’s more powerful that way. To shape-shift has to drain its power and I don’t think it will do that unless it has to. And I don’t know for certain, but I don’t believe it would have any reason to conceal its face from you in its own dimension. So, in its true form, it could be a thousand feet tall. It could be as bright as the sun. You might go blind just looking at it.”

  Roy muttered, “You’re in No Man’s Land on this one, son.” He sniffed, cocked his head. “Not to be cold about it but … better you than me.” He chewed, then, “Of course, you can always just push the button and we’ll all go see God together. If there is one. Which I’m beginning to believe on a whole new level.”

  Wiping sweat from her face, Amanda stated, “I can’t see how you don’t believe in God after killing that thing in the tunnel. I wasn’t even there but my only thought was that that thing has to be straight out of Hell.”

  Roy eyebrows rose as he replied, “Crossed my mind, too.”

  General Jackman had been unusually silent with his face turned toward the Observation Room window. Then he seemed to ask no one in particular, “What would happen if we brought back any of the people who have already been snatched up? Someone who’s been to the other side? Could they help us?”

  “We can’t do that,” said Janet instantly and turned a gaze to Amanda. “If they’ve been in that dimension for longer than a few hours, Amanda, then they’re irradiated. There’s no way around that. They might even be weaponized.”

  Jackman grunted, “Weaponized?”

  “They may have been molecularly altered into hybrid creatures that these interdimensional maniacs need in order to do whatever it is they want to do. And I have no idea what that is.”

  “They want to go home,” said Isaiah flatly. “And their penultimate master wants to take what he’s always been denied.” His jaw tightened in a frown. “Because man possesses what he will never possess.”

  Roy was staring. “What’s that?”

  “A spirit,” stated Isaiah simply. “He wants what God gave to man. And he’ll destroy everyone on this planet because of it.” He grunted. “That’s the dull thing about Satan. Since he was created, he hasn’t changed. He still wants what doesn’t belong to him. And if he can’t have it, nobody will.”

  Leaning into it, Amanda asked slowly, “So you’re saying that these abominations are doing this just because they don’t have a spirit? Are you serious?”

  Isaiah shook his head sadly. “Satan wants what every creature wants but none of them are powerful enough to fight for it.”

  “What would that be?” asked Roy.

  Isaiah fixed him with a steady gaze.

  “He wants to be the Crux of Power.”

  Amanda whispered, “Someone already won that crown.” She bowed her head. “And his throne is forever.”

  “Huh,” grunted Roy. “If you ask me, I’d say that machine out there is the crux of power. But, then, I’m not a spiritual guy. Or I didn’t used to be. I’m getting closer every minute.”

  With an angry scowl Jackman rumbled, “Well, I’ve got a question that might even be more important than this miserable situation.” He stared around them. “Why haven’t we seen the other one yet? The big one?”

  “General,” said Roy, “with all due respect, sir, I don’t want to hear that explanation again. We haven’t seen it, s
ir, because it’s outside our eyeballs somehow.”

  Jackman shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about, son. I mean, why hasn’t the big one attacked us already? Do you think it even knows that its little buddy got his stupid ass shot off?” He stared at them. “Maybe it doesn’t even want a fight. Maybe it just wants to prowl around the two hundred miles of tunnel they got down here and wait until it can escape into the world. This ain’t the only supercollider in the world, you know. Maybe it’s planning to leapfrog up to Russia where they’re building a collider that’s more than fifty miles long. When that damn thing is operational, they’ll be able to transport Moscow itself back to the Stone Age.”

  No one offered an answer.

  “There’s no way to know what it’s thinking,” said Margaret, not bothering to conceal her fatigue. “We only know that this species is smarter than we are. If we can think of it, they can think of it. They’ve probably already thought of it. I’d say they’ve been ahead of us for millions of years.”

  “What makes you say that?” asked Jackman.

  “Because these creatures have been sending us very complex formulas through the ATLAS, general, that are way beyond our knowledge. That’s how I know they’re much smarter than we are.” Margaret tiredly pointed to the ATLAS. “Since we opened that portal, we have been on the receiving end of equations so complex that no mathematician on the planet has even imagined them. So these things possess the knowledge to build a supercollider that’s ten times stronger. That’s why they’ve been trying to help us improve this one. They want us to build a bigger and better one.” She shook her head. “And that kind of intellectual achievement takes hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years. So they’ve been at this a lot longer than we have.”

  “If these things are so smart, why don’t they build their own damn collider?” asked Jackman.

  Janet answered, “Obviously, general, because some kind of superpower has forbidden them from doing it.” An empty gesture. “I mean, let’s face it; they have the intelligence and they absolutely have the raw material. Every gram of antimatter is equal to all the visible matter in this galaxy so it’s not from a lack of intelligence and it’s not from a lack of resources. Or even a lack of desire. We know they want one. They just can’t build it.”

  “Then why does this superpower let us do it?” Jackman pressed.

  “I don’t know,” said Janet frankly. “I guess this superpower has decided that putting this kind of power into their hands is putting it in the wrong hands.”

  “Ha!” Jackman gustily slammed a hand down on the table. “Like we’re the right hands? I think we’ve proven that our hands are the wrong hands, doc! Maybe this superpower ain’t that smart!”

  Janet shrugged, “Or, maybe, it’s just that the rules that limit us are not the same rules that limit them. We have the freedom to build this. But they don’t. And they’re not free to leave that prison, either.” She tapped her chest. “We have to open the portal for them. They can’t do it, and they know it. That’s why they’ve been covertly working with these people for a hundred years. That’s why they’ve given favor to the witches who built this pitch-black cauldron of spite. That’s why they’ve insinuated themselves into the necessary halls of political power. But when that portal is permanently open and they no longer need us? Look out, man, and color me gone, baby. I will not stay in any dimension inhabited by those things.” She leaned forward, staring at Roy. “You promise you’ll take care of that, right?”

  Without looking up, Roy mumbled, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Getting killed down here is easy enough.”

  A space of seconds, and Jackman looked at Isaiah, “What are you going to do if whatever has command and authority in this … this place you’re going … doesn’t give a damn about that nuclear warhead?”

  Isaiah knew his face didn’t express much. “I guess I’ll just push the button and see what happens.” He turned his gaze toward the ATLAS. “There won’t be anything left to do.”

  The silence lasted.

  “You’re a brave man,” Jackman nodded. “You’re a soldier.”

  Blinking tiredly, Isaiah grimaced.

  “In a war without a truce,” he said.

  ***

  Ten minutes later Roy said, “Okay, I think we’ve got as ready as we’re gonna get. What’s the first move, professor?” He looked at Isaiah. “I’d say you’re captain of this ship until your hour is up or that ATLAS explodes in a holocaust that’s gonna make Switzerland look like Death Valley.”

  Isaiah asked Margaret, “You’re sure the explosion won’t reach this dimension?”

  “Yeah,” said Margaret, emotions dried up. “If we shut down power to the collider, we’ll close the portal and the effects of the bomb will remain … wherever it’s at. Or when. Whatever. But if I shut down the power you can’t dive out the window after you push the button. You’ll be on top of the explosion.” She locked a gaze on Amanda. “So will you.”

  Isaiah bent forward in his chair, elbows on knees, hands clasped as he looked to her again. “Is there any way to remove Amanda from the equation?”

  Amanda’s mouth opened.

  “Communication might be possible,” Margaret replied. “I mean, it’s theoretically possible and that would remove Amanda from the equation.”

  “Explain that.”

  “Well, radio waves travel forever through space, don’t they? As long as the portal stays open, there’s a slim chance we can still communicate by low frequency radio waves and that means Amanda doesn’t have to go. But let me stress: We don’t know if that will work. Amanda should go with you only because I’m actually more certain that Amanda can step back through the portal than I am about whether radio waves can reach us from a place that is probably hell and gone beyond space and time.”

  “Hey!” said Amanda, standing and staring at Isaiah. “I’m going! That thing took my sister! And you need me as backup, anyway! What if radio waves can’t reach this place? But if I can go through the portal then I know I can come back! It’s like going out a door and coming back in again! But this radio thing is just a theory! Are you gonna bet all our lives on a theory?”

  Tanto muttered, “We’ve been doing that since we started.”

  After a long moment Isaiah signed, “We’ll do both. Amanda comes back the second we make it through the portal. She’s in and out. But I’ll stay and try to shut down the gate from the other side.” He locked on Margaret. “If I tell you to, how fast can you shut down the collider to keep the explosion from reaching this world?”

  “I can shut down the collider in a split-second,” stated Margaret. “All I have to do is pull the plug. But it’s like I said. Pulling the plug will also shut down communications and your war-mongering ass doesn’t get home. And the rest of us don’t go home, either. Because, if you fail, then General Jackman, here, blows us all to hell to destroy the collider. So you either win big or every single one of us loses big. There’s no in-between.” She paused. “Soldier.”

  “I admit that ain’t much of a plan,” Jackman muttered. “I don’t mind dying for my country, but I’d rather see that thing die for his. And I don’t want to see any of you hurt worse than you already are.”

  “There!” Amanda shouted as she pointed at a screen.

  Roy was at the console staring up. “Where!”

  “There!” Amanda touched the screen. “I saw something!”

  “It can’t be!” grated Margaret. “That’s inside this section of the corridor! What’d you see, Amanda?”

  Amanda stared a long moment before shaking her head. “It was, like, dust on the floor shifted. Like a shadow, or something, was moving through it. I’m not sure! But something did move! I know it!”

  With a grimace Roy looked toward Isaiah. “If she’s right, it’s found a way past the last two vaults and into this section, which gives us
about two minutes before we’re in a standup fight.” He took a deep breath. “If you’re gonna go, go.”

  Isaiah rose, walking forward. “Give me the detonator and radio.”

  Roy pulled a small black remote from his vest and Isaiah accepted it. Absently dropping the radio in his coat, Isaiah stared at the detonator in his suddenly sweating grip. “Just flip the lid? Press down? That’s it?”

  Roy nodded. “There’s a thirty-second delay on the nuke but, yeah, that’s it. Just flip the lid and press. After that, there’s no turning back and not even one of those things can stop it. It’s too complex. Even for them.” His frown deepened. “It’d take them a month to figure it out and they ain’t got a month. They’re gonna have exactly thirty seconds. Same as you.” He nodded curtly, “Good luck, brother.”

  “Yeah,” Isaiah muttered as he slid the remote into his pants pocket. He lifted the Honjo Masamune from the table where he had laid it; it was never far from his side now and wouldn’t be until this was finished.

  “I guess we’re ready,” he said to Amanda. “But as soon as I establish communication with Margaret, you come back through the portal.”

  Margaret muttered, “So much for a cigarette.”

  “For dust you are,” Roy said as he slung his rifle, “and to dust you shall return.”

  Isaiah stepped into Margaret. “If you don’t hear from me immediately after Amanda returns, destroy the collider. Because if I can’t shut down the portal from the far end, I’m detonating the bomb.”

  “I’m ready,” muttered Margaret. “Are you?”

  Jackman picked up a rifle. “Holy God. If I make it out of here, I’m gonna blow up every one of these damn things in the world, orders or no orders.”

  Amanda was at Isaiah’s side as he walked toward the door.

  And the Beast blocked out the light.

  ***

  It was pure instinct that made Isaiah throw himself backward into Amanda as she screamed and a gigantic armored arm swept through the air obliterating the concrete doorframe to send a slicing storm of white shards through the chamber.