Known Afterlife (The Provider Trilogy: Volume I)

by Trey Copeland

  Chapter 22

  The stress that surrounded the final moments leading up to Muzar's return had distracted Stalling, causing him to temporarily lose sight of what was about to occur. Now, sealed within the mainframe, basking in Muzar's glory with his closest friends, the stress had all but melted away. The human existence was about to change and with it, Antium's future.

  The road is built, and the vehicle is perfect, Stalling thought as he stared at Muzar and recalled everything they had built or enhanced since his absence. Like a brush fire, a new cultural phenomenon will infiltrate the heart and soul of everyone and our technology will make it unstoppable. Overnight, inferior beliefs and opinions will become obsolete.

  Stalling, happily lost in the endless possibilities, barely registered Antone reaching inside his breast pocket to remove his link visor and place it on his head. He stepped away from the group and said in a terse hush, "Go!"

  Stalling, Janison and Jennifer remained focused on Muzar but despite Antone's attempts to stay quiet, it was impossible not to sense something afoot. A few minutes later, Antone rejoined them.

  "We have a situation that needs to be addressed."

  "Whatever it is, it can wait," Stalling said, not turning around to face Antone.

  "Do you think I would interrupt this moment if I didn't deem it important?"

  They all reluctantly turned to face Antone. "What's the situation?" Stalling asked.

  "Thortizan has infiltrated the campus and has the lab entrance surrounded. After a quick review of the security video and debrief with Eitemor, I think it is safe to assume the troops involved are Vorenian Knights."

  The implications of the presence of Vorenian Knights had an instant and sobering effect on all of them.

  "How many?" Janison asked.

  "We've identified forty which means another ten or so are concealed. At least a platoon. Eitemor pulled back the team to create a smaller perimeter."

  "What are our chances?"

  "If it were ordinary infantry, I'd take my team of ten over a full platoon every day. But against Vorenian Knights, the best we could do is hold them off for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

  "Wait a second, you said Thortizan was here. How do you know Thortizan is among them?" Stalling asked.

  "Because he sent us a message," Antone said, holding his link visor out to project the video for all of them to see.

  Thortizan lounged in a fold out field chair with legs crossed and hands resting in his lap. Seated at the side of a large oak, one could see glimpses behind him of the campus lawn and portico of the engineering building, its polished steel columns reflecting off the warm street lamps less than a hundred yards away. The time stamp in the right corner indicated the recording was less than twenty minutes old.

  Dressed in black fatigues laced with an array of weapons and equipment, the Cardinal's outfit contradicted his relaxed tone. "Good evening Stalling, my compliments to your beautiful facility. While a little too contemporary for my personal tastes, I can't help but admiring the symmetry of it all. Very soothing. Who knows, with time, it may grow on me."

  "Now, as I am sure your loyal watch dog has informed you, we have the entrance of your lab surrounded. Your security team, impressive as their defenses may be, cannot withstand our assault. Escape is not an option. Thanks to recent intel, we have the blueprints of your entire compound, including the private magnarail connected to your home. Dr. Alterian is playing host to several of my men as we speak."

  The video feed perspective switched to Stalling’s private magnarail platform with Lorissa book-ended by two heavily armed Vorenian Knights before returning to Thortizan.

  "We wish to avoid violence and therefore will provide you the opportunity to choose a peaceable outcome. Our request is simple: deliver to us Muzar Tarcones. You have thirty minutes."

  "How the hell do they know about Muzar!" Antone yelled at Janison.

  "I honestly don't know. You have got to believe me; I never said a word about Muzar!" Janison said defensively.

  "Why should we believe you?" Antone asked, looking at Stalling.

  "Because, while his beliefs share a common foundation with that of the C.O.S, he cares more about our shared social ideology, a vision that is dependent on Muzar's survival. A vision that he knows they will do everything possible to stop. Janison's journey has arguably been the toughest, for his belief in what Muzar's return will represent has required the most imagination and faith."

  Janison looked at Stalling, swept away by his friend's insight, neither denying nor defending the statement.

  "So how do they know he even exists, much less resides here in the lab?"

  "Archbishop Clortison," Janison said, pulling his gaze away from Stalling. "For all his short comings, the man has an eerie track record of having a keen intuition that many believe to be psychic. While I believe in our potential to expand the powers of the mind, I fear the information I provided must have filled in the blanks, giving his intuition some final clarity. It is the only explanation I can think of."

  "It’s plausible," Stalling said. "Clortison has proven himself a shrewd adversary in the past. But the more important question is why do they want Muzar? For Clortison to arrive at the conclusion Muzar existed here in our lab for the past ten years and is just now awakening, then why does he bother taking him alive? Why not just destroy him and us, erasing all evidence of what we could have become once and for all?"

  "The Second Coming!" Antone shouted. He then quickly summarized Clortison's sermon delivered earlier that afternoon. "At first, I was stuck on the 'false prophets' part, thinking it was one of their final public moves to justify actions against us. But the rest has been sticking in my crawl; I couldn't help think there was more to it. The Second Coming has by far been one of their best and more commonly used scare tactics, but today's sermon felt more poignant than the rest. It was the closest statement resembling a promise I had ever heard them make."

  "As Stalling has astutely theorized, I will confess that my hope in Muzar's return would create a similar impact to that of which is taught about the Savior's Second Coming, at least symbolically."

  "Well it appears everyone has got their own agendas for Muzar once he returns," Jennifer said. "But hasn't the end of this story always been open ended? Despite all the new technology applied to this project, did we not all agree that our understanding of it all would be grossly limited until he returned. The ultimate outcome has always been in Muzar's hands. None of that has changed."

  "But the immediate circumstances have," Stalling stated solemnly. "We all know what Thortizan and his knights are capable of and I have no doubt he will proceed with taking Muzar by force if we choose not to comply. This confirms their desire to take him alive. The only other alternative, one I am not prepared to explore, is to destroy Muzar, here and now. Are we in agreement this is not a course of action any of us are prepared to take."

  "Agreed," the other three said in unison.

  "Then our choice is clear. We deliver Muzar unto the Church of Salvation and let come what may come."