"And, that's not even the most crucial aspect. To ensure that I am not taking the actions of a tyrant, I must offer everyone a choice. I learned early on that giving a subject a conscious choice would only result in failure, and so I've had to dig deeper, into the subconscious. A very tricky arena to be sure, and one that has never been conquered by any scientist in human history..."
Exony turned abruptly and looked at Alice, excitement, and passion lighting her expression.
"Until now, that is," Exony triumphantly stated.
"The key was to find a pathway shared by all humans, even the aberrations. The cold psychopathy that is their condition precluded the obvious choice of love, of course. Even hunger, as universal a trait as any, did not operate within them as it does with us. However, a while ago, a thought came to me, and I believe it may have been divinely inspired. Do you know what thought it was?"
Exony paused for a moment and looked at Alice expectantly before answering her own question.
"Death."
Exony began to shake as she gazed at Alice. A fervor overtook her as the twitching spread to her entire body. But then, as if the odd twitching and shaking had never happened, Exony stopped moving, smiled, and turned around to begin typing on the control panel once again.
"Death," she repeated as her hands darted this way and that. "Death is constant... Everyone knows it, everyone fears it, and everyone subconsciously cravesssssssss it... Death is life, and life is death... People have forgotten, but they will remember. I will remind them..."
Leo's mind raced as he watched Exony work at her console. He couldn't speak, and he couldn't move. He was helpless. Exony was putting her unknown, incomprehensible plan into action, and there was nothing he could do.
"Will anyone ever know the monumental nature of what I am doing?" Exony quietly asked herself. "Will anyone ever know when it's done?"
Confusion and frustration flew through Leo's mind. He could make little sense of what she had told him regarding her work. Pathways? Firewalls in the mind?
Then, Leo realized that the dull roar of the Void had gone from his mind. The confusion within him had pushed it away. He couldn't call on it with a chaotic mind. He needed clarity...
Not all of what Exony said was incomprehensible, he thought, as he tried to center himself. He understood what she said about death, and he did not doubt that death was what she intended to produce through her work there. The Council had not been lying in that regard.
Even if Idi had nefariously programmed Annabelle to manipulate him, and even if Alice had been behind it all... He had still seen enough to know that Exony had gone mad, and she would bring nothing good into existence if allowed to continue in her pursuits.
Leo turned and looked at Annabelle. She was staring straight ahead, clearly overwhelmed with fear. She was blind, and it was Exony's doing. When she had removed that little white rectangle from Annabelle's mind, it had done untold damage to her brain. He was sure of it...
Her blindness wasn't the only facet of Annabelle that disturbed Leo, though. If she had been under the control of Idi, had their interactions been real? How much of their relationship was the product of a manipulative pursuit to drive Leo to kill Exony? Had their kiss in the alley been real? Was the look that came into her eyes when she looked at him her own, or the look Idi told her to have?
He didn't know, and he wouldn't until he had a chance to speak to Annabelle himself. He needed to know if she cared for him as he did her, and that need would consume him above all others until it was fulfilled.
He needed to talk to Annabelle...
As Leo's singular desire consumed him, he heard the Void call to him. It had been there the whole time, he realized. It had been held at bay by Exony's distracting revelations, but it had never left. Slowly, it began to grow in power. As a magnificent, but incomprehensible symphony, it started a steep crescendo within his mind.
He reveled in the pure peace and freedom that was the Void, but was only able to enjoy it for a moment before it began to flow away from him inexplicably. Leo retched as the Void was taken from him, and pain blossomed in his abdomen.
As the Void fled, the cavern around Leo gave a massive shake, and a deep boom reverberated through the stone walls and floor. Then, the blue light emanating from the ceiling flickered oddly.
A second after the shaking started, Leo felt the hands that held him weaken. The sensation energized Leo, and he knew that it was the moment to take action. He mustered his strength and, with a burst of power and effort, drove his feet into the ground. Then, he twisted away from the mindless slaves that held him. He gasped in surprise and satisfaction when he felt them loosen their grip and release him.
With another burst of power, Leo threw his shoulders forward and burst entirely free. He watched Exony carefully as he made the move and was surprised when she didn't turn toward him. She was still staring upwards. Her head was thrown back, and her eyes were closed.
Leo chanced a glance back and saw that the servants hadn't moved.
Leo knew there was no margin for error and no time to waste. Exony was still staring blindly upward, and her hands were raised upwards. She was defenseless.
With a committed grunt, he targeted Exony's center body mass with his shoulder and launched himself towards her. Exony never turned towards him, and he covered the small space between them in under a second.
As he threw his body forcefully into Exony, he expected to catch her by surprise and take her down, but he hadn't anticipated her sheer speed. Just as Leo made contact with her, she twisted around in a blur of motion, grabbed Leo by his outstretched arms, and used his momentum to throw him towards the shimmering pool.
Leo stumbled towards the pool and fell to his knees, but managed to catch himself and regain his balance just before he fell into it. He instantly began an evasive sideways roll. However, before he could complete the move, something powerful struck him in the small of his back, and he flew headfirst into the depths of the flowing, shimmering liquid.
As the silver liquid rushed over his ears, he heard Alice scream. Then, the cold liquid covered him, and he became utterly submerged within it. He twisted around and thrust his arms, trying to surface, but he was blind. He didn't know which way to go.
He closed his eyes and mouth tightly to avoid getting the liquid inside of him. Then, With a great kick of his legs, he broke through the surface of the pool. As he took a gasp of fresh air, he began to swim to the edge.
After one breath, however, he felt cold hands grasp his feet. Like frenzied, frozen claws, they scratched at him and latched onto his legs with immutable strength.
He struggled against them, kicking his legs violently and thrashing his arms to keep his head above the surface, but they were much stronger than him. They pulled him inexorably down, below the surface of the shimmering pool to a fate that he knew would be worse than death.
Panic overcame him as he felt more hands grasp him around his waist. He tried to grab onto the rocky sides of the pool, but they were completely smooth, just like every other surface he had seen within the cavern. As innumerable hands grasped him and pulled him further down, Leo felt the silvery liquid begin to enter him. He kept his mouth and eyes stubbornly closed, but he felt the icy coldness of it penetrate him nonetheless. It was burrowing its way into him through every pore in his skin.
Leo's need to breath sent sharp pains through his chest. He would die if he didn't breath soon, he thought. He struggled valiantly, but the pain only became worse. Suddenly, he realized he couldn't hold his breath any longer.
Then, his need for air completely overcame his desire to keep his mouth closed, and his body forced him to attempt to take a breath. An icy shock stung his insides as the liquid poured into his throat and down into his lungs.
He tried futilely to center himself and call the Void, but it did not answer. His gift, it appeared, had left him to suffer his fate.
Alice couldn't save him either, he realized, lest she be pulled unde
r by the same hands that pulled him ever deeper. Luckily, Annabelle was blind. Otherwise, she might have come after him and suffered the same fate.
If she had, though, he imagined, at least he would have died knowing she truly loved him as he loved her. If she tried to save him now, it would mean she really cared for him...
A clear memory of Annabelle's smiling face swam through his mind. Then, he blacked out.
Chapter 43
Victory sounded in Alice's heart when she felt the hands of Exony's mindless servants weaken, then release her. Leo was going after Exony, and he needed her help.
Her victorious feeling morphed into panic as she watched Exony easily twist her body and avoid Leo's charge, then spin him around and throw him towards the shimmering pool.
Alice began to sprint toward Exony, she but couldn't get there in time.
"NO!" Alice screamed as Leo disappeared beneath the shimmering and rippling surface.
Then, Exony spun around with inhuman speed to face Alice.
Alice stopped in her tracks. The suddenness of the movement stunned her, and she was sure that Exony would handle her just easily as she had Leo.
"That was not an occurrence I had planned..." Exony mumbled with quiet disappointment. "I shouldn't have done that. His blood and grey matter, yes, but his being, in his entirety? I'm uncertain what that will mean... It could be too much..."
Alice stood still as Exony spoke, but her hand twitched imperceptibly towards the pistol in her right ankle-holster. There was enough distance between herself and Exony that it would be possible to draw the weapon and fire.
"I need to discover the meaning behind all this!" Exony shouted. Then, she turned and sauntered over to her console. Within a second, her hands had already resumed their rapid flittering across the screen.
Alice took a glance at the pool and saw roiling bubbles breach its surface. She could go to it, reach in, and try to help Leo, but that would give Exony the upper hand. What would stop Exony from simply kicking her in the pool, just as she had done to Leo?
Alice reached down as quickly as she could, pulled up her pant leg, and drew her pistol from her ankle holster. In one fluid motion, she raised the weapon to point at Exony and placed her finger over the trigger. Then, she carefully lined up her target, exhaled, and fired.
The bullet zipped from the barrel and struck Exony in the back of her head with a dull clinking sound. Adrenaline coursed through Alice as she saw the shot land. But then, she tossed the weapon to the ground.
No blood poured from where the bullet had hit Exony. There was no injury to her pale, smooth skin. Stupid, Alice thought. The weapon had been useless against Exony's servants. In what reality could it ever harm her?
Fortunately, Exony didn't seem to notice what had just transpired and stood there, typing away on her control panel as she muttered under her breath.
Alice stood still, immobilized by the feeling of helplessness. Her mind raced, but she was unable to form even the beginnings of a plan to stop Exony. She couldn't shoot her or fight her... What else could she do?
As tears began to form in her eyes, Alice turned and looked at Annabelle. She had slipped away from her captors as well but now cowering on the ground, feeling around with her hands as she slowly crawled forward.
Alice began to walk over to Annabelle. They needed to regroup and team up against Exony. If both of them attacked at the same time, they might have a chance...
After a few steps, the ground beneath Alice suddenly shifted under her feet. She lost her balance and fell to one knee as the ground began shaking violently, and a loud rumbling reverberated through the cavern.
Earthquake, Alice thought, as she struggled to maintain her balance, and the shaking intensified. She managed a few more steps, but then, something small and hard struck the top of her head. Mind-splitting pain flowed from the impact, and flashes of light shot through her vision as she fell to the ground.
With a tentative reach, she touched the wound on her head. The sensation of warm blood and torn flesh greeted her fingertips.
Alice shook her head and tried to clear her vision. After a few seconds, she was able to climb to her knees and slowly crawl forward. Small pebbles began to rain down from the cavern ceiling, and a baseball-sized rock missed her head by inches as she crawled towards Annabelle.
Then, she heard Exony speak loudly right behind her.
"What's done is done, I suppose," Exony announced as Alice spun around to face her. "Despite my best efforts, it would seem that mutation is inevitable. I am only human, after all, and I have done all I can. Now, the future is in the hands of us all."
Exony continued speaking as Alice rose to a crouch.
"We must have faith in it, my beautiful Alice. It is all that stands between us and the darkness... You are hurt. Let my last act be one of mercy, please..."
Alice looked up at Exony. Her expression was of one asking a massive favor. There was a sadness in her eyes, too, and tiredness.
Exony reached her hand out, but Alice recoiled from the gesture. Exony sighed deeply as she left her hand there steadfastly, even as a large boulder smashed into the ground two meters to her right.
"Please, Alice... Let me help you..."
Alice didn't move. She would never take Exony's hand.
They shared the moment as rocks and pebbles rained down around them. Exony stared at Alice hopefully, and Alice stubbornly denied her. Revulsion and disgust built within Alice as she stared into Exony's pleading eyes.
Suddenly, Alice drove her legs into the ground and exploded up from the floor. She flew through the air towards Exony and came within inches of reaching her, but Exony was too fast. She nimbly dodged the attack by simply stepping to the side. Alice flew past her, then crashed into the boulder that had fallen from above.
Alice protected herself by absorbing the collision with her arms. When she turned around, however, she was greeted by the bottom of Exony's pale, bare foot as it smashed into her face.
Alice felt one of her molars pop out, and she tasted blood as she fell to the ground. She was barely able to hold onto consciousness as her foe stood above her. The blood that ran from the wound on Alice's head muffled Exony's next words, but she still heard them.
"Humans... We're all the same!" Exony despaired. "Even when someone offers to help us, we fight them. We fight, and fight, and fight, and then we die... We're a pathetic species! I'll never be able to understand why the Gods humor us so!"
Alice glared up at Exony as her vision blurred and the cavern spun around her. Exony was too powerful. She had won...
"I think it's time for you to see the gods' creation, you pretty little thing," Exony growled as she took a step forward. "It's time for you to take a little swim!"
Alice stared back in disgust. She would not dignify Exony by begging for her life. It was over, but she could still die with some honor. A sense of profound relief unexpectedly came over her as Exony reached for her neck.
Then, a rushing noise came from above, followed a second later by a giant boulder. Alice's relief mutated into utter shock when the boulder cut a blurry line through her vision and, with a sickening crunch, crushed Exony beneath its hulking mass.
Alice's shock caused her mind to go blank as more boulders crashed down perilously close to her. She couldn't comprehend what had just occurred. It was so surreal that she wondered for a moment if she was hallucinating. Perhaps it was some trick, perpetrated on her to some unknown, but undoubtedly nefarious end. Maybe she was unconscious, and it was all a dream...
Alice stared at the boulder that had just done what she could not. As she watched, a shimmering, silvery substance began to run out from beneath the rock, and Alice half-expected Exony to slither out from underneath it and rise into her pure, uninjured form.
However, it seemed that though Exony could take a bullet and suffer no harm, the sheer mass of the boulder had been enough to end her. There was no way anyone, even someone inundated with the most advanced technolo
gy possible, could survive the severe physical trauma that had just befallen Exony. Alice was sure of it.
With that cold certainty and a sense of tentative triumph slowly building within her, Alice slid out from between the two boulders and crawled towards the shimmering pool.
More stones fell around her, and a few smaller rocks struck her in the back as the cavern continued its tumultuous upheaval, but Alice avoided being hit by anything substantial and made it to the edge of the pool safely.
She looked down into the silvery metallic liquid. The pool's surface rippled slowly as small pebbles fell into it. She could not see past the surface and into the depths. She could only see her ugly, bloody, rippling reflection. It stared back at her tauntingly and looked nothing like how Alice saw herself.
"Fuck off!" she grunted. Then, she plunged her hands into the silvery pool, banishing her reflection with the roiling ripples of her searching hands.
She had completed her mission. She had done what the Council asked of her. Now, she needed to find Leo and save him.
Alice reached down as far as she could without submerging her head but felt only the sharp coldness of the liquid. She crawled around the edge of the pool as she felt around blindly, but still felt nothing. The pool had to be deeper than it looked, and Leo had to be deep within it.
"C'mon!" Alice screamed as she pulled her arms out of the liquid. It coated her hands in a metallic sheen, and as she looked at them, she saw the liquid slowly retreat and drip off of them. Maybe it was inert, she thought. Perhaps it hadn't worked. Maybe she could swim down without dying...
Actually, it didn't matter if she died. What was her life worth, anyway? What was her life when weighed against the possibility of saving Leo's?
The Ganymede Legacy Page 37