Frank nodded.
Tolvanos was enraptured.
“Incredible,” he muttered.
“All right.” Chesterton nodded. “Can you tell me where Leviathan is right now? Is GEO still tracking it?”
Raising the headset Frank spoke. “GEO, this is Dr. Frank. Give me the location of Leviathan.”
“Leviathan is at the junction of Alpha and Beta corridors.”
“How long has Leviathan been stationary?”
“Leviathan has been stationary for one hour and six minutes.”
“And what is the internal status of Leviathan?”
“Leviathan’s heart rate is twelve beats per minute. Internal resting temperature has increased to 400 degrees and EEG activity has dropped to twelve.”
“Does Leviathan appear to be feeding?”
“Leviathan is not feeding. Leviathan has ceased feeding and has rerouted mitosis in bio feed loop.”
“How long before mitosis is complete?”
“Insufficient data exists to determine how—”
“Terminate answer. GEO, this is a standing command: Alert me over the intercom system if Leviathan begins moving again. And alert me if Leviathan makes any attempt to move through the power plant to approach Crystal Lake. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Dr. Frank.”
Frank looked at Chesterton. “It’s been feeding on the—”
“I know what’s it’s been feeding on, Doctor.” Chesterton’s eyes went dead at the words. “I know exactly what it’s been feeding on.” He sniffed, rolling his neck before focusing on Connor. “What do you suggest we do, Connor? You know this place as well as anyone.”
“It’s pretty clear, Chesterton,” Connor responded. “If that thing is still coming after us, we’ve got to get out of this cavern. We’ve got twelve hours left. So I say we make for the elevator shaft. Then we rewire the elevator and load everyone up. We can stop halfway to set charges to blow the shaft when we reach the surface. But we’ve got to get moving. We’ve rested up enough already.”
Chesterton nodded. “If that thing is closing on us again can you rig up something like you rigged earlier in the Matrix?”
“I should be able to.”
“How much electricity did you use the first time?”
“About 100,000 volts.”
“And is this place full of 100,000-volt lines?”
“There’s enough of them.”
“And why is that? That seems like a lot.”
Connor took a deep breath. “The current is sent from a Norwegian nuclear plant. They have to send it out to the island at about a billion volts because of the distance it has to travel. After the current gets to where it’s going, it has to be broken down at substations for various applications. But I’ve sort of bypassed some breakers in the power plant and we’ve got lines running as high as they’ll go. Some of them are carrying 300,000 volts.” He paused. “It’s an unsafe situation.”
Chesterton laughed harshly. “Tell me about it.” He rose, holding his M-16. “All right, boys, let’s get moving. I don’t intend to die in this place.”
Connor met secretly with Beth as she crept casually from the computer. She held Jordan in her arms. The boy shouted in joy and reached out for Connor as soon as he saw him.
Taking the half-awake boy in his arms, Connor spoke. “Those goons wouldn’t give Chesterton the code. So Chesterton says we’re moving out of the Housing Cavern right now. How does it look?”
Beth’s face was pale. “I’ve broken everything but the last encryption. It’s something that’s not a number or anything else that I can identify. It’s . . . it’s vaguely like some kind of bizarre hieratic-geometrical hybrid swirl. More like a signature than any code I’ve ever seen. And it’s three pages long. At least that’s how I glimpse it.” She blinked tiredly. “So I’ve just set up the terminals to do a constant light matrix screen-search against the megabyte blasts of the encryption that came through the relay. It’s slow going.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Connor. I had no idea how difficult this was going to be.”
“You’re a genius, Beth. Nobody could do better.”
She leaned back. “But I still don’t know how long it will take. I’ve never dealt with anything like this before.”
“Are you certain that Frank can’t help?”
“No. Frank is brilliant but communications isn’t his field. He knows GEO and that’s in his mind.”
“All right. It probably doesn’t matter, anyway. Chesterton says we’re moving for the front of the cavern. If we can reach the surface we can load up on the Hueys.”
“We’re moving for the elevator? All of us?”
“Yeah.”
Beth cast a suspicious glance over the rest of the crowd, then she lightly caressed Jordan’s head. Without another word she spun and walked quickly into the computer room, toward the terminal. “Beth,” Connor whispered, “what are you doing?”
She turned, burning a vicious glance over everyone in the cavern. “I’m going to make sure the terminals continue working on that last encryption,” she answered. “I’m going to set it in a loop to unlock that last code.”
“Why? We’re probably not going to need it.” He stared at her. “What are you thinking, Beth?”
“I’m thinking that we’ve got a long way to go, Connor,” she replied, grim. “And I’m thinking that a lot of Adler’s people, especially Tolvanos, care a lot more for that creature and this facility than for any of us.”
***
It took over an hour to lift the vault doors, moving through tunnels and passages and picking up a few trapped scientists found along the way. And it was Barley, as heavily armed as any man Connor had ever seen, who led at the front.
The big lieutenant was mortally prepared for a final conflict with the Dragon. He had three LAW rockets slung over his back and two additional bandoliers of grenades. He carried his rifle in his hand and had secured three pistols—one on each thigh and another in a shoulder holster. Ammo clips and explosives and other weapons Connor couldn’t even identify were stuffed in every conceivable pocket in the man’s dirt-smeared fatigues. But the most ominous, and faintly chilling, preparation was a Velcro body harness stuffed heavily with what Connor thought was C-4.
Before they began the long march Connor had remarked on it. “What’s that, Barley?” He pointed, almost delicately, to the harness. Barley had frowned, reaching up to rip down a palm-sized Velcro cover. Beneath the opened black flap, Connor saw two small red rings, one above the other. Barley’s face was grim.
“Pull this ring and then the other ring and this thing goes boom,” he said, nodding curtly.
Connor was vividly impressed, asking, “When are you gonna use it?”
“I’ll use it if them big fangs ever come down on top of me,” Barley muttered. “To hell with this thing!”
Connor knew without a doubt that if it came to it, Barley would pull those rings without a second’s hesitation. Then it was time to move and they left the Housing Complex, using the surviving platoon members for a strong rear guard with Thor and Barley at point. Barley held his rifle close and Thor held the battle-ax with a rifle and bandolier of magazines slung across his back.
Connor quickly worked the vault doors, constantly glancing back to make sure Beth and Jordan were always well protected within Thor’s strong reach, as Connor had instructed the giant before the march began. But there was no need; Thor always kept them close. In time they came to Bridgestone, a thick, fifty-yard-wide slab of rough crystalline granite that crossed Lucifer’s Gorge.
The bridge of stone was immensely thick, easily strong enough to support the heaviest machinery. It was topped with a solid steel walkway sturdy enough to bear a tank. It was the only link to the elevator shaft.
In a silent line, as they walked over the gorge, Connor remembe
red how he had once curiously tossed a rock over the side of the bridge, listening for it to hit the bottom. He had waited for almost a minute and never heard a thing.
Then a large tunnel was before them: Tungsten Passage. Connor knew that it was almost a mile long, ending at the Climbing Cavern where the elevator shaft exited for the surface.
Chesterton lowered his rifle. “All right, everybody take ten minutes,” he said. “We’ll rest here before we push for the elevator. This will be the last break, so be sure to drink plenty of water. You’re going to need it.”
Thor sat back against a wall as Frank tiredly walked up to sit beside him. Thor opened his eyes a moment to smile faintly at the scientist, and Frank returned the gesture.
“You really think we have a chance of surviving, Thor?” Frank asked in a hoarse voice.
Thor nodded, his green eyes glinting with encouragement. “Aye,” he replied, “a good chance.”
“I never thought we’d make it this far.”
“You are not alone, I think.”
Frank paused, staring away. “So why did you come down here, Thor?” he asked after a long silence. “This wasn’t your fight.”
Thor laughed. “My reasons are spiritual, Doctor.”
“Spiritual?”
Again, Thor nodded.
“How can they be spiritual?”
“Because I choose to live my life with love and courage and strength,” Thor replied steadily. “Or I will welcome my death.”
Silence.
“There isn’t anything spiritual about this, Thor.”
“Everything in life is spiritual, Doctor.”
Frank stared. “Look, Thor, spiritual things are spiritual. You know, talking about theology or praying or ... or meditating or something like that. But there’s nothing spiritual about fighting this thing.”
Thor’s laugh was a burst of strength. “Has Plato poisoned you, too?” he asked. “I will have words with him over this.”
Frank was quiet a long time. “What do you mean?”
“It was Plato, Doctor, who in his epic foolishness drew a line between what is spiritual and what is merely human.” Thor laughed again. “In truth there is no such place.”
“That’s not true,” Frank responded. “Stuff like prayer is spiritual.”
“Prayer is no more spiritual than peeling potatoes,” Thor rumbled. “It was Plato who created this idea that some part of man was divine and spiritual and another part of man was merely human and nonspiritual. But God makes no such distinctions. God created us as spiritual beings, so if we know God in our lives we are spiritual beings in all that we do. The Spirit of God is with the soul of every man who honors God.”
Frank hesitated a moment. Then he looked around to see the soldiers checking and cleaning weapons, organizing. “So what are you saying?” he asked. “Are you saying that all this fighting is just as spiritual as prayer or meditation or anything else?”
“It is a reflection of a man’s character. A man’s character should be a reflection of God’s character.”
“I’m still not sure that I understand.”
Thor gazed steadily at the scientist. “A man’s spirituality can be measured by how his life reflects God’s character, Doctor. So tell me: Do you think God would abandon you in this cavern, leaving you alone against the beast?”
Hesitation.
“No.”
A smile, and Thor’s green eyes gleamed.
“And neither will I,” he said. “Whether the battle comes down to flesh or not makes no difference to me. I will live my life by love and courage and strength because these things please God as much as prayer and meditation and the study of the Scriptures.”
Head bowed for a moment, Frank asked, “What did you mean when you said that Leviathan had chosen to inhabit its own reality?”
“I meant that Evil is the reality it inhabits.”
“So you really think that Leviathan is evil?”
“Yes.”
Frank paused. “Why?”
“It lives to kill,” Thor frowned. “It lives to destroy. To steal the lives of the innocent. And that is the heart of Evil.”
“But Leviathan only does what it was created to do.”
“Does it, Doctor?”
“Of course.”
“And can you say with absolute certainty that Leviathan is not used by other forces?” Thor asked, gazing steadily. “Can you say that Leviathan is not being used by a force even more powerful than itself? A force that has learned to use both man and machine for its own purpose?”
“I ...” Frank began. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Thor rumbled, “that superior forces use inferior forces, Doctor. Who is to say what force is ultimately using Leviathan? Leviathan is not merely an animal. Nor is it merely a machine. It is more.”
“What kind of forces are you talking about?”
“There are only two,” Thor said, solemn. “There is God. And there is Satan.”
A strange and uncomfortable silence and Frank finally looked away. Then he gazed down, focusing on the battle-ax between them. “Well, I can understand what you’ve said, Thor. Because despite what you might think, I understand a lot more than just science.” He hesitated. “But let me tell you something. If you go against Leviathan with that battle-ax, it’s going to kill you. Then it’s going to eat you.”
Thor laughed. “It will not like the feast.”
The scientist looked away, shaken. “Look, there’s no way to beat it with that thing, Thor. Not with your hands. I mean, there’s a ... a very slim chance that Leviathan’s armor can’t take the impact of an edged weapon as well as it can take the impact of bullets and grenades but we’ve never—”
“And why is that?” Thor growled, ice-green eyes glinting.
“Well, it’s hard to explain,” Frank replied. “But it’s just physics. Leviathan’s armor is composed of cross-laid multiplex fibers like, uh, some kind of Kevlar. And because the plates are living fibers, they bend. They’re flexible. So when the scales receive a blunt trauma like the impact of a grenade or bullet, they surrender, absorbing the shock and displacing it over a wide area. That’s what prevents penetration of the armor. It’s like someone hanging a thick rug in the air. You could punch it as hard as you want but you’d never be able to punch a hole in it because it would surrender to the force, absorbing the impact. You could probably even shoot it and you might not penetrate it because the carpet fibers and the shock-displacement factor would take so much velocity from the bullet.” He paused. “But you could take a knife and stab it. And the edge of the blade wouldn’t allow the carpet to displace the force of the impact. With a blade, you might penetrate it.”
Thor was staring at him.
“Anyway, that’s how it works,” Frank said solidly. “It would be hard to do the same thing with Leviathan. But it’s possible, I guess.” He paused. “Isn’t that what they say? Anything is possible?”
“Yes, Doctor,” Thor rumbled, gently nodding. “That is what they say. Anything is possible ... with God.”
With a frown Thor reached down, his hand settling on the gigantic battle-ax. Then he lifted the weapon, studying the broad, sweeping edges as if to determine whether Frank’s theory might be true.
And, seated so close to the weapon, Frank was suddenly struck by a new and profound respect. He stared at the huge slabs of steel, noticing for the first time the deeply engraved image upon the silvery sheen, the eerie image of a titanic, raging Dragon with its tail wrapped around the moon, flung from the sky by a warrior that crushed the monster’s throat, driving the fangs downward from the stars ... toward the earth.
And for a weird, surreal moment, Frank felt as if he had been cast far, far back in time to sit beside some ancient warrior-king of God. He stared in silence until Thor finally lowered the batt
le-ax again to the ground, his hand solidly folded around the hilt.
“You know, Thor, I ... I remember stories,” Frank heard himself speaking. “Stories told to me when I was a child, about heroes and heroic battles. It was stuff I believed when I was young. Until I grew up. Until I learned that there weren’t any more heroes.”
A somber grin lightened Thor’s face. “Sometimes children know greater truth than men, Doctor.”
Frank closed his eyes, shook his head. “You can’t hurt it with that battle-ax, Thor. I’m telling you the truth. You can’t hurt it. Leviathan is too strong. It will kill you.”
“All strength has an ending, Frank.”
“Look, Thor, I’m being honest with you,” Frank stressed, turning his head and amazed at his own concern. “I know this creature! Its strength is unbelievable! Leviathan is like . .. like a force of nature! It’s been hit with everything we throw at it and it’s still alive! What makes you think that you could ever hurt it with that ax?”
Thor stared at the image engraved upon the steel. “God will decide the victory, Doctor Frank, and God alone.” He paused. “Nor do I relish the conflict. But if I am forced to make a stand against the beast, we may see if a weapon forged by unknown hands and, perhaps, blessed by unknown hands, can draw a Dragon’s blood.”
Frank stared a moment and then closed his eyes, leaning his head back. He was silent a long time before he spoke. “If it comes to it, Thor, strike for the neck. When Leviathan charges the scales on its neck separate and there’s a gap of maybe two or three inches between the armor. If... if you hit Leviathan in the gap, you might be able to wound it. You won’t live long enough to kill it.” He paused. “But you might be able to wound it.”
Thor’s reply was somber.
“A wound is a beginning, my friend.” His massive hand tightened on the battle-ax. “And a beginning is half an ending.”
Ten minutes passed and then they were on their feet again. Two by two, they traveled in a ragged line down the Tungsten Passage. Several corridors led out of the tunnel as they ascended higher, toward the entrance, but none were closed by vaults. Connor remembered that there were no vaults at all on this side of Bridgestone. When they reached the Climbing Cavern, the elevator shaft at the far end was sealed by a colossal vault.
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