by Rexx Deane
‘The blurred figure on the video I mentioned. The computers managed to clean it up.’ Sebastian pulled the print from his rucksack and handed it over. ‘Here. It is you, isn’t it?’
Duggan snatched the sheet and stood motionless for a few moments. ‘I’m … I’m visible!’ He paced back and forth. ‘How can I be visible? The spells never worked! I blacked out each time I tried, and when I woke up I was back to square one – here. It’s not possible!’
Sebastian put his hand out in a calming gesture. ‘This is what I’m trying to say. Maybe you went to the station during a blackout. Maybe you weren’t responsible for your actions at the time. Your clothes were visible every time you attempted the spell, weren’t they?’
‘Yes, but I don’t see—’
‘Oh, stop pussyfooting,’ Aryx said, frowning at Sebastian. ‘They would have gone invisible with you – don’t you see?’
‘I … I wasn’t there. I’ve never been there.’ A hand went to the mask.
‘Those monitors on the wall – do they show things recorded in this place? Sebastian said you showed him a view of outside. Have you got footage from inside?’
‘Yes, that’s it! I can prove I didn’t leave.’ Duggan darted to the wall of monitors and tapped commands on a panel. Each of the screens lit up with a different view – some of tunnels, one of the room in which they sat and another showed the hangar. Duggan jabbed at the panel and the scene jumped.
‘Here we are, this is just before my blackout.’
The trio watched the playback. A robed figure approached a black, triangular craft parked in the hangar, stripped off its clothes, and raised its arms. In that instant, the translucent sponge-form became opaque. Opaque, but blurred.
‘No! I don’t remember this!’ Duggan shrieked.
The figure in the video continued, despite the man’s protests. It climbed into the small ship and launched.
‘No, this-this can’t be right—’ Fingers hammered at the keypad again until the timecode showed four hours after the explosion.
The ship had returned. The wraith stepped out of the craft and vanished. Robes drifted from the floor to clothe the invisible figure.
Duggan staggered back. ‘It can’t be me. I don’t remember any of this. I was unconscious!’
‘I’m sorry, Duggan,’ Sebastian said, rising, a hand on his pistol. ‘I have to take you back with us.’
Duggan held out his hands, upturned. ‘Please, if I have to go with you, don’t let me go back like this. The spell must have worked – you’ve seen for yourself. If I must be punished, let me go back with dignity.’
‘I—’ Sebastian took a deep breath, held it for several moments, and sighed. ‘Alright.’
‘Are you mad?’ Aryx yelled.
‘No. I’m not inhuman, either. Do it, Mr Simmons, but I’m keeping an eye on you.’
Aryx didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. All this talk about magic was making his teeth ache. Dangerous nutters and magic; it was like sitting in front of a bomb, waiting for it to go off. ‘Sebastian—’
‘Wait here.’ Duggan dashed to the kitchen and ran up the stairway into the dark alcove above.
Sebastian shifted on to the edge of his seat.
‘You shouldn’t have let him go, you idiot. What if he gets violent? What if he comes back with a frigging gun? What if he decides to drop a bomb on us like in the lab?’
‘It’ll be fine. It wasn’t a bomb.’
To Aryx’s relief, Duggan came back down the stairs clutching only a small drawstring pouch. He stood on the opposite side of the coffee table, facing the pair. ‘I need to try this in front of you.’
Sebastian’s hand went to the holster on his belt. ‘Maybe we should restrain you first, just in case you have an epis—’
Duggan dropped the pouch on the table. It fell open exposing its white, powdery contents. With a dramatic flourish, he pulled off his mask and threw it on the couch beside them. Aryx’s stomach turned. That half-transparent face. No wonder he was called The Paper Man.
He thrust his head back and began chanting strange, unintelligible words – not Galac; something from Earth, something far older. His throat echoed with a deep, growling chord as he recited and he reached up as though beseeching some divine being. The air rippled and shimmered as if caught in the heat from a furnace.
The white splash of powder on the table began to recede, the heap dwindling until only half remained. Was it evaporating like the sample from the lab, or being consumed?
Duggan’s face! His skin was opaque, normal. Badly-cut hair stuck out at odd angles, and a scraggly, cut-off beard projected from his chin – exactly like the picture from the security video. All traces of invisibility had gone. It was magic! It was crazy. This man could be capable of anything!
The man’s arms dropped to his sides and he brought his gaze down in Sebastian’s direction. The stare was vacant, disorientated. Aryx slowly wheeled back.
‘Duggan … are you alright?’ Sebastian asked.
The empty stare filled with a dark rage, the blank expression twisting into a grimace of contempt. Tea-making paraphernalia crashed to the floor as Duggan launched himself over the table, arms outstretched towards Sebastian’s throat. The knotty fingers clamped around his neck. Sebastian’s hands went to his belt, flicking back and forth. Aryx wheeled around the couch. He had to get Duggan off him.
Sebastian’s lips began to turn blue in the vice-like grip.
Aryx made a grab for Duggan’s shoulder, but his left arm shot out, hitting him squarely in the chest. The wheelchair flew backwards and caught the corner of the couch.
The world tumbled and his head hit the floor, hard.
***
Sebastian clawed at the hands locked around his throat, trying to pry the sinewy talons apart. His eyes darted around the room. He needed something to use as a weapon – the cube on the table, the tray on the floor, the pistol lying under the coffee table – something before he suffocated.
Duggan’s face drew close, his lips curled into a grotesque snarl. His eyes, while firmly fixed on Sebastian’s, were vacant and, for a moment, he saw tiny points of light in them, distant stars in the darkness.
Sebastian’s head pounded, and his vision began to dim.
Duggan growled, ‘We will have you and we shall destroy the mechanism.’ His mouth opened wide and a glowing red vapour issued forth. Evil, red mist that moved towards him with intent, like a gaseous red octopus flowing into his face.
A soft weight came over Sebastian and he released his grip on the hands at his neck.
It wasn’t worth fighting. It was like falling asleep, after all.
Chapter 31
Sebastian skirted the edge of consciousness, the fight almost gone from him. The cube on the table began to vibrate and rattle, ignored by the pair locked in their mortal brawl.
A deep, resonant chord echoed through the chamber, slowly rising in pitch. Porcelain, glass, and silver rattled as the sound overlaid with words, sung and hummed simultaneously. The chord reached its crescendo and a spherical pulse, like a pressure wave from an explosion distorting the air, burst forth from the cube, rippling across the room through air and solid objects alike.
Duggan tumbled forwards onto Sebastian, immobile. Regaining his senses, Sebastian shoved the limp form sideways onto the couch and Duggan lay on his side, staring straight ahead as though paralysed.
‘What the fuck!’ Sebastian rasped, rubbing his neck. ‘Aryx!’ He scrambled off the couch and felt for a pulse. It was strong. ‘Wake up.’
***
Somebody was slapping Aryx’s face. He opened his eyes; it was Sebastian, looking down at him, eyes wide.
‘What happened? I’m not in hospital, am I?’
Sebastian looked over his shoulder. ‘No. Duggan knocked you out.’
‘How did you overpower him?’ Aryx reached out and pulled his chair upright.
‘I didn’t. I don’t know what happened. He was trying to breathe som
ething into my mouth, then there was a weird sound, and he passed out or something.’ Sebastian got up and stood over the unmoving body. ‘I don’t think he’s dead.’
Aryx wheeled around the coffee table. The carbyne had all gone – had it all evaporated? His attention went to the cube. The lights on its side were all lit. They had all been moving while Wolfram processed the database. What was wrong with it now?
‘Duggan?’ Sebastian shook the man.
There was no response.
‘Why are you worried about him? The lunatic just tried to kill you!’
Sebastian scowled over his shoulder. ‘Don’t you get it? This is just like what happened in the diary when William tried to kill Cullen!’
‘What are you on about?’
‘I saw a light in his eyes, the same as the medic described.’ He rolled Duggan onto his back and propped him up in a sitting position with a cushion.
‘You sure you weren’t just seeing stars?’
His glare intensified.
‘You think he had some kind of psychotic episode.’
‘Can you think of a better explanation?’ Sebastian waved his hand in front of Duggan’s face. The eyes began to move, sluggishly following the motion.
‘What … happened?’ Duggan’s attention drifted to Aryx, then to the table. ‘Where has the powder gone?’
‘You used it up,’ Sebastian said.
‘No, he didn’t, he only used half of it. It stopped disappearing by the time he was visible.’
‘I’m visible?’ Duggan stared down at his hands and slowly pulled off his gloves. ‘After all these years!’ Tears streamed down his face as he turned his hands over and flexed his fingers.
‘Do you remember anything?’ Sebastian asked.
‘I remember starting to cast the spell and that’s all.’
‘Your spell, or whatever it was, worked.’
‘Yeah, except for the bit where he tried to bloody kill you!’
Duggan’s eyes darted from Sebastian to Aryx and back. ‘I tried to kill you? I-I don’t know what happened. You must believe me!’
Sebastian nodded. ‘I do believe you.’
‘But, if the spell worked as usual, why am I still visible? I normally turn back when I try – what was different?’
Aryx picked up the cube. Six of its lights were lit, like it was counting down to something. ‘I think it was this.’
Duggan wiped his eyes. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s an SI, a computer with a self-determined intelligence. I’m not certain, but before I passed out I thought I saw a pulse come from it. Something must have been making you turn back invisible, just like on the video, and I think this time the pulse from the cube interrupted it.’
‘But what happened to the rest of the powder?’ Sebastian asked. ‘Did it evaporate?’
Duggan shook his head. ‘No, I had already stabilised it.’
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to say. I think Wolfram did it somehow.’ Only three of the lights were lit.
Duggan’s eyes widened. ‘A computer! Using magic?’
‘I hate to admit it,’ Aryx said, ‘but I don’t think it was any kind of electromagnetic pulse. I think something’s wrong, though – I’d have expected him to speak by now.’
Sebastian held out his hand. ‘Let’s have a look.’ Aryx handed it over. ‘How many lights were on?’
‘Three. I think they’re counting down.’
‘They’ve all gone off now … Wolfram? Are you alright?’
‘I’m fully functional,’ came the familiar, eloquent voice. ‘My processor core overheated, requiring me to shut down until it cooled.’
‘What happened just now?’ Aryx asked.
‘I was unable to interact with the outside world until the database analysis had completed. The process finished moments before Duggan attacked Sebastian, at which point I understood what was happening. The database contains experience of magic manipulation, and I was able to utilise an effect to purge the secondary consciousness from Mr Simmons’ body.’
Duggan’s face twisted. ‘What do you mean by a secondary consciousness?’
‘You were, Mr Simmons, possessed.’
Chapter 32
The three sat, mouths open, stunned by the cube’s revelation.
‘Possessed …?’ Aryx said. He wasn’t going to like the answer.
Sebastian frowned. His expression turned dark.
‘It is better if I show you what I have learned.’ The lights on the cube flickered and eight of the displays on the wall flicked into life.
One of the screens showed a view from above the door inside the lab on Tenebrae, prior to the explosion; the second display showed the familiar exterior corridor scene; another screen appeared relatively dark; and the remaining five showed images taken from one of the workbenches, looking outward in different directions.
‘These are recordings from the beta cube,’ Wolfram said. ‘Some are recordings made from its nanocameras, and the others are from the security cameras it tapped into to get a better overview of its surroundings. Unfortunately, the information is fragmented and I cannot replay a full account of events, but I’ll show what I can.’
The screens displayed a time code several months earlier. Kerl wore a white lab coat, his short black hair combed to one side; a stereotypical science nerd. Alvarez wore a loose coverall – Aryx immediately recognised the dark Hispanic looks and dense chinstrap of a beard, and the heavy musculature that showed prominently through the suit. It sickened him to see his old friend in the video, knowing what might be about to happen.
The pair sat at one end of the lab, talking to each other in a friendly manner – the recording evidently didn’t cover their meeting, as they seemed to know each other well. At the opposite end of the lab stood a dummy, like those Aryx had seen in the gym for hand-to-hand training.
‘Now, I know you found it difficult to focus last time,’ Kerl said, ‘but I don’t think it’s wise to use drugs, so how would you feel about trying hypnosis to help with control?’
‘Yeah whatever, if you think it will help. I don’t feel as though I’m good enough at this throat-singing crap. If it keeps my mind on it, I’m up for it.’
Kerl withdrew a small pen-light from his coat pocket, held it up in front of Alvarez’s eyes, and began moving it from left to right. ‘I’d like you to count backwards from ten. I want you to remember that when I speak the words “focus is yours” you will have laser sharp concentration, and when I click my fingers you will gently come out of trance.’ The count reached zero and he clicked his fingers.
Alvarez blinked and looked at him. ‘Is that all there is to it?’
Kerl nodded.
The Brazilian clapped his hands together. ‘Let’s give it a go then!’
Kerl took two vials of white powder from his coat pocket and handed them over. Alvarez tucked them into the left breast pocket of his coveralls and bent his knees and arms, as though about to spring at the dummy – from all the way across the room.
‘Focus is yours.’
He stared intently at the dummy and emitted a guttural whistling tone. His voice changed, shaping the tones into strange words, ‘Transmitir dent ocius velocidade.’ The air around his body shimmered and, with the tiniest of movements, he was gone.
The next instant he was at the other side of the room, hanging onto the dummy as though he’d used it to stop himself from crashing into the wall.
‘Wow!’ If he didn’t know better, Aryx would have thought the cube had fabricated the video.
‘Rewind it, Wolfram,’ Sebastian said, ‘and play it back slowly.’
The scene cut back to before the motion and began to replay at a fraction of the speed. Alvarez appeared to accelerate across the room. Within milliseconds, he was moving at a blur – he’d shot across the entire room in the same pose, as though the effect of his movement on his velocity had been exaggerated and multiplied thousandfold.
Wolfram resumed playback at norma
l speed.
Alvarez removed the vials from his pocket. One was empty.
‘You used one of the samples entirely.’ Kerl made a note on an infoslate. ‘Most interesting. It seems the effect’s potency and duration is also a variable in the quantity of carbyne used. It’s also interesting to note that the effect has used powder from one vial consistently. It must catalyse itself via the molecules in proximity, a sort of chain reaction, otherwise it would have used powder from more than one vial simultaneously.’
‘I think that counts as an acceleration spell,’ Duggan said. ‘I think he said “impart speed”. It sounded like a weird mishsmash of Latin and Portuguese.’
Wolfram stopped the video.
‘You mean to say the lab was researching magic?’ Aryx slowly shook his head. Unbelievable, his friend wasn’t a nutter, after all.
‘It certainly seems that way,’ Sebastian said. ‘But it doesn’t yet explain what happened to Duggan just now.’
‘The devil is in the details,’ Wolfram said.
Duggan raised an eyebrow.
Aryx shrugged. ‘He does weird things like that sometimes.’
‘Shall I continue?’
Duggan nodded. ‘Please do.’
Alvarez and Kerl changed positions, the time code now showing weeks later than that of the previous scene. Alvarez now sat on a stool with his back to the workbench. Wires trailed from his head and, even though the overall view wasn’t clear, it was evident from the cube’s multiple views that the wires led to the cube itself.
Aryx slapped his thigh. ‘I bloody knew it!’
‘Now,’ Kerl said, ‘I’m going to record your brainwaves using the device just like we’ve done in the other experiments. It should be able to monitor your thought patterns and extrapolate the images and sounds. I’d like you to try something small first.’ Once again, he took out a sample of carbyne from his coat pocket. ‘Focus is yours.’
A small pot plant sat on a storage unit at the opposite end of the lab. Alvarez pointed at it and began chanting and throat-singing. ‘Mueva ligeramente.’ The air rippled around him.
The pot plant twitched as though a light breeze had struck up and began to waft through the leaves.