by Mark Russo
“Now you have a bigger problem, human,” the Path of Time woman said from behind me.
“James. My name is James.” I faced her.
She lowered her arms, like I was not a threat to her anymore. “You should be dead, James.”
“Apparently, I’m not good at doing that.”
She stared at me without moving a muscle; the worm was calm as well.
“The Communion left you behind. Probably, they can’t even control you anymore. Tell me I’m wrong.”
She seemed surprised and looked away. “Where will you go now?”
“I’ll head back to Plan K. Have to meet someone. What were those creatures?”
“Those were scouts. When the colonization moves to this step, Plane K scouts explore the vicinity of the rift to ensure their stability.”
“I guess I scared them. Apologize for me if you meet them.”
She scoffed while shaking her head. “If you want to head back, we can walk down the rift. Trust me, it’s best if you don’t go there alone.”
“Who said I needed company? I have this huge friend already.” I pointed at the stone worm.
“Are you really planning on leaving a girl all by herself in the woods? That would be very impolite.”
I looked behind her shoulder. Apparently, she hadn’t noticed him. “You are not alone. That other student’s still hiding behind those trees.”
She turned her back and called him.
He staggered forward like a kid caught doing something wrong.
“He will follow us. We can’t leave him here,” she said.
He kept his head low without responding.
“It looks like you already have a plan. Lead the way. The first time I doubt you are playing me, I’ll send you to the pools.”
She nodded, her face serious.
We all walked to the edge of the rift.
Laura, I had finally learned her name, pointed at a precise point in the pit.
I hadn’t noticed before, but stairs descended into the darkness of the rift. “I didn’t think you demons used stairs like us.”
“Demons? Is that what you call us? I still prefer Laura. I learned to like this name.”
I chuckled.
As we descended into the depths of the hole, I watched Pavel. He hadn’t breathed a word ever since we began walking. The area did not look accessible to stone worms; they most probably would fall inside the rift. I looked to my right, inside the cavity, then up. I could still see Plane R’s sky coloring blue and preparing for the night.
“Plane K will swallow our world,” he finally said.
“What, Pavel? How do you know that?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.
Laura shook her head at me, and we kept going down.
“I don’t remember the last time I ate or slept. How come I’m still doing okay?”
“Because Plane K penetrates your human body deeply, James. Do you think those are the only consequences you will get by spending time here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember being capable of summoning giant subterranean beasts while you were in Plane R?”
“So, the stone worms are something Plane K gave me?”
“That is not correct. Stone worms are something you gave to Plane K.”
I wanted to ask her what she meant, but a large blue ball deeper in the crater, pulsating as it enlarged, distracted me. “Do we have to worry?” I asked Laura.
“No, we don’t. I did that. The rift won’t be a problem anymore,” Pavel said.
Laura glanced quizzically at me. “How did you manage?”
“I don’t know. But now we are safe.”
We kept walking down the darker depths of the rift. Plane K’s green light had taken over, and the mild hunger I had felt in the woods abandoned me, as were my heavy eyes. I was fully awake again.
14
Maria
The serpent stared at me as I had to prove something in that very moment.
“We said we wait for Emma’s double to return, right?”
He nodded.
“Am I doing anything wrong?”
The serpent sat on the ground in his twisted black coils. “You are Path of Time, right?”
Now I was the one who nodded.
“I never saw a time blade. Or better, I never saw one outside combat. Let’s say, I didn’t manage to get a full perspective of the thing.”
The creature’s shape didn’t help much with me trusting him. “Why all the interest in my weapon?”
“You don’t know you are an apprentice, already. Am I correct?”
Talking with him was just like talking to Akko. My nerves were being softly stroked. “My trainer used to answer questions with another question. Just tell me what you know.”
The extremities of the serpent’s mouth lifted, and he laughed. “Akko wouldn’t allow a novice out of Aeg. Not on his watch.”
“It looks like you know him.” I sat on a large, flat rock and waited for him to say more.
“Once, I can’t say how many human years ago, Path of Time was way more popular than now.” He paused, maybe expecting me to comment. “And now … well, a few of you remain.”
“I guess you now want me to ask what happened.”
He stifled laughter. “Akko doesn’t like people much. He thought it was better if he would choose those who might access his beloved Path of Time.”
“He’s weird for sure. But he taught me a lot.”
“Can I see the sword now?”
My eyes widened at him asking so directly. “What’s so special with my time blade?”
“I just need a quick look. You don’t have to worry. That thing is useless to me. It can prove quite powerful in your hands though.”
I grabbed its hilt, removed it from its magical sheath and brandished it. My grasp was tighter than needed.
He observed it with an impressive deal of attention without coming closer. “Yes, it is what I thought.”
“Will you elaborate on that?”
“Look. Emma’s double is returning. I think the metal box she’s holding looks familiar to you.”
And it did; that thing was exactly like the other I had found in the tower. “What do we do with that?”
Emma’s clone laid the toolbox on the ground right before my feet. “Why don’t you try to open it, Maria?”
I kneeled and reached for the mangy handle. It clanked when I opened it. I retrieved another metal cube from the box, again, very similar to that I had found in the tower. “What am I doing with this?”
“You? Not much. Your sword would.”
I swallowed some saliva that hurt my throat a little. I brought the cube closer to the blade, and the magic started. The two objects floated before my eyes then spun faster and faster. I stepped backward and raised my arms before my face. I could hear a whiff all around. Then all the whirling ceased, and the sword fell to the ground. The point of the blade pierced Plane K’s brittle soil and lodged in it. I grabbed the hilt again and lifted it. “It’s the second time this happened. Can you tell me what … just what?”
“You found some artifacts. I will not repeat the story again. You can ask your friends.”
“Emma and James? They know what this is?”
“Yes. Your sword can do more things than other time blades. You just enhanced it.”
“What other things can I do? Will you teach me? Or do I go back to Aeg, maybe?”
He shook his tiny hands. “Calm down, Maria. I don’t know any of that.”
“But it was your idea to send that double on the mountain. You know stuff.”
“Maria, again, calm down. I do not know what your sword can do now. Maybe we have a way to find out.”
I scoffed, but I didn’t seem to care.
“First things first. Make one of those tunnels with different realities. I just got in there too.”
I scoffed much louder when I heard that. “That is something Akko was doing. I never tried myself.�
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The serpent came by my side and enunciated each word. “I don’t know that motivational shit you humans do, but think about that. You can do it or whatever, Maria.”
I went by the side of the once Mr. Sweet and prepared for the time walk.
“Don’t be so nervous, Maria. If you can’t manage on your first attempt, we’ll just try again.”
“I’m the one doing all the work. You sit there, telling me what to do.”
“Humans pay such people and call them managers. I’m just trying to do that. Handle this.”
These demons were a piece of work. I straightened my arms, extended my right leg and got into a starting block like position. And there it was, the temporal series Vagras had asked to summon. The peculiar thing was all those potential realities looked the same—like there was no possible evolution for that moment—and I also lost the serpent, so I stopped and looked back.
“I should be in there with you. You just became blurry, like a ghost, but I didn’t see the series.”
“Well, I told you I don’t know how to do that.”
“Okay, let’s try again. No pressure.”
So, I did; I went back by his side and triggered my skill once more to no avail. “Do you know what I’m doing wrong?”
“Let me reach out to your mind. Maybe it will help.”
“The hell I will. Who knows what trick you are trying to pull?”
“Maria. Emma and James impaired my abilities so much I wouldn’t manage to control you.”
I was about to show him my sword with a less peaceful intent this time.
“Believe me. I can’t manage to do that.”
I crossed my arms. “If you try to hurt me, I will hurt you more. Are we clear?”
“I’m sure that would happen.”
He did nothing peculiar—not a movement, not a magic phrase to activate his skill. It just happened. I could hear him in my head. Okay, now can we please try that again? I heard his voice, but his mouth did not move.
“Yes.”
I can’t hear your thoughts, if that’s what’s scaring you.
We tried that stilted sequence of movements again, and the sprint and the tunnel appeared. This time, the snake was by my side. We walked at a steady pace—or better, I was; he didn’t have legs.
Well, it was a very long time since I had seen this from the inside. Pun intended.
I shook my arm. “Okay, keep walking, or whatever it is you do with that body.”
I’m a serpent in Plane K. I crawl, slither, your choice.
“Whatever. We’re in the series now. What do I have to do?”
You can move in and out of this … tunnel, right?
“Yes, and do a few things with the sword while doing that. Do I have to do that?”
He shook his enormous head.
“It’s the first time I’ve walked in a series for this long. It’s taking its toll on me.”
The snake grunted and probably did something with his skills; the point is, I felt better suddenly.
Have some of my energy. Do not waste it, youngster.
“Okay, well, I’m honored. You still didn’t tell me what to do.”
Outside of the series, Plane K wastes looked even greener than the usual.
Hit one of those boulders with the sword. Let’s see what happens.
I hesitated, but I eventually did. Emerging from the tunnel into Plane K felt like jumping from one imaginary world to another—and it actually was. I directed the point of the sword to the center of the rock Vagras had suggested. My feet ran fast—maybe too much. When the blade punctured the stone, it slipped in it as if I had stabbed a giant pile of butter. The point where the sword had skewered the rock colored in a red shade. What happened next had my jaw drop. The red spot expanded and exploded in front of me, shattering the rocks into tiny bits. And, after that, my body became light and ethereal before rippling back into the series. I found myself next to the serpent.
That, my dear Maria, was a piercing blow. I bet it was not this powerful before.
My breath was irregular. “I also had a hard time turning myself into fog before. You say all this is because of those metal cubes that blended into my time blade?”
Control your excitement. Get us out of the series.
“Okay, mood killer.” I slowed enough for the time walk skill to end. We were in the vast wilderness of Plane K again. “I guess you have another idea, Vagras.”
“You bet I do. We just have to find those spires.”
I glared at him, and he got what I meant.
“Okay, okay. I’ll explain. James talked about them. If we find them, I bet we find another box.”
“So, we find another metal cube?”
He nodded.
“What’s in all this for you?”
“Well …” He exhaled. “Let’s say I have a bone to pick with the Communion myself.”
“Do you know where we have to go?” I asked instead of commenting on his confession.
“There’s nowhere we can go. We have to find James.”
“I see. They hide the boxes on the paths?”
“Yes. I told your friends about this.”
“When will he be back?”
“If I know the Communion well enough, much sooner than expected.”
15
Emma
“Ms. Scheller, could you please share a few more details about your time at SnapDrive?” The interviewer scrolled through my holographic CV and pointed at an image. A few animations popped up with details about my alleged previous experience.
“Well,” I said from behind my plastic smile, “it was challenging to be there. What I remember the most is how being there allowed me to work on my time management skill.”
“Can you please elaborate on that?”
I crossed my legs, and my skirt rose way more than I had expected. “Yes, sure. We were using DST for collecting consumer behavior patterns related to the use of some TL worlds.”
He nodded like I had said something he liked a lot.
“We were gathering data and submitting them to the DPT teams. We had lots of tasks, and we had no margin for errors.”
Again, his face brightened. “I appreciate the level of detail of your description. How would you rate your people skills? Are you comfortable working in a team?”
It was time for another lie. “I love working with people. I strongly believe groups can perform much better than individuals if properly managed.”
He moved his head up and down as I said all he wanted to hear. “Very good, Ms. Scheller. You will get feedback for this interview as soon as possible.”
I smiled and stood. We shook hands with an unnecessary amount of strength.
He walked me to the door while staring at me.
I nodded and exited into the main reception area where I grimaced at the smell of a very strong chemical detergent.
“I apologize for the smell. We are fighting with some persistent mold in the crawlspace of these walls. You are Ms. Scheller, right?” The robotic receptionist wore a blank expression on her cheeks.
“Oh, thanks for the explanation. Can I please use the restroom?”
“Yes. Follow this corridor and make a left.”
I passed the bathroom’s door and hid in one stall.
Not twenty seconds later, someone else entered.
I approached her. “Your hair looks amazing. What do you do to keep it so shiny?”
The lady spied me in the mirror with unnecessary seduction. “A friend gave me a lotion once. I’ve never stopped using it.”
“And your nails, they look just perfect. Can I take a closer look?”
She dropped her hand in between mine.
“Your skin is so soft and silky. You are perfect.”
She smiled at me.
“Now, look at me. See?” My override skill was already at work. “You will bring me upstairs. You will find someone for me. Got it?”
She nodded.
We left th
e restroom and headed right, in the opposite direction of the reception desk. The generous human by my side opened the door for me—or better, it automatically opened. I could maintain a good control over her mind, but I still had to talk to her to give her orders. In her thoughts and memories, I could see she was a data processing team leader. Reaching her manager would be a nice step ahead.
“Bring me to her. Pick a random topic. Tell her I’m from internal audit or something.”
We crossed a large, open space where maybe five people were working. A monitor displaying company movies and commercials caught my attention. InComm was an enormous company with over a thousand—yes, nowadays that was a lot—employees deployed around the world. They delivered—
“Hi, Anne, this is Martha from internal audit,” my minion said.
A short person wedged in an enormous desk emerged from her augmented-reality software interface and leered at us for not a split second. “I didn’t expect you. Oh, Martha. I thought you would come at eleven o’clock.”
Gosh, I was getting good at it.
“Yes. Is there somewhere more private we can discuss this? It’s a very urgent and delicate matter.”
My minion walked away while the manager scrolled through a holographic list of conference and meeting rooms. “We have one. Follow me.” Anne’s voice sounded lifeless and pale, just like the other girl’s. I should definitely work on that and make overridden people look more normal.
She took me for a quick jaunt among the desks with people touching holographic things invisible to me, and at least one of them checked me out. No need to panic, Emma. Just keep walking.
When we entered the small circular space surrounded by a glass wall, Anne looked at me, waiting for instructions.
“Let’s pretend we are actually talking. Share a random document in iView and let’s pretend we are reviewing it.”
She opened a presentation regarding marginal costs for the purchase of complexes of buildings in Eastern Africa.
“Nod as we go through this. People must think we are working.”
She moved her head every other second.
“Be more natural than that. Act as if it was you controlling your movements.”
Her face puzzled, then she tapped the tip of her foot on the gray carpeting. I took that as something positive. A full minute passed, and our fake conversation was proceeding quite smoothly.