by Thomas Stone
“You’re right,” said Fagen, “I don’t want to, but I’m going to in any case. With your help or without. For as long as it takes. What do you know about Eli?”
“Who?”
“Your host.”
Tobias and Lisa stared blankly at Fagen. “Nothing,” Tobias admitted.
“All right,” said Fagen, readjusting his backpack, “maybe you can point out these other passages so I can take a look around.”
“I’ll show you,” Tobias said.
*
Harry stepped through the block and sniffed the cool air. The sweet, tempting odor of kitzloc was subtly present. Harry allowed his consciousness to wander down the tunnel before him, seeking the whereabouts of the alien. Was it absent or just lying in wait, shielding its own psychic emanations? Harry could not be sure. He moved forward past a crook in the corridor and beheld the splendid cavern with its pristine pool of undisturbed water. Harry paused. The smell of purified water filled his mind with the possibilities of infinite energy. This was the Crevah. The place of convergence. Harry stepped from the tunnel and onto the first slab of rock. Save for his footstep, silence reigned absolute. There was no doubt his presence was already known, so why was the creature waiting?
There was a stirring in the air and an equal stirring in Harry’s mind as he moved down onto the beach. Harry knew the creature was there. But how would it react? Harry was, after all, one of them now, in a manner of speaking.
The sand was yellow-gold and that which stirred from his steps glinted with a red sheen as dust particles in the air. Harry stepped to the center of the beach and faced the lagoon. Shutting his eyes, his mind expanded over the water to the far reaches of the cavern, filling the space up to its vaulted ceilings and between the spaces and cracks of the rocks, over, above, and around him until he felt the vibrations from each molecule of every substance -- and then, his mind brushed against something that did not give, that stood unyielding to his psychic probing.
Harry opened his eyes. The creature was before him, floating just above the water, returning his gaze with large, soft eyes that were surrounded by an almost cherubic, glowing face. That face was situated atop a long, tapering, muscular neck that was attached to a sleek, over-sized lizard’s body. Its talon-tipped fingers were intertwined and folded at its chest and held over a slight pot-belly. Long legs relaxed and dangled with the tips of its feet just above the calm surface. Water dripped from its feet and concentric circles expanded beneath the kitzloc on the water’s surface. Air slits rippled at the sides of the creature’s neck as it drew in air and again as it released each breath.
A touch of essence lingered in the air, long enough for Harry to establish a connection. A greeting message formed in Harry’s mind. It was a hail, a formal recognition of Harry, and another indication that Harry had obtained status among the alien species. Essentially, the kitzloc recognized him as a sort of step-brother. There was no sloppy kiss, no pounding of the back, nothing even approaching typical human responses, but Harry had progressed far enough to not expect anything of that sort. Still, he was uncertain exactly what to expect.
More messages formed in rapid succession, complete ideas transferred within nanoseconds, stacked up like train cars as Harry’s mind struggled to keep up.
“The time of convergence is at hand. Your path is set. Your destiny is immutable.”
“What destiny?”
“That which has been intended. That which was necessary.”
“Necessary for what?
“The preservation of our way of life and the continuance of the universe. There could have been no other way.”
“And I have somehow done this for you?”
“You have played an essential role for all of us. However, your part is not over.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your understanding is not required. You have one more task to perform.”
“And what is that?”
“You will perform it whether you know or not.”
“I think not.”
“?”
“Too many unanswered questions. As much as I am like you now, I am still human. I desire what I desire. I desire freedom.”
“Spoken like a true kitzloc.”
“I will not cooperate. Where is my Kathleen? Where are the others you have taken? What have you done with Fagen?”
“Kathleen is in that place in-between. Others are here or there, and some have crossed over.”
“That’s what you call it when someone dies?”
“Yes.”
“I will not help you. I came here for Kathleen. You’ve used me long enough.” In the next instant, Harry’s fury broke loose and, with a powerful rush of his newfound strength, he launched himself at the kitzloc. Harry’s powerful legs catapulted him upward, over the water, even above the kitzloc, so that he could land on the creature’s head in an attack designed to punish that beatific face. But, as the arc of his attack ended, Harry simply passed through an empty space where the creature had been and Harry entered the water, feet first.
In a moment, he bobbed to the surface, looking for the kitzloc. He didn’t have to search -- it was on the beach, standing exactly where Harry had stood moments before.
Once again, peculiar, alien thoughts rustled inside Harry’s head.
“I want my life back,” said Harry aloud, stroking back to the beach.
“You have your life,” the creature replied, “you always have. Your intention coincided with ours many years ago. Do you not remember your common upbringing? How you yearned for more? Your thirst for knowledge? Your desire to hold the universe?”
“What I have done, I have done on my own merit.”
“Surely you cannot believe that. From your beginnings to rise to the heights you have presently obtained? Think, remember the past, remember the accident that led to your selection as a traveler...”
Harry stopped as he waded from the water. In his mind, he saw an air-car crash that had occurred long ago, the crash that had killed the man who was initially selected to serve as a member of Fagen’s team. The man whom Harry had replaced. In all those years since, Harry had carried the suspicion, the belief, that it was Fagen who had somehow manipulated the accident and caused those deaths just so Harry could move up the chain.
“Think, think,” the kitzloc intoned, “of the possibilities of discovery, the statistical chances that on one’s first test, one would discover what all mankind sought...”
Harry understood. What were the chances that on his first mission through the wormhole, that he and his crew would make a major discovery, that they would not only discover a habitable planet but an advanced species as well? He had suspected Fagen knew all along and he had been right. But had Fagen also been manipulated by the kitzloc all those years ago? How grand was this plan the kitzloc were unwinding?
Harry staggered from the water and stood defiantly before the creature towering over him.
“Okay,” he said. “You’ve murdered and manipulated so that your kind could live in peace. I get it. But like I said, I don’t want to be a part of it. I won’t be a part of it.”
The kitzloc lowered its eyelids momentarily and what sounded like a sigh came from the air slits on its sides. “You do not understand. But you will.”
Blinding light enveloped Harry. Although his mind remained intact, his body faded and dissolved, becoming one with the light. In an instant, the Crevah and the kitzloc were gone, replaced by a darkened space and a single circle of light within which Harry stood. Huddled within the light at his feet was Kathleen. She looked up and uttered his name once before the light again intensified and both winked out of the circle.
*
Over Lisa’s objections, Tobias led Fagen first along the passageway that, Tobias said, led to the surface. They had not gone far when Tobias halted and pointed Fagen’s spare light at a crease between two multi-ton boulders. Upon closer inspection, Fagen saw that a man could easily squeeze through.
“Any sign of anyone else?” asked Fagen.
“No,” Tobias shook his head, “but it’s like the rest of this place, dark as pitch. We had a flashlight but the batteries eventually ran out.”
“How do you keep the fire fueled?”
“That’s a funny thing,” said Tobias. “There’s a cache of coal I discovered in the chamber where you found us.”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Well,” Tobias started, then paused. “I can’t figure out why the kitzloc didn’t just kill us where it found us? Why go to all this trouble?”
Fagen shook his head. “I don’t know.” He looked at Tobias. “Justice maybe.”
“Justice?”
“Why not? Something to teach you a lesson. Okay. Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
“To squeeze through here.”
“No, I’m not going back in there. That’s where this funhouse really begins. I’m not going in there again.”
“All right,” said Fagen. “I’ll go it alone from here. But do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Go get some of that coal and start a fire here. The light will help me find my way back out. Maybe.”
Tobias nodded. “I’ll do it. Good luck.”
Fagen didn’t respond. Instead, he slipped out of his pack, dropped it to the floor, and turned to the fissure. He squeezed sideways into the space, taking tentative steps, holding the light in his left hand to view whatever was before him while his right played upon the rock surface mere centimeters from his face. The narrow opening went on for five meters or so before opening into another chamber. Fagen stepped through and shined his light around. On the opposite side of the room two more passages branched into darkness. Fagen crossed the space, pivoted, and looked at the passage he had just left. After Tobias built a fire, its light would serve as a beacon in case Fagen became lost. At least, he hoped so.
Now, which passage to take? The left or the right? It was a toss-up, statistically speaking, either would do. Ordinarily, Fagen was a man of calculated conviction and in the past when faced with similar choices, he would take the right-hand choice, simply because he himself was right-handed and somehow, a choice had to be made. This time, however, for unfathomable reasons, he suddenly decided to break his usual practice and go to the left. He shined his light into the rocky corridor and confidently walked inside, ducking low to avoid a low-hanging outcropping and emerging within yet another subterranean vault. The chamber was distinctly different from the others. For one thing, it was devoid of boulders and quite nearly oval. The floor, while still composed of the same rock, was unnaturally smooth. There were neither stalagmites nor stalactites, rather the rounded ceiling looked regular, almost as if it had been constructed. A most unusual fact in that, so far as Fagen knew, the kitzloc had no need of anything other than what nature provided. The space was empty. Additionally, there were no other passages leading out other than that by which he had entered. Feeling a twinge of disappointment, Fagen re-traced his steps to the previous chamber and took the right-hand choice.
The path quickly narrowed so that Fagen had to stoop to continue. The stoop developed to a crawl, and finally ended at a place where the tunnel divided into a half dozen holes no larger than Fagen’s arm. With a sigh, Fagen relaxed with his back against the sloping rock. It had been an hour since he’d left Tobias and he was weary, thirsty, filthy, and disappointed.
He shined his light on the holes again and was greeted by the sudden extrusion of several eel-like creatures. Jaws snapped open revealing rows of razor-tipped teeth. They hissed and protruded farther until within striking distance. In reflex, Fagen backed away, but one managed to sink its teeth into the heel of his boot and then began to tug while the others snapped at his ankle and lower leg. Fagen kicked with his free leg while pulling to free the other. As he struggled, the eel extended out of its hole and Fagen realized that they could be several meters in length, certainly long enough to enter the small space and overwhelm him. With that knowledge, he forsook any idea of fighting and turned his back on the snapping jaws, scrambling out the way he’d come. For an instant he thought he’d lose his boot, but the creature bit out a chunk of sole instead and, in the process, Fagen was freed. Moving without haste, Fagen returned to his starting point.
With heart pounding, he looked back inside the tunnel to see if they followed. To his relief, the space was empty. He stepped away and noticed the light from Tobias’ fire reflected through the fissure. He crossed the space and called to Tobias.
“Are you there?”
The muffled reply came back immediately. “Yes. What did you find?”
“Nothing,” replied Fagen. “I’m coming out,” he added.
As he prepared to squeeze his body back through, a flash of light illuminated the chamber. It happened so quickly he thought perhaps it was just a trick played on him by an over-loaded optic system, yet it seemed to emanate from the left-hand passage, the one that led to the unnaturally-formed room. He paused.
“Wait,” he said to Tobias. “I want to check something one more time.”
Fagen crossed the room again and flashed his light into the darkened corridor before stepping through. He ducked under the outcropping and stuck his head into the peculiar space beyond. As he briefly scanned the area, this time his beam settled on a figure sitting in the middle of the floor, knees drawn to her chest with arms wrapped around. As the light hit her, Bobbi raised her head.
“There you are,” said Fagen.
Chapter 13
Minerva squatted on the sand next to Bart, wringing her hands. “What have we done?” she said to Arai.
“Don’t touch him yet. Wait until the light dissipates.”
Like the tone coming from the plot, the light surrounding Bart slowly dissipated to gradually reveal his reclining form.
“Look, he’s coming around. Oh my gosh! Look at him! Bart’s not fat anymore!”
Arai peered down at Bart’s new svelte figure. “Perhaps it would be best to reserve judgment until we exit VR.”
“Yes, yes, of course, but just look at him! He’s so handsome!”
A tremor went through Bart’s body and he suddenly gasped, eyes opening at the same time. He was soaked in sweat but otherwise in good condition. He raised a hand before his eyes. “I’m alive,” he said.
“You bet you’re alive,” said Minerva, reaching for his hand and tugging on it. “Can you stand up?”
“I think so,” he said, rising to a sitting position. “What happened to me?”
Arai chuckled. “It appears you have been re-born. Arise and meet the new day.” Revealing his excitement, Arai’s tail whipped the air behind his head.
Bart looked down at his new body. “What th...? This is unbelievable!” His hand went to the back of his head where it felt for the VR plug. In an instant, he was back in the control room of the ship sitting at his console.
When Minerva and Arai rejoined him, they found him mouth agape, tears streaming from his eyes. He looked first to Minerva, then to Arai. “This is too much,” he said. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing! I can live a normal life!”
“Yes, you can,” said Minerva as she threw her arms around his neck, “and, you are sooo handsome!”
In amazement, Bart stood and walked around the control room feeling his new prowess. He fairly ripped off his shirt. Where there had once been rolls of fat was now smooth skin rippled by muscles underneath. Bart ran his hands over his washboard stomach. He looked at Minerva again. “Is this really me?”
“It is,” she affirmed.
Arai turned his attention back to the controls at his console while Bart’s celebration continued.
Bart dropped to the floor and began doing effortless push-ups. “Look at this,” he said, putting one hand behind his back.
Bart jumped back to his feet and touched his fingertips to the floor. “I’ve never been able to do this!”
Arai spoke quietly from his console position. “Hey guys?”
Bart grabbed Minerva and the two began to waltz around the control room like giggling ballroom dancers. “It’s a miracle!” proclaimed Bart.
Arai spoke again, a little louder. “Hey guys.”
Bart stopped and looked at Minerva. “And you know what? The funniest thing! I’m not hungry!”
Holding one another, the two broke into laughter.
“Hey guys!”
Finally, they looked to Arai.
“Something is going on here.”
Bart, still grinning, asked, “What is it?”
“We’ve got another ship entering orbit.”
“Oh? Probably reinforcements from Earth.”
Arai shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Bart and Minerva approached Arai’s console. “Why not? What else could it be?”
“Well,” said Arai, tail twitching nervously, “it could be a ship that looks exactly like us.”
Bart laughed. “What do you mean? That’s impossible. Show us.”
Arai passed a slender hand over a section of his controls and a large display appeared in mid-air before him. Centered in the display was an image of a ship that looked exactly like Minerva.
*
In an instant, Harry found himself standing in the middle of a field of knee-high grass. It was afternoon and a breeze rippled the grass like waves on the ocean. There were trees among the surrounding hills but no structures of any kind. A duo of pale moons hung in the red-tinted sky. Harry inhaled and smelled Kathleen. She was there, still huddled at his feet. Wordlessly, she got up and Harry wrapped his arms around her.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispered.
“You’re my only reason,” he muttered as he nuzzled her platinum crop-top.
“Where are we?”
Still holding her, Harry looked around and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Kathleen looked past Harry and focused. “We’ve got company.”