by Paul Ormond
“What the hell am I looking at?” Vargas said, squinting at the screen.
“Let me zoom in,” Daniels said before he pressed another button. The camera pushed in on a heaving mass of digitized characters circling a fiery crater. “As you can see, we haven’t held anything back when it comes to the details.”
“I can see you’ve spent a lot of the taxpayer’s dollars on a gigantic illusion, but I still don’t see what the payoff is?”
“The objective has not changed, sir. This is a hearts and minds exercise. By rallying the population around a central hero, we can have our enemies delivered to us on a platter.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?”
“Mitch Mythic is going to tell them who their enemies are.”
“But Mitch Mythic is missing.”
“Not anymore. He is about to make his grand entrance in a just a moment.”
CHAPTER FOUR
MITCH FELT HIS stomach lurch as the forces drawing him down the spiraling funnel grew in strength. Screaming in agony, he covered his face to block out the blinding light pouring out of the walls of the tube.
Without warning, he slammed into something solid. Gasping for breath, he shoved against the object and pushed his knees under his chest while he fought to regain his breath.
“Always a drama queen, aren’t you Mitch?” he heard Kate say from nearby. “You sound like you swallowed a shoe.”
“How come every time I jump through a portal you are the first thing I see?” Mitch said, rolling onto his side.
“It’s probably because our stars are aligned. Certain people are drawn to each other,” Kate said after she leaped off of the rock she had been sitting on. “We keep jumping through wormholes and you can’t shake me. That says something, doesn’t it?”
“It says that I am caught in an inescapable nightmare and you are the demon witch at the center of my personal hell,” Mitch said, forcing himself to sit up. “And where are we now? Is this some kind of planet?”
“It appears we have come to a junction,” SoHee said, rising before a large pillar.
“What kind of junction?” Mitch said while he peered past SoHee. “All I can see is a bunch of rocks and empty space.”
“That’s a very good observation,” Kalis said while crouching near a large stone.
“I’m not sure, but some of this seems familiar,” Gerald said, rising to his feet. “And it looks like we’re all here.”
“You see, I told you I wasn’t anything to worry about,” Robert said from beside Gerald. “I’m a team player.”
“Only a self centered lunatic would have to keep repeating that,” Babcock said.
“Yup, If you have to keep reminding everyone it can’t be true,” Davis said.
“Is it gang up on Robert time again?” Robert said. “Every time I open my mouth everyone dog piles on me.”
“Then don’t open your mouth,” Allan said. “You are your own worst enemy, you know. Whenever you start talking, you wind up digging yourself into a hole.”
“Thanks for the tip, Allan,” Robert said as he stood up. “I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on.”
“That sounds wonderful,” SoHee said.
“You know, one day you are going to regret that you were so mean to me,” Robert said.
“Is that another threat?” Babcock said.
“That’s enough out of all of you,” Gerald said. “This bickering is not helping our situation. Robert is not off the hook, but he hasn’t betrayed us yet and he fought bravely in that battle, so I think we can cut him some slack.”
“Finally, somebody is on my side,” Robert said.
“I never said I was on your side,” Gerald said. “As far as I am concerned you are still a liability, and I won’t feel comfortable until we have brought you back to Earth. In the meantime, we are going to have to find a way to work together. Can anyone tell me where we are? By anyone, I mean SoHee and Kalis.”
“Locations such as this are not uncommon in the network,” Kalis said. “You’ll notice the stone work is similar to the portal site back on Chalthantar. The architects built these locations into the system as waypoints connecting different paths in the network.”
“So this hunk of rock is like an intersection?” Gaelin asked. “But where does it go?”
“It’s difficult to say,” Kalis said. “It really could lead anywhere. You just need to know where you want to go.”
“I think we know where we want to go,” Gerald said.
“We all want to go home, Gerald,” SoHee said. “But that might lead us right into the Masters’ hands. I’d expect an intelligence officer to have a little more foresight.”
“And I’d expect a teenager to have a little more respect for their elders,” Gerald said. “Of course, they will be looking for us, but if we don’t get back to Earth, we risk being exposed to even more hostiles out here.”
“He’s got a point,” Davis said. “The longer we stay away, the more enemies we are going to make. At least if we get back to Earth, we can find a way to hide and we might get some protection.”
“But we’ll be putting our planet at risk,” SoHee said.
“As far as I can tell it is already at risk,” Robert said. “The Masters have had their eyes on earth for a long time.”
“That may be true, but they still think we aren’t there,” Mitch said. “I’m not sure if we should give them any reason to launch an offensive.”
“It sounds like we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” Davis said. “But how do we even know if we can get back home? I don’t see any sign posts or anything telling us which way to go.”
“As you have already observed, the destination of the portal is determined by the intent of the user,” Kalis said. “One must focus on where they need to travel and the portal does the rest. It appears Drak brought us to Chalthantar based on his desire.”
“But why didn’t we wind up back on Earth?” Mitch asked. “That’s where most of us are from.”
“No one can say why anything happened. Perhaps Drak expressed a strong desire to return home when the portal was opened. The rest of us were focused on our own survival, so our intent didn’t register,” Kalis said. “But I’m only speculating.”
“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home,” Kate said as she clicked her heels together.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” SoHee said.
“It’s worth a shot,” Kate said. “If we can’t go home, what the hell are we supposed to do?”
“Good question,” Gerald said before an audible ping echoed across the rock formation. “What was that? Gaelin, that sounded just like your phone.”
“It was,” Gaelin said while he opened his bag. “I started getting messages from Earth after they unlocked our stuff.”
“Messages from your Cell buddies?” Gerald asked.
“Something like that,” Gaelin said. “It sounds like things are really heating up back home.”
“What do you mean by heating up?” SoHee asked.
“It’s a bit nuts, but it looks like our plan to put inReal devices in the hands of the people is coming together. There are rumors floating around that the government has already made a deal with our buddies in steel, and they are mining Earth as we speak.”
“These are more of your conspiracy theories, Gaelin,” Kate said.
“That’s not that far off,” Robert said. “From what I understand, the Masters had always planned on mining Earth just like they did everywhere else they went.”
“He’s not wrong,” Kalis said. “Your planet has a high level of esteem among the Masters. But Mother considers it sacred ground for some reason and she has resisted any attempt to conquer the planet unless it was through subterfuge.”
“Any idea why that is?” SoHee asked.
“Although I was drowned in the Masters’ myths, I wasn’t invited to their planning committees,” Kalis said.
“This might sound a little strange to everyone,” SoHee said as she brought here hand to her neck and rubbed the cube hanging beneath her chin. “But Mother and I have had a few discussions about all the things we are talking about.”
“Nothing sounds strange anymore,” Mitch said. “This whole thing is insanity. What did Mother tell you?”
“I’m still trying to piece it all together. And I know we already talked about this before, but it’s hard to tell fact from fantasy at some points,” SoHee said. “She tried to convince me that Mitch is an Evil force hellbent on destroying the Multi-verse.”
“She would say that,” Mitch said. “I bet it was her that started calling me the Most Dangerous Man in the Multi-verse.”
“Are you complaining about that nickname,” Gaelin asked. “That is probably the coolest nickname ever.”
“It’s all bunch of propaganda,” Mitch said. “They are trying to blame me for everything that’s happened.”
“Now you know how I feel,” Robert said.
“Please don’t compare me to you,” Mitch said.
“And we’re back to the bickering again,” Gerald said. “SoHee was saying something important.”
“A lot of the things that happened to me are beyond comprehension, but she told me something before she shoved me in the Robot that really stuck in my mind. It’s crazy, but kind of makes sense,” SoHee said.
“No idea what you are talking about,” Mitch said.
“We talked about this already, while you were off on your mission.” SoHee said. “Just think about it. Isn’t it kind of strange that we keep landing on worlds similar to our own with people that kind of look like us? We can breathe the air and we can eat the food.”
“I’m still not sure if I can believe all that. The architects must have found planets that were hospitable for their seeds,” Allan said. “They would’ve searched the universe for the right candidates and built their network accordingly.”
“Or they could have made them up,” SoHee said.
“I know where this is going,” Gaelin said.
“Now you’ve gone and wound him up,” Kate said.
“It almost makes too much sense now,” Gaelin said. “And it’s probably the only answer that properly explains all of this.”
“Just spit it out already,” Gerald said.
“None of this is real,” Gaelin said.
“Yeah, it’s all a dream. We heard this before,” Robert said.
“It’s not a dream. It’s a simulation,” Gaelin said.
“We had this conversation earlier,” Gerald said. “I don’t think this is the time to go discussing more of these conspiracy theories.”
“It’s not a conspiracy if it’s true,” Gaelin said.
“He’s right,” SoHee said. “I don’t want to keep bringing it up, but there is no other way to explain all of this.”
“It can’t be true,” Mitch said. “How the hell is that even possible?”
“How is anything possible?” SoHee said.
“Are we really doing this right now?” Mitch asked. “We need to find a way out of here, and we’re discussing the nature of our reality.”
“This seems like a rather fitting time to discuss reality,” SoHee said. “Here we are in between space and time trying to figure out our next move. There are only two possibilities. Either we are in a simulation or we are not. As far as the data is concerned, it is more than likely that we are living inside a simulation.”
“And what data is that?” Mitch asked.
“As fringe as it sounds, it is a field of study that has been analyzed by a large number of scientists,” SoHee said.
“It seems like something about holographic universes or simulations pops up in my news feed every other week,” Babcock said. “But it all sounds a little too convenient if you ask me. Makes life seem kind of pointless, don’t you think?”
“Our experiences are entirely subjective,” SoHee said. “Whether or not this is a simulation has no bearing on your day-to-day life. But it matters greatly to what we do next.”
“What exactly are we going to do next?” Gerald asked.
“Put an end to all of this,” SoHee said as the cube beneath her chin burst open and formed a sphere overhead.
CHAPTER FIVE
“HOW IN THE hell am I supposed to maintain my composure when everything is coming apart at the seams,” President Edwards said as she pushed down the hall of the West Wing toward the Oval Office.
“We cannot afford to show any signs of weakness at this point, or we risk exposing ourselves to more harm,” an aide said while handing the President a folder.
“What are you dropping on me now, Clarice?” Edwards said.
“This is the diagnostic report for the units we requested,” Clarice said.
“Why am I looking at diagnostic reports, Clarice?”
“Because these reports green light mass production, Madam President. Along with lab testing, General Vargas has been conducting field experiments with the equipment and the results are an astounding vote of confidence. We can immediately outfit several regiments, and by year's end we will have more than enough troops trained and equipped to form the division necessary for the Joint Chiefs proposal.”
“But that is if we continue to allow our friends to keep robbing us blind,” Edwards said before she passed through the doors leading to the oval office. Several men and women wearing military outfits stood waiting for the president to arrive, and they all snapped to attention after Edwards walked into the room.
“Is everybody here?” the President asked while she made her way around the couch and sat down in the chair reserved for her beside the fireplace.
“All present and accounted for, Madam President,” a gruff looking elderly man in an Air Force uniform said.
“You certainly are an Airman through and through, aren’t you General Broadbet?”
“That’s why they gave me these stars, Madam President,” the General said without pointing at the four stars along his shoulder.
“And they were well deserved, General, but let’s hope they are of help to us now,” The President said while she settled into her chair. “We’ve dug ourselves a hole, ladies and Gentlemen and now we need to claw our way out.”
“By all accounts, any attempt on our part to alter the deal will have a significant impact on global security,” A woman in army fatigues said.
“I am well aware of the fragility of the situation, General De Vries, but that does not change the fact that we are losing ground at every breath. This deal we made seems to change by the day, and I don’t see any way we can wriggle free without a major altercation,” Edwards said. “If any of you can offer me some insight into this situation, I am all ears.”
“Unfortunately, any course of action other than compliance will result in blood on the streets according to the simulations we have run,” a man in a suit said.
“Yes, these war games are very interesting, but they only work on models drawn from the available data. We are into unprecedented territory at this point. I don’t know if we can look to the past for answers,” President Edwards said.
“I’m going to have to disagree with you there, Madam President,” a woman in a purple pantsuit said.
“Disagree all you want, but just give me something I can work with, Director Amari,” Edwards said, suppressing her anger.
“No amount of military planning could have prepared us for the current situation,” the woman said. “The only comparable event would be the conquest of the new world by Europeans hundreds of years ago.”
“I’m well aware of the history of the United States, Director Amari,” the President said. “But what the hell does that have to do with us now?”
“It has everything to do with us now,” Director Amari said. “We are a people that have thus far been living without knowledge
of a civilization possessing technology far more advanced than or own. They arrived without warning and set about pillaging our resources almost immediately. This is the only instance in time similar to our current situation. I believe it is crucial for us to examine that explosive moment in history to reveal the answers we need for today.”
“A wise suggestion from our top intelligence officer, but how do we apply what happened to the indigenous population of North America to what is happening to us today?” President Edwards asked.
“We know what allowed the Europeans such easy access to the territory. It is a well-known fact that war and conquest didn’t kill off the indigenous populations of the America’s. Western diseases were far and wide responsible for the decimation of the population,” General Broadbet said.
“So on top of getting invaded there’s also a high probability of a pandemic?” Edwards asked.
“No entirely, Madam President. It seems that this is not our first contact with the Masters, as they call themselves. According to the data, they have been visiting our planet for some time,” General De Vries said. “Most epidemics occur when a population is exposed to a microbial disease with no prior contact.”
“Do we need to start checking the population for space pox,” the President said.
“It might be wise to request vaccines to any diseases they Masters are aware of,” Director Amari said.
“I will certainly be bringing it up during the call,” President Edwards said. “But besides being eradicated by diseases, what other calamities can we look forward to.”
“Although a great swathe of indigenous people were destroyed by epidemics, the survivors went on to adapt the technology of the West. It is well known that a great deal of native populations eagerly accepted horses and guns. It was only after they acquired these technologies that they were able to fight back against the advance of Western immigration. We all know of Custer’s last Stand and how that battle went,” General Broadbet said.