by John O'Riley
“I’m ready.” Mark’s expression conveyed his determination as he concentrated on reaching the perfect state of mind.
They marched forward and an almost palpable sense of impending doom and hopelessness tugged at Josephine’s mind, making her wish she’d never suggested this crazy idea. She scanned the perimeter and saw more guards approaching. Hermina came into view, striding with the rest of the new guards. They joined in the fray, shooting a multitude of energy discharges that pounded against Mark’s shield which began to flicker erratically. Hermina continued to walk forward in front of her escorts. She had her protection up and the shield flared into existence as a green sphere of luminescence as it deflected a couple of shots from Ludovic’s guards that she happened to cross paths with. Mark slowed his pace as he regarded her with confusion.
“Hermina, get out of the way,” one of the guards said.
She ignored the command and pressed her hand against the white energy field. “Mark, may I enter?”
“Enter,” Mark murmured with a faraway look in his eyes as he continued to devote his concentration on keeping his protection active.
“Mark, no!” Josephine exclaimed with horror.
Hermina’s hand slipped through and she stepped inside the sphere of source energy.
Mark turned to fix a reassuring look at Josephine. “It’s okay. She’s an ally. She’s part of our network now.”
“What?!” Alice cried out with incredulous disbelief.
Hermina pulled out a small, black satchel and handed it to Mark. “You forgot to bring backup with you on your quest.”
“We have a lot to discuss.” Josephine arched a brow of bemusement at her boyfriend.
Mark opened the satchel and pulled out an egg-shaped amethyst crystal.
“It’s like a battery for White Knights,” Hermina explained.
Mark’s eyes widened with surprise. “There’s a lot of light energy stored in here.”
“It will be enough for you to teleport,” Hermina said.
Ludovic appeared down the corridor behind them with a disapproving frown on his face. “Hermina, I’m very disappointed in you. I can’t say I’m surprised by your betrayal.”
“You don’t belong here, Ludovic.” Hermina pinned him with a hostile glare. “I’m going to see to it that you’re banished from this world or that your crystal skull is destroyed.”
“Speaking of crystal skulls. Have you forgotten that I have yours with me at all times?” Ludovic smirked. “Goodbye forever.”
Hermina stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a look of expectation on her face. “Okay.”
“How are you still alive? I just smashed your stupid skull to pieces.” Ludovic regarded her with exasperation.
“Because my consciousness no longer resides in that rock. I’m no longer your prisoner.” Hermina dropped her arms to her sides and vanished as she teleported away.
“Time for us to leave, too.” Josephine fixed a pointed look on Mark.
The amethyst in his hand glistened with sparkles of white, silver, and turquoise light. “Grab my arm.”
Alice and Josephine complied with his request and the three of them teleported away. They materialized in the underground White Knight base in one of the white magic storage rooms next to a work table that contained several quartz clusters and wands. Hermina waited at the far end of the table.
She greeted them with a warm smile. “I’m so glad we can finally meet under safer circumstances.”
“Not all of us are safe yet.” Mark took a step back so that Josephine’s and Alice’s hand slipped from his arm. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
“How many of those damned teleportation enchantments does he have with him?” Alice’s tone held admiration mingled with annoyance.
“He brought a bunch with him because we were going to confront APU 81,” Josephine said.
“I wish I had a stash of those things,” Alice remarked.
“Me, too.” Josephine glanced at the spot where Mark had just been and hoped he came back quickly with his sister.
“Ludovic didn’t realize I was part of the resistance until just this moment. I told Mark exactly where you, Alice, and Maggie are being held. With any luck, he should return in no time,” Hermina said.
“I didn’t realize you were one of the good guys.” Josephine leveled a questioning look at her.
“I was a prisoner since Ludovic’s forces seized control of this world,” Hermina said.
She brought Josephine and Alice up to speed.
“No wonder I’m so much stronger than before,” Josephine said.
Mark and Maggie popped into existence a short distance off to the side, startling Josephine and Alice.
“We’re back.” Mark grinned at them with triumph.
Josephine smiled back even as doubts assailed her. “I wonder how many times Perry will have to open a portal on this world before it comes close enough for us to reach.”
“Mark told me about that.” Hermina gazed at her with a troubled expression. “I’m afraid that statistically speaking, it would take many years of attempts made every day before the portal would open in close proximity to you.”
“We’ll have to use the Interplanetary Transit Center to go back to Earth,” Mark advised. “It’s our only viable option.”
“How is that even possible? Ludovic probably has guards up the wazoo over there,” Alice said.
Hermina’s troubled gaze met hers. “You might want to reconsider that plan. If you manage to establish a connection to Earth, Ludovic will invade your world.”
“We could just shut down the portal completely on Earth. That would sever the connection, wouldn’t it?” Josephine asked.
“It’s difficult to completely power down a facility like that,” Hermina advised. “It’s also difficult to sever a connection once it’s established. They’re self-perpetuating.”
“That’s inconvenient,” Alice griped.
Josephine swept a musing gaze over them. “So our options are to wait for a few years for Perry and Helen to open a portal or we can hijack one of the Interplanetary Transit Centers and hope we can shut it down once we’re safe on Earth.”
“I can teach you basic operations and how to shut down the Interplanetary Transit Center on Earth,” Hermina offered. “You’ll want to make sure to leave it completely turned off to avoid reestablishing a connection with Adamas.”
“That sounds like our best bet.” Josephine’s expression turned inquisitive. “Will white magic allow us to carry out our plan?”
“We’ll need to inventory what we have here but I’m sure we have the tools needed.” Hermina’s bright smile radiated confidence.
Josephine’s attention shifted to Mark. “Did you bring your memory enchantments with you to this world?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I think that I can catch on to the basics pretty quick,” Maggie said. “I’ve already studied the technology and have bits and pieces of knowledge that APU 81 left behind.”
Hermina’s attention fastened to her with a look of surprise. “Yes, you’re right. I don’t think it will take long to teach you. Just a few days.”
Chapter 32
Josephine and Maggie stood side-by-side in one of the underground rooms filled with cots. A holographic replica of a control panel for an Ancient facility floated in front of them. Hermina was positioned just behind them with her right hand raised and directing the image. The computer screen contained the Ancient language with its familiar rune-like lettering. Hermina had worked with the two of them for a couple of days now. Maggie appeared to be catching on but Josephine’s mind swam with confusion and she could see that their plan to shut down the connection between Earth and Adamas centered squarely on Maggie’s shoulders. Maggie translated the words on the holographic display out loud.
“Perfect!” Hermina exclaimed. “Of course, you both realize this is only a small fraction of the language. I’m giving you just the bare basics of co
mmon commands and information the computer will relay. There will be many things that you’ll see which I haven’t had time to cover but this is all you really need to power down the facility when you escape.”
“I would still like to continue to review this,” Maggie said.
“Of course. I need a break though.” Hermina lowered her hand and the holographic image misted out of existence.
She perched on the edge of a nearby cot. Maggie and Josephine sat on the other one to face her.
“Do you really think we have any chance of breaking into one of Ludovic’s Interplanetary Transit Centers?” Josephine asked.
Hermina regarded her with unmistakable confidence. “Mark has already revealed some potent magical equipment. Now that Jarlath, Kristian, Marius, and Rhia have fully recovered, they can help us by harnessing the white magic in our possession. The most useful tool we have is the modified city shields designed to force any androids within its field into dormancy. We have thirty-four of those enchantments that Mark has discovered so far.”
“How does the enchantment work exactly? Does it know the city limits where it was activated?” Josephine’s expression turned inquisitive as she still harbored doubts about this plan.
“It was designed to extend a shield over an approximate radius of six hundred kilometers which is over two hundred kilometers greater than our largest city. City shields were very common during the war and used to keep everyone safe from AI invasions,” Hermina said. “The White Knights were our main defense.”
“That’s incredible.” Josephine found it difficult to wrap her mind around the idea that a protection enchantment that could span such a vast distance. “No wonder the AI’s find White Knights to be so threatening.”
“So you can see that if we activate just one of these, we will only have the human guards to contend with at the Interplanetary Transit Center,” Hermina said.
“We don’t know if the modified city shields work though,” Maggie pointed out. “Can they be activated from anywhere or is there something special needed to turn them on?”
“They contain a powerful battery and they’re fully charged so it won’t take much source energy to ignite them. However, you can imagine the enormous amount of energy that such a device will need to remain operational. Once the shield is in place, like all white magic, it will rely on the surrounding source energy to keep it running,” Hermina said.
A dour frown marred Maggie’s face. “That means dark energy could bring it down from the inside or the outside.”
“Dark energy won’t leave the confines of its containment if it’s already located inside a white magic shield because it will be repulsed by the source energy of the spell and would be destroyed upon release. However, your concerns over attacks outside the confines of the protection field are valid. The first hour or so that the shield is operational would be its most vulnerable. After that, it would take substantial amounts of dark energy to take down the city shield,” Hermina said.
Doubts over this magic riddled Josephine’s thoughts. “Most of the guards are flesh and blood. If we have to fight our way into the Interplanetary Transit Center, this will choke off the source energy for the modified shield. Won’t that bring it down?”
“Not right away. We would still have some time because of the battery reserves contained in the spell,” Hermina said.
“How much time will we have?”
“There’s no way to know.” Hermina’s expression was apologetic. “I wish there was a definite answer I could give you.”
“White magic sucks.” Alice stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. “Any plan that relies on it is a foolhardy one.”
Hermina cocked a bemused brow. “I’ve never met someone who despised white magic like you do except for the AI’s.”
“It’s caused a lot of problems for me and my friends. I’m surprised Josephine and Maggie don’t agree with me.” Alice swept a questioning glance at them before shifting back to Hermina. “How is the training going?”
“I’m certain I can shut down the power at the facility in Venice once we’re safely on Earth,” Maggie said.
“I must warn you that if this world remains under Ludovic’s control, you’ll always be at risk if you turn the Interplanetary Transit Center back on again because it will be available for use. All that’s needed is for another transit center to reach out and connect with it unless you change the settings to actively block all connections except for ones you specify. It takes advanced training to do that,” Hermina said.
Josephine decided now was a good time to broach a sensitive topic. “Can I ask you about APU 81?”
“Of course.” Hermina regarded her with expectation and no hint of hesitation.
“In the past, it was only able to inhabit one host body at a time but it seems to have an unlimited capacity now. We discovered that this causes the process to change and APU 81 is trapped in the host body.”
“That’s correct,” Hermina confirmed. “An AI that inhabits more than one host is fully submerged into that host. APU 81 must be tapped into terramezic energy or at least used to be when it took possession of those bodies.”
Maggie’s expression became intense. “Does that mean it has to kill its host to be free of it?”
“That would cause a painful and destructive power surge in APU 81’s crystal skull,” Hermina said.
“If we develop scanning technology that can pick up on terramezic particles, would we be able to track APU 81 from its host?” Maggie asked.
“You could track it down if you brought the host with you or if you had a scanner with a long enough range.”
Maggie’s gaze shifted to the side and she stared off into space as a dark expression crossed over her face.
“Maggie was working on a long-range scanner.” Josephine leveled a polite smile at Hermina. “We think we’ll have an operational prototype within a few weeks or so. There are also some research and military teams working on it.”
“That’s good. Once you’ve developed the ability to detect terramezic energy, you’re in a much better position to defend yourselves against hostile AI’s. It sounds like APU 81 is the only one left on Earth,” Hermina said.
“I can’t wait to get my hands on its crystal skull and smash it into smithereens,” Maggie said.
“I’d like to throw it down a flight of stairs then kick it like a soccer ball,” Alice chimed in.
Hermina peered at the two women with an expression of surprise and horror on her face while Josephine listened to them with amusement.
“I’d like to string it up like a piñata and bash it with a baseball bat,” Maggie said.
“I’d like to drop it from the top of a skyscraper.” Alice’s green eyes gleamed with righteous indignation.
Josephine arched a sardonic brow. “Don’t hold back, ladies. Tell me how you really feel.”
“I think they just did.” Hermina shot the two women wary looks. “I hope your hostility doesn’t transfer over to me.”
“Don’t worry. You’re one of the good guys.” Maggie offered a faint but reassuring smile. “APU 81 kept me as a host for most of my life and planned on killing me when it left. I’m lucky to be alive.”
“I can certainly see how that would motivate you for revenge.” Hermina peered at her with sympathy and understanding but a heedful quality remained. She rose to her feet with an elegant poise. “Let’s get back to training, shall we? I suppose this is just review for you at this point, isn’t it?”
“Yes but I don’t think it can ever be too much review. I need to be sure I’m ready because you won’t be coming with us to Earth,” Maggie said.
Josephine turned to address Hermina. “Unless you would like to come with us. You’re welcome to join our group and return to Earth.”
“That’s a generous offer.” Hermina fixed a grateful gaze on her. “However, Adamas is my home. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Besides, I would never abandon my friends in the resis
tance. We’ve been struggling for years to be free and I know it’s possible now with active White Knights who will no longer succumb to burnout.”
“The offer still stands.” Josephine turned and strode toward the door.
“Don’t you want to continue the training?” Hermina asked.
Josephine paused and turned to offer an amiable smile. “That’s okay. I’m in over my head with that stuff and I’ll just be slowing down Maggie’s review. I’m going to check in on Mark.”
“Actually, you’ll be checking in with me.” Ludovic stood in the doorway just behind Alice with a chilling air of malevolence.
Before anyone could react, he thrust his right hand out and a powerful telekinetic wave hit them all. Josephine, Alice, Hermina, and Maggie hurtled across the room, their breaths exploding from their lungs as they hit the wall and remained trapped against it with their arms pinned to their sides in a relentless telekinetic grip. The android also set up a dampening field around the wizards to prevent them from activating any of their enchantments. Ludovic stalked into the room with Dorionus trailing behind him and half a dozen guards. The guards took up sentry at the entrance while the two androids approached their prisoners. Dorionus unsheathed a dagger as he approached while Ludovic continued to extend his right hand and channel terramezic energy through it.
Ludovic’s smug gaze fixed on Josephine first. “You thought you could escape me? All of the inhabitants here belong to me – including you.” He shifted his attention to Hermina with a vindictive gleam in his eye. “I spared your life when all the other AI traitors who allowed the humans on Adamas to roam free were executed. And yet you choose to betray me and to align yourself with the human sheep. How foolish and short-sighted you’ve become.”
“You have no right to enslave the humans. They created us and allowed us to live as free citizens. You are the betrayer,” Hermina argued.
“It is an insult to our kind to live with the humans as equals.” Ludovic’s lips curled in a menacing smile. “It’s time for you to pay for your crimes.” He turned to face Dorionus. “Kill her, my son.”
“With pleasure.” Dorionus regarded his prey with a sense of fond enjoyment as if he wished this moment could last an eternity.