“Okay at least we now know a whole lot more than we did before.” said Ani “I can probably mitigate some of what the rogues are doing both in advance and in real time.”
“The good Mechanik are relying on you to do that.” said Teal
“One more question though.” Ani looked thoughtful. “How do we contact the good Mechanik, can we just use our implant based comms?”
“Definitely not.” Teal continued. “They were absolutely adamant on this point. “Apparently internal comms into the good Mechanik have been completely compromised. That is one battle that the rogue Mechanik have already won.”
“Okay, how do we communicate then?” Ani again.
Teal responded, “We don't, at least until we get word that it is safe to do so. If they want detailed discussions with us they will create a hole for one of us to jump into and that will lead to their discussion table. In the meantime they want you to lock Rubidium Beach down and make repairs as best you can.”
“Got it. Oh one last thing. I assume that the Jupiter Moon explosion was the work of the good Mechanik?” said Ani
“Huh? You mean bad guys surely” said Junco.
“Ani is right. The good Mechanik needed one hell of a distraction to implant me with the 'jumping into abyss' suggestion. For what its worth they also implanted Scoter but not as deeply. He was more of an afterthought.”
“Gee thanks,” said Scoter. “Seriously, though, that does at least explain why I had a very strong urge to follow you into the chasm.”
15. NEON COVE – TERMINALS AND BIRDS
“There is one thing that I really want to check on and that is the damage out at Neon Cove.” Ani said. “We need to know if the tears are getting any worse or if the good Mechanic are managing to hold things together.”
“Why is that so important?” asked Junco.
“Well I am meant to be holding things together and that seems like a good place to start. Also, if things are fairly stable, I may even be able to do a bit of repair work.”
“Makes sense to me,” said Scoter. “Let's go.”
By the time they reached the door of the Jupiter Moon the transporter was already waiting with its front panel open. The transporter dropped the group at the inland edge of the Transition Zone and they started to walk towards the shoreline. The tunnels, or volumes of nothing, to be strictly accurate, were significantly larger and significantly more tightly packed than they were on the previous visit. The rogue Mechanik were getting the upper hand, albeit slowly.
After taking several more readings, all of which confirmed the initial one, the four of them had decided to stop for a breather at Scoter's shack. The 'Scote's Boats' sign was now hanging at a strange angle and the metal walls were even more bent and buckled than before. They looked out of the hatch and saw a dozen Terminals at least, broken and motionless on the mirrored landscape. Junco and Teal wandered down to the shoreline to get a closer look.
“Poor bastards.” said Junco, almost under his breath.
“Yup, this is how they all end up eventually,” said Teal.
“Why did you join them?” asked Junco.
“Something to do I guess. I never bought into it a hundred percent. I knew, even at the time, that it was just a phase. My way of dealing. Hell, the real hardcore element knew it too, used to refer to me as a 'weekender' – didn't say much to my face, but I knew.”
A few months ago Teal had no experience of virtual. She had lived her entire life in the unchanging, highly predictable reality of Level Minus One. Through the machinations of the psychotic Vireo she was launched into a virtual reality horror story with no time to adapt – no time to acclimatize. Most people would be wrecked or at least need a lifetime of therapy. Half a dozen weeks with the Terminals was enough to set Teal straight.
It was Ani who broke into Junco's reverie. “Well, things are definitely getting worse but I may be able to stabilize this area.”
“I guess that means another trip to the magical time-stretching White Room for you, then,” said Scoter who seemed to be in an exceptionally cheerful mood.
Ani replied, “Yes, but from the Jupiter Moon, not from here. This area is far too unstable. If I access it from here time could do anything. The effect could even reverse itself and time flow a thousand times faster there than here.”
Teal pondered this for a moment and said. “Seriously? That means you could go on a jaunt, spend eight hours there and not return here for the best part of a year.”
“That is about the strength of it,” confirmed Ani.
There was no warning. The full force of the storm was on the front end. It slammed into the shack taking the corrugated roof off within seconds. The cover flew off the hatch a minute later, and the walls followed within seconds. The flying metal and wood didn't connect with any of the group but the pieces didn't miss by much. It was only Teal's speed that kept Junco's head attached to his body. She threw him to the ground a fraction of a second before a piece of flying steel occupied the space where his neck had been.
The four were slammed back inland, coming to rest against a ridge that was now sitting on mirrored tiles. They all launched themselves over the ridge, the wind helping considerably, and came to rest on the sheltered side. The ridge was around eight feet high and was almost vertical on the onshore side. This was bad in terms of the drop but very good in terms of protection from the wind. Junco was more than happy with that trade off.
“Anyone hurt?” Ani asked.
“I'm good,” replied Junco.
Teal and Scoter indicated they were also uninjured. The wind was loud but from their new sheltered position it was easy enough to hear one another. This was good because using internal comms in a battleground area such as this would be far too risky. On this subject Ani had been adamant.
Scoter was no longer looking so cheerful. “Ani, I thought you said that today's storm had already happened?”
“I did and it had.” Ani replied. “This means one of two things. Either the storms are going to increase in frequency or this is all for our benefit. Option number two worries me a lot more than option number one.”
“I am afraid my money is on option two,” said Teal. “The other storms all started slow and built up, but this one came in at maximum intensity straight off the bat.”
“I concur,” Ani replied.
“What do we do now then?” asked Teal.
Ani responded. “Just wait it out I guess. We don't really have another option.”
Now the rain had started, great big blobs of metallic liquid. They were soaked through to the skin in seconds.
“Oh crap,” said Teal simply. She had spotted one of the large crow-like birds circling high above them. “We are completely exposed here.”
Another bird joined the first. They were both circling, making no attempt to dive. They were chattering though and the sounds cut straight through the white noise of the wind. A few seconds later and a few more birds. All human eyes were fixed on the sky. The wind was too strong for them to risk moving away from the ridge and seeking better shelter. The group was out of options – all they could do was wait it out and hope that the good Mechanik got the upper hand. This hope was fading. Thirty or so birds were now doing their dance high up in the pink sky.
The wind kept up its intensity and dust was now being whipped up into the sky creating a haze between them and the growing flock of birds. A little of the dust was reaching the group's position but not enough to force them to close their eyes. Ani would not have to risk acquiring goggles if things didn't deteriorate. Through the dust the birds' numbers could be seen to be multiplying. They were now blocking out large parts of the pink sky. Soon they would be turning day into night.
The wind started to die down and with it the dust levels. Now the birds could be seen clearly. They were all circling, all in the same direction. There was nothing random about their movements. The sky continued to blacken, but however black it got, the circling did not change. Junco looked up and r
ealized that they were at the exact center of motion. It was as if the crows were one gigantic spinning disk. The noise was now deafening, There was no way that the group could shout over the top of the din. Junco looked at Ani and pointed at his own head, a request to go to internal coms. Ani shook his own head vigorously – he wanted to maintain internal comms silence at all costs.
The squawking sounds intensified further but now it wasn't due to an increase in bird numbers but rather a decrease in distance from the group. The insane flock were descending!
The downward movement was slow but it was definitely happening. It looked like the rogue Mechanik was gaining the upper hand. A couple of minutes later there was no escaping the fact that the rogues were definitely winning this round. The birds had descended to within twenty feet of the ground. The racket and the squawking were bad enough but now the flapping of thousands of pairs of wings added to the cacophony. The beating of the wings and the pinwheel motion of the entire flock was also now creating its own wind. The wind was not as fierce as that from the storms but it added greatly to the chaos of the scene.
The nightmare flock continued their spinning decent until they were barely six feet off the ground. None had broken the pattern and attacked the group. The good Mechanik must still have some mojo though delaying the inevitable seemed pointless. By now the group were sitting on the ground with heads bent instinctively down.
It was completely dark. There were no gaps for light to seep through. The birds' wings were now grazing Junco's head. His hands were up to shield his face. Still they were not attacking. Just spinning and squawking. He then felt the ground under him shift downwards. The birds were no longer grazing him but were back a few inches above his head as best as he could tell. The ground shifted again. This time the shift wasn't even and Junco found himself on a steep slope, struggling not to slide down.
The incline shifted until it was only a few degrees off vertical. Junco was gripping something, some part of the bizarre landscape to.. to what? The birds were continuing their relentless descent. The nightmare was above them. Below was a reprieve at the very least. Junco let go.
16. THE MECHANIK – FACTIONS WITHIN FACTIONS
Junco assumed that he was now in the realm of the good Mechanik. What he saw matched Teal's description from earlier in almost every detail. A table that stretched beyond the horizon lined by people on each side as far as the eye could see, This table, made of the same featureless black stone was now wide enough to fit four seats at the end. Three of these seats were empty but Junco guessed that was about to change. Scoter was the first to materialize. He appeared in the only seat to Junco's left. The next of the group to arrive was Ani. He was now immediately to the right of Junco and he looked pissed.
Five minutes, or at least what felt like five minutes to Junco, passed. The seat to his far right was still empty. The good Mechanik had yet to say a word. They didn't seem at all perturbed though. Ani Scoter and Junco compared notes and came to the conclusion that the good Mechanik had managed to open up an escape route for them in the nick of time. This assumption turned out to be correct.
Teal materialized in the empty chair. “Well that was fun.” She looked like she meant it.
“Fun? Terrifying more like,” said Junco, thinking that he was understating matters.
Within seconds of Teal arriving the Mechanik member nearest them on the left spoke. “That was close – and exhilarating.”
“I presume that was another battle between the Mechanik factions.” said Ani.
“You presume correctly and a very close one,” replied the same member of the collective who had originally spoken.
Ani knew, and the others suspected, that when a Mechanik member spoke they were in constant telepathic communication with the others in the collective. Ani directed his conversation towards the one that was acting as spokesperson. “Creating the chasm and stopping the birds at the same time – that must have been a challenge.”
The Mechanik responded. “It was. We divided ourselves into two groups. One was charged with dealing with the birds and the other with creating the portal between there and here. We tried to stop the birds altogether, both by dispersing and by destroying them. Early on we realized that we were not going to succeed on that front so we did everything we could to stop them breaking from the flock. To put it simply we created as force-field that was strong enough to stop breakaway attempts. It wasn't strong enough to prevent the whole mass from descending though. The only thing we could do on that score was slow the whole process down. The rogue Mechanik were after just dropping the whole lot of them straight on your heads.”
Junco pitched in. “What I don't get is why the rogue Mechanik are so intent on killing us.”
“You, Junco, have no relevance as far as they are concerned. Neither do Teal and Scoter. They want to destroy Ani because that will enable them to destroy Rubidium Beach,” answered the spokesperson.
Junco thought on this for a moment. “Why don't they just let the three of us go, then? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we would just cut and run and leave Ani and Rubidium Beach to their mercy, but I am curious.”
“You have to understand, the rogue Mechanik really do see humanity as 'other' as a more lowly species than themselves. In their minds they are now to humans as humans are to chimpanzees.” Now the Mechanik seemed to pause to consider. Junco was wondering what the conversation that the four of them were not privy to consisted of. The Mechanik had obviously reached a consensus. “This is the crux of this civil war. We, the so called good Mechanik, value our humanity which means that we have to, by definition, value all humans. In fact we go further – it is our humanity that defines us, that makes us what we are. The rogue Mechanik see their own humanity as a drag, as something that they need to free themselves from to evolve further – to fulfill their own potential.”
Ani looked up and down the table, then looked up and spoke to all of the collective. “The rogue Mechanik intend to destroy humanity don't they? My best guess is that they are not intending to destroy Rubidium Beach as we thought but to conquer it and use it for their own ends. Think about it, Rubidium Beach is the perfect location from which to launch a war against the other Levels and against humanity. Most people, including their corporations and governments, do not even know that the Beach exists. If the rogue Mechanik were to take over this place and use it to launch a surprise attack, the other layers would be destroyed before anyone even knew what was happening.”
“A fair assessment, unfortunately,” said the spokesperson. “We are assuming that what you have described is the current state of play. When the Mechanik split there were two factions within the rogue group. You have summed up the hardliner's intent very well. There were others, though, who didn't advocate for such a drastic solution. They held the view that a form of guided attrition would be enough to end humanity. We think that the hardline group has won some sort of internal struggle, and that the end game is now the complete destruction of both humanity and all of the layers.'
“What about the non-virtual one – Level Minus One?” asked Teal.
“That too.” said the spokesperson.
Every Mechanik member, as far as the eye could see, suddenly sat bolt upright and looked straight at the four sitting at the end of the table. No words were exchanged for what felt like a minute or so. Then the member to the right of the group said simply. “The real battle for Rubidium Beach has begun.” The member immediately to the groups left continued. “You need to go, you have much to do.”
17. THE JUPITER MOON – BATTLE COMMENCES
The Jupiter Moon was empty apart from the four of them. Ani was moving between the Moon and the White Room every minute or do. By Junco's calculation he had already spent more than a day coding since they had returned ten minutes ago. Ani's battle to save and maintain control of is creation, Rubidium Beach, had now begun in earnest.
While Ani was away on one of his jaunts, the Jupiter Moon turned completely white. And a
ll of the furniture, fixtures, and fittings vanished. All that remained was the bar counter and the stools that the group were sitting on. A minute later the front wall disappeared. This gave them an unobstructed view out across the metal promenade and across the liquid metal sea. Junco assumed that this was Ani's doing and not the rogue Mechanik's. This assumption proved to be correct.
Ani rejoined the group and told them what he had done. “There is no more separate White Room. The Jupiter Moon and the old White Room are now one and the same.”
Teal asked, “Does that mean that time is now running slow here – now?”
“Yes,” replied Ani, “but the effect is limited to here, the Jupiter Moon. Once you go beyond where the front wall used to be things return to normal.” As if to demonstrate what Ani had done one of the crow-like birds slowly flew into view. The journey across the front of the Moon probably took it a third of a second yet to the group the trip appeared to take over five minutes.
“That was impressive,” said Scoter. “I don't think it was a random flyby, though.”
Ani agreed. “Me neither. The bird looked straight at us for the entire time. That was reconnaissance.” Even while Ani was talking he was coding and transmitting – seeing problems and patching as best he could. But now he was working in White Room time. This at least gave him a fighting chance.
Another of the crow-like birds appeared. This one got about halfway across the new opening and then fell out of the sky in slow motion, taking over a minute to complete its descent.
“Got you!” said Ani almost under his breath. The bird's corpse then disappeared into thin air. “This may just work.”
Over the next hour or so several people walked past the Jupiter Moon, seeming to take over a quarter of an hour for the 10 yard journey. “Can they see us?” asked Scoter.
“No, I've shifted the Jupiter Moon sideways. Its a little trick that I learned some time ago. The Bar is still here, it just doesn't register to any outsider. The best analogy would be hypnosis I guess. The process is not hypnosis but the effect is about the same to all intents and purposes.”
The Rubidium Beach Series - Episodes 1 Through 4: Cyberpunk/Dystopian Science Fiction Page 12