by Kir Lukovkin
“Here!” Cornelius pointed at the place where the wall met the fin. “Let's rest.”
The whole company rested against the wall, waiting for the gusts of wind to subside.
“Now what?” Cornelius spoke again. “Are you going to descend? This is the quickest way. The proles once tried it out, and we followed them. The mechanism is simple—you take a plate, stand on it, fix your feet to it with belts and slide downwards. Then it all depends on your dexterity and reaction time. The main thing is to brake in time.”
“How do we do that?” Rick asked.
Cornelius showed them a large hook attached by a carabiner clip to the coil of cable behind his back.
“There are large loops attached to the wall at even intervals. You must catch a loop with the hook as you go and turn to the side. The table will be taught and jerk upwards, so you will hang on it. You must immediately hook the nearest loop with the second hook, or you will fall off and fall downwards. All understood?”
“Have you ever gone down there, to the very bottom?”
Cornelius roared with laughter.
“Do I look suicidal? Death is below. Any fool knows that.”
“But what is there?” Rick continued questioning.
“Nothing! A desert!” Cornelius laughed. “That's the thing!”
Rick stared into the white mist in disappointment.
“The final frontier is at level two hundred and fifty. There is a smooth surface beyond, with no windows, doors, ladders, nothing. Then, that vertical cutaway,” he indicated the proles on the ladder, “veers off and goes far from the wall. Only the cutaway is connected to the wall by a narrow walkway. You must stop when you see the walkway. As soon as you see it, you must brake, or you will fly into the abyss, from which there is no way out. There is a ramp by the walkway, and my prole will wait for you below. Watch and learn! Hey, Thomas, are you ready?”
The prole, who had climbed onto the spine of the fin, had already jumped onto his plate. He turned and gestured to confirm his readiness.
“Onwards!”
The prole crouched and started to slide downwards on the plate. At first, he went slowly and then started to speed up more and more. Everyone tensely watched him become smaller as he receded into the distance, an orange spot flying along the spine, until he disappeared in the mist.
“Did you see that? There's a snowstorm right now, otherwise you would see him anchor himself.”
“There's no way we will manage this...” Rick moaned.
“Your choice. But I'd advise you to hurry up.”
Maya took Rick by the hand.
“Listen. I had no time to say this earlier...”
“What are you talking about? Take a plate.”
“No, Rick, wait.”
“What?”
“When we were there below, when you activated the external shell and particle accelerator and then got apprehended, I managed to read a message on the screen.”
Rick froze.
“What message?”
“There was a question there—“Activate full generator power? Yes—No.”
“Right...”
“But that's not all. There was an addition—“Activation is synchronized with the Control Center.” “Synchronized” means at the same time.”
“The Control Center?”
“Yes. I looked at the maps.” Maya took a folded diagram out of her suit and showed him a fragment. “The Control Center is at the top. Do you understand? At the very top!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“What are you talking about?” Cornelius asked. “Why did you even need to descend?”
Rick gave him a quick account of the purpose of their journey.
“So why don't you stay here? I will break the neck of that upstart Arcadius and everything will be fine, as before!”
“And what about my people? And what about Maya's kinsmen?”
“We'll work something out!” Cornelius stated confidently. “Let them move and live with us. Together, we can defeat the mutants and destroy the monsters in the jungle.”
For a moment, Rick though that this was the right solution. Why go through many problems, trials and dangers? They could unite with the people of Sigma and Tau. But how would Croesus react? What would the councilmen of Kappa sector decide? Would the people of these sectors even want to go off on this journey, when even going beyond the barrier on their own level fills them with terror. And even if you allowed for everything to pass without casualties, and there was enough energy for their lifetimes, what would be the fate of their descendants? What would happen when all of the generators of the world would run out, sending the Expanse into cold and darkness?
“Everything sounds so easy when you say it. But my answer is “No”. If we need to go up, then this is the way it will be.”
“You're really strange, guys,” Cornelius shrugged his shoulders. “But it really is more fun this way! I like you. I wanted to tear you to pieces in the morning, but you are full of surprises, Rick from Omicron!”
“Excellent, I'm really glad. Now show us how to climb upwards.”
“Wait. You want to know how to get to the very top? Did I understand you right!”
“Yes!” Rick exclaimed.
“You really are completely insane!” Cornelius yelled. “That's amazing!”
He called the snowstorm to witness, but it only answered him with a wistful howl and new gusts of wind.
“Hey, Bram!” he shouted to the second prole that stood by the ladder to the spine. Take them up the ladder to the end of sector Pi and show them the entrance. When you come back, I will be waiting behind the airlock. Don't even think of crawling up all the way on the surface—you will turn into icicles. Good luck! And I have to deal with someone. I shall wash the face of the Red King with his blood. I swear by the Reactor!”
They immediately understood that he was talking about Arcadius.
“Thank you, Cornelius!” Rick offered him his hand.
Cornelius spat to the side and gave him a firm handshake.
“We're quits,” Rick smiled. “If you cross me again, expect no mercy.”
“That's a deal.”
They disconnected their carabiner clamps from the cable. Bram the prole took them along the fin to the edge of the abyss and opened an inconspicuous lid on the wall, rummaged around inside the niche and a secret panel opened in the wall. The prole called them over with a wave of his hand, disappeared into the opening, and they followed him inside. They found themselves in a narrow corridor that pierced through the fin under the spine. The prole had already opened an identical panel on the other side, and calmly walked along the ramp, as if the snow, frost and piercing wing did not bother him. Rick noticed that the ramp had a barely perceptible bend to it in the distance, which supported the theory of the world being round yet again. He got a little used to the wrongness of outside space and thanked the snowstorm for hiding the truth from his eyes.
They soon passed some protruding five level high signs with the letters “IV”. Rick was examining the detail of the wall, noting every seam, cavity and other useful detail. At last, the prole stopped and pointed up at some rungs that were fixed to the wall, and started to climb them. Rick followed, then Maya, and Tommo followed at the back.
The ascent seemed easy to Rick at first. However, he started to feel tired once they had passed twenty levels. One look below was enough to make him press himself into the rungs—the wall stretched away into infinity. Rick was overcome by his fear of heights, just like he felt during the Spring Run, when he was with his opponents were on an open walkway between sector segments.
Mother Darkness, but that was so long ago!
He looked down again. Maya was looking up at him with concern, with Tommo visible behind her back.
“What happened?”
“I just need a little rest! That's all.”
“Good.”
He continued the ascent, but his fingers gre
w increasingly numb from the cold with every level. The cold penetrated through his gloves and turned his hands to ice. Soon, he had almost stopped feeling his fingers, his feet felt like logs in his boots and his fear of falling grew, but Rick clenched his teeth and kept climbing, looking at the prole ahead.
All of a sudden, Maya cried out. Rick turned around, pressing his body close to the rungs. Tommo was holding the girl by the belt. If it was not for the prole, Maya would have plunged into the abyss. Tommo helped her grab onto the rungs again and start moving ahead, and their company continued the climb.
The cold inexorably did its job. Rick's consciousness started to wonder and he no longer felt the frost, but wanted to just stop and go to sleep. His movements slowed down. Rick yawned, wanted to smile, and then suddenly slipped. Understanding only returned when he collapsed downwards but a strong pair of hands grabbed him by the scruff of his suit and dragged him upwards.
Bram the prole took him onto an even platform and helped him get onto the platform with Maya. The proles moved them over to the wall and started to rub their extremities, and that is when two minutes passed and Rick felt a terrible pain. He groaned loudly, and continued groaning until he felt his strength return. The proles continued to rub at their numb arms and legs.
Rick turned his head towards Maya and asked, “How are you?”
“Better. A lot better.”
“Do you think we are there yet?”
“I don't know...”
After a few minutes, the proles helped them to get up and pointed at a ramp which was covered in snow. They needed to walk. For some reason, it started to get colder and darker.
And again, a procession along a ramp. There was a place where they had to climb over a snowdrift as high as two men. The snow lay there in a thick crust, which made it difficult to get onto the crest as their hands and feet kept slipping. That is when the proles saved them again, tying the cables as safety harnesses around them and dragging them upwards. Rick and Maya armed themselves with hooks so that they could stab them into the snow and ice and not fall off.
The ramp soon grew significantly wider and the going became easier, as they could walk around the snowdrifts instead of having to climb over them like a wall, but the snow was so deep in some places that their feet got stuck in it as if it was mud, so fatigue eventually took its toll.
“Wait!” Maya shouted.
Her echoing cry came back from all sides.
Bram stopped and Rick turned around. The girl was stuck to her waist in a pile of snow. Tommo tried to get her out, but managed to get himself truly stuck as well.
“I'm coming!” Rick shouted in reply, but then stood still, listening.
A distant rumble coming from above made him wary. Rick raised his head and saw a cloud of white dust coming quickly headlong at them. Rick never had the time to get scared—Bram sprung up to him and grabbed him by the sleeve to pull him to the side, closer to the wall. Tommo managed to get out of the snow at the last moment and protect Maya with his body, when the ramp was covered with an avalanche of snow.
Rick realized what happened when Bram used his back to push through the heavy layer of snow above them, helped him get to the surface and immediately started to dig into the snow nearby.
“Maya!” Rick called out. “Where are you? Maya!”
Bram kept digging at the snow, and Rick started to help him. They dug deeper and deeper, going in different directions, but they still could not manage to find Tommo or Maya.
Suddenly, they heard a piercing whistle—that was Bram signaling that he had found a boot. Rick went over to him, and Tommo soon appeared out of the pile of snow, who then carefully got Maya out onto the surface. The girl was unconscious. They took her closer to the wall where the wind was weaker, and Bram started to massage Maya's chest.
Rick prayed to the Machine God, squeezing his talisman in his hand. He would have agreed to become a slave, walk into a chasm or let any monster kill or tear him into pieces so Maya would survive. And then a miracle happened—Maya coughed once, then twice, then again and again. Bram quickly turned her onto her stomach and the girl vomited, but then started to take quick, hoarse breaths.
The snowstorm continued, but the wind started to lose its strength and stopped throwing handfuls of snow into their faces. The snowflakes now softly fell, dancing around in circles.
The company had to take a long break. Maya was only able to get up after half an hour and they continued on their way when the light had almost gone. Now Rick was always close, supporting her by the arm. They carefully walked along the balcony, and Rick was afraid to talk about what would happen once darkness came.
The proles soon stood still by a pile of snow by the wall—the outline of a door could barely be glimpsed just above. The proles started to clear the snow, with Maya and Rick immediately joining in. Rick wanted to get behind the wall as soon as possible, far away from the ice cold air. Together, they quickly finished the job. The proles opened a wall panel and started to try to force a massive lever, trying to move it from an upward to a downward position. They finally managed, as the frozen metal squeaked plaintively and gave, turning with a crunch—the panel on the wall drew back with a loud hiss and then moved aside.
Maya and Tommo stepped into the dark opening. Rick paused.
“Thank you,” he told Bram, who stood inertly upon the platform.
“There is something I forgot to tell Cornelius,” Rick continued. “Please, tell him my words, as it is very important. Tell him that we will definitely return and that he should prepare to meet us.” He remembered that proles could not speak and added, “Try and explain my words to him.”
He heard a click nearby—it was Tommo, who turned the switch on the wall so that the panel returned to its rightful place, cutting Rick off from Bram and the external Expanse. They were enveloped by darkness, but Maya lit a torch in a few seconds. Rick remembered that Cornelius also gave him one and was about to get it from his pocket, but Maya proposed conserving the light and he agreed. Tired, he sat down against the wall, getting used to his surroundings.
Rick's eyes hurt, which was all because of the unexpectedly bright light outside, which initially blinded him as he was not used to it. However, once darkness fell, he felt normal again. He bent his legs, hugged them and rested his chin on his knees. He closed his eyes. Maya was doing something by his side, trying to arrange a place by the wall. Rick could clearly hear Tommo walk off down the corridor—he probably went to reconnoiter what lay ahead.
Rick never noticed going to sleep, and when he woke up he spent a while in silence, blinking and staring at Maya. She was sitting by his side and studying papers, lighting them with the torch.
Rick coughed, and heard, “Good morning.”
Maya smiled at him sadly. The lines of her face became more expressive in the light of the torch. Her eyes were shining.
“Can I have a look too?” Rick asked, moving closer.
“Yes.”
Maya turned the sheets to him, which had blackened at the folds. Some looked strong and smooth, but time had erased almost all the glyphs from them, turning them into smudged spots of ink. However, the paper was good at retaining drawings and letters, but it was very fragile, so they handled it very carefully to prevent tearing. Maya carefully went through the pages, holding them by the edge, raising them to the light and quietly reading out the ancient words.
“Generates any element of the periodic table... Works using the same principles as a 3D printer... The computer calculates the required proportions of a substance according to specifications... Control data is entered. Right. Particle accelerator. Distributes energy throughout the external and internal shells... Intended for the completion of the Uranus program. Technical data... Power, acceleration speed, core... Next.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Wait. I need to work it out.”
She continued to read, quietly mumbling under her nose. Rick sat alongside her for a while, but he soon g
ot bored and started to examine the corridor, which turned out not to be that long after all.
“Has Tommo not been back for a while?” Rick asked.
“I haven't seen him since I went to sleep,” Maya continued to be busy with the papers and did not even lift her head.
Rick got a little worried.
“Did we sleep long?”
Maya only shrugged.
He understood. Rick turned away and got his torch out.
The room in which they had found themselves turned out to be a spacious airlock that was obviously there for a technical purpose—the walls were covered with wires and communication lines. Rick opened a familiar panel on the wall and managed to understand the symbol above one of the switches, which let him easily open the internal door to step through into an extremely long tunnel. The walls floor and ceiling ran far away to become points, with the pillar of the Chorda visible far ahead. This was the space between aeons, the home of mutants. The same hoarfrost and the same familiar blue light. A human shape suddenly appeared ahead and he heard the sound of footsteps.
Rick almost cried out, but he recognized Tommo and breathed out in relief.
“How are things?”
Tommo stood by his side and looked back in the tunnel. His ocular lenses glinted like two red dots.
“Let's consider that everything is fine,” Rick decided.
He intently listened to the shining cold twilight, but nothing disturbed the hollow darkness apart from a depressing draft. He did not seem to hear the voices of mutants anywhere, or the sound of fires or steps. It seemed like the mutants had abandoned this place. They might have gone to war down below. Rick wondered if the dwarf had followed them, or whether Yarg had abandoned the old and weak to the vagaries of fate. Rick remembered the dwarf's words—“The Omega is not the end, but a beginning!”
The sound of a closing door distracted him from his thoughts. Tommo still stood by the panel, flicking the switches, so the room was soon full with the light of the lamps.