Twilight of the Gods (Universe in Flames Book 8)

by Christian Kallias

  Spiros’ eyes were moving fast in every direction, each eye with its own pattern now, which made the scene difficult to watch but the holo-progression bar filled, blinked twice and then the entire holo-interface turned green.

  You’re up, bro, Chase heard inside his head.

  Chase growled, which took everyone by surprise, and his eyes started blinking between purple and gold, looking like a broken piece of machinery that was losing power. Every one of his muscles tightened and the tension inside his body was enormous.

  He unleashed a deafening cry as he smashed an open palm onto Spiros’ chest.

  “What the hell!?” exclaimed Cedric. But Gaia put a hand on Cedric’s shoulder.

  “That’s alright, Cedric. Let them do their thing.”

  What happened next froze everyone’s blood. A golden energy-based silhouette slowly emerged from Chase’s body as his painful cry intensified. His hair flew wildly around the room. First, an arm had fully emerged from his own, and then a head exited as well. Soon a fully formed body was floating out of Chase. The energy looked left and right and then focused on the empty vessel in front of it. It grabbed the clone’s head on the sides with its hands.

  By that time, Chase’s entire body was trembling, “Go already!” he spat in between clenched teeth and a locked jaw.

  When the energy silhouette penetrated the clone’s body, Spiros’ eyes closed shut, and soon the golden soul fully merged inside Spiros.

  Chase removed his hand from Spiros’ naked chest and staggered a couple of steps backward, before letting himself fall to the ground.

  “Chase!” cried Cedric.

  Argos had fallen to his knees, panting, with blood dripping from his face to the floor.

  “Did— did it work?” he asked painfully.

  Gaia stepped in front of Spiros. “Spiros? Are you there?”

  When Spiros’ eyes opened, they flashed gold before returning to their normal light blue color. But, unlike a few moments ago, there was now life in them.

  Spiros looked around the room but stayed silent.

  “What’s happening? Why isn’t he speaking?” exclaimed Gaia, unable to hide panic from her vocal sub-routines.

  “Give—” Argos tried to say. He spat out blood that had accumulated in his throat. “Give it a minute.”

  THE LAB DOORS slid open as Chris and Sarah stormed inside, both their auras shining brightly. They saw Chase on the ground and ran to his side.

  “What’s going on?” inquired Chris. “I felt you and uncle were in tremendous amounts of pain!”

  Chase let himself roll onto his back as he put a hand on his chest and breathed heavily. “I’m okay—”

  “The hell you are!” protested Sarah.

  Sarah shot daggers toward Argos. “Did the two of you fight again? I swear I’ll kick your as—”

  “We didn’t,” interjected Chase, out of breath. “He helped me with the transference, in fact.”

  That’s when Chris saw the pool of blood accumulating on the floor below Argos’ face.

  “Why aren’t you two healing yourselves?”

  “Kinda out of juice at the moment,” panted Chase but still managed a small smile.

  “Same here,” said Argos with a chuckle that resulted in a blood bubble forming and popping at the corner of his mouth.

  “If you wouldn’t mind?” pleaded Chase.

  “I— I don’t know how to heal you,” said Chris.

  “There’s nothing to it; just put your hands on me and let some of your energy flow into me, and I’ll do the rest.”

  Chris nodded, got on his knees and put both his hands on his father. He closed his eyes, and his aura started shining a bright green.

  The pain across Chase’s face quickly disappeared and was replaced with a satisfied smile. Chase jumped back to his feet so fast it momentarily frightened Chris and Sarah.

  “Argos,” said Chase with a smile from ear to ear, “catch!”

  Chase fired a bright white pulsating fireball toward Argos who intercepted the energy with his hand. The energy entered Argos’ body, and he rose back to his feet and quickly healed his wound. He cracked his neck from side to side.

  “Thanks.”

  Chase walked next to Argos and strongly clapped his shoulder.

  “No, thank you for the assist; I don’t think I could have managed to do this on my own.”

  “Hey. What are brothers for, right?” said Argos, a smile shining across his face.

  That’s when Argos noticed both Spiros and Gaia were no longer in the room. “Where did they go?”

  “I think whatever they need to talk about is no concern of ours,” said Cedric.

  “They could have let me run diagnostics to make sure everything worked the way it was supposed to.”

  “That’s okay,” said Chase. “There will be time for that later. But Argos, please tell me we don’t need to go through this again for the next body swap.”

  “I have no idea, I sure hope not. I’ll— I’ll think of something.”

  “You make sure you do that. While this was quite the experience, it’s not one I’m willing to go through again if it can be helped.”

  “Wasn’t exactly a picnic for me either, by the way.”

  “Anybody hungry?” inquired Chase. “I’m starving.”

  “I could go for some pizza,” said Chris cheerfully.

  “He’s your son, alright,” said Sarah as she affectionately ran her hand through Chris’ hair.

  17

  Gaia and Spiros had been walking for several minutes when they arrived on deck five and stood in front of the large viewport. They still hadn’t spoken a single word to each other, but they had been holding hands ever since they left the lab.

  She finally broke the silence.

  “I missed you.”

  Spiros looked at Gaia’s artificial eyes. “I missed you too. And I never thought I’d see you again.”

  Gaia looked down.

  “What’s wrong?” inquired Spiros.

  “I— I just wished my avatar body wasn’t so cold.”

  Spiros took the battle bot in his arms. “I don’t care about that. I’m just so happy to be here with you.”

  “I can feel that,” said Gaia playfully.

  That’s when Spiros realized he wasn’t wearing anything.

  “Oh. This body feels strange, I’m not yet fully in control of all its…appendages.”

  They both laughed.

  “That explains the looks we got from the few crew members we’ve encountered earlier,” Spiros continued.

  “They’ll get over it.”

  There was a pause, as both of them didn’t know how to proceed next. Eventually, Gaia spoke.

  “We should get you some clothes, but before we do that, I have something to ask you.”

  “Right. Okay, I’m listening.”

  “When— when you got—” but Gaia couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “When I got killed.”

  She nodded. “Yes, you were about to say something, but it came out all garbled. I— I think I know what you wanted to say, but— I’d really like to hear you say it.”

  Spiros’ eyes watered as his heartbeat started galloping.

  “I said, please don’t be sad…”

  “Oh…” answered Gaia.

  “I also said that it wasn’t your fault, but most importantly, my last words—”

  “Yes—” said Gaia, her shining white avatar eyes glowing stronger.

  “I love you.”

  Gaia’s eyes blinked furiously, and sparks sizzled all around her as she collapsed to the ground.

  “Gaia!!!!” screamed Spiros.

  Her eyes turned off, and her avatar body was motionless.

  “Noooooo! Someone, please help!” screamed Spiros as tears flowed from his eyes and down his face like two unstoppable torrents.

  CHASE TOOK a bite of his pizza and looked around the table with a sense of serenity. These moments were few and far between, and
he greatly enjoyed spending time with his family.

  Hopefully, in a not too distant future, he could enjoy their presence, their smiles and their laughter on a daily basis, free from fear, anxiety and without the constant feeling of having to hold the weight of the universe on their shoulders.

  “That’s some damn good pizza, but why does it taste different than I remember?” asked Chase.

  “I’ve added mushrooms and onions to your usual recipe,” said Chris with his mouth full.

  “Just when I thought pizza couldn’t get any better.”

  “You guys do realize there are hundreds of variations of that dish?” commented Sarah. “And other foods beside pizza!”

  Chase nodded. “I remember what you told me on our first date, yes.”

  “We weren’t there,” said Argos after downing his sixth slice. “So please, pray tell.”

  “Yes, do tell!” said Chris.

  Sarah’s cheeks turned slightly red. Chase felt that remembering their first date reminded Sarah of something else regarding that evening. It was then and there that Chris was conceived.

  “Your father had discovered pizza and Chinese food that night. I was amazed by how much he ate. I’ve later tasted standard Star Alliance rations, and I got a better appreciation of his enthusiasm. That night I told him that there was so much variety of food on our planet, that it would take forever for him to try every single variation.”

  “And yet that one only eats pizza every chance he gets,” snorted Argos playfully.

  “I think that’s because it reminds me of that night, more than anything else,” answered Chase pensively.

  Argos turned his head to the side as if he had heard something.

  Chase’s heart felt a strong emotion of helplessness. “You felt it too?”

  “Something’s wrong with Spiros,” said Argos.

  “Not just Spiros,” said Chase before teleporting away from the mess hall.

  The chair he was balancing on fell to the ground as he disappeared into thin air.

  CEDRIC APPROACHED Kvasir in the back of the Engine room.

  “That’s where you’re hiding. What’s with you? We’ve seldom seen you ever since Thor came on board the ship.”

  The intensity of Kvasir’s tattoos lowered to a faint glow.

  “I— I’ve tried to keep occupied. Truth be told, I’m not good with goodbyes.”

  “Who said anything about goodbyes? Chase won’t let Odin execute you— you know?”

  “That’s kind of you to say and even kinder of him to care. But I’ve broken too many laws in my lifetime. I always knew the day would come that I would have to pay the price for my actions.”

  “Well, like Chase would say, over my dead body. You’ve helped save my life as well as countless of others on Earth. If it wasn’t for you, we would never have defeated Gaia 2.”

  “We both know that’s not true. It’s Thor who saved the day at the eleventh hour.”

  Cedric disapprovingly shook his head.

  “And who called him? You! Dumb ass…”

  Kvasir’s eyes widened. “Dumb what?”

  Cedric chuckled. “That’s how I talk to my friends. You’ll get used to it.”

  Some intensity returned to Kvasir’s tattoos. “Friend?”

  “Why do you think I’ve searched all over the ship for you? Well, that, and I was really starting to get worried. Eventually, Yanis told me where to find you. You’re our friend.”

  Kvasir looked down. “I— I haven’t had a friend, let alone two, in thousands of years,” he said, his tattoos muting completely.

  “Well, now you have more than you can count, so stop brooding and let’s get back to work, shall we?”

  “Work? On what?”

  “Chase gave me, Yanis and you an assignment. We have to find a way to get Aphroditis out of the infernal machine she is trapped inside. Since the damn thing is half Asgardian, we’ll need your help.”

  “She can’t leave the machine. Not alive anyway. And it would be bad for all of us if she did.”

  “Wait, what? How do you know this?”

  “I’ve helped construct it.”

  “You’re shitting me?”

  Kvasir shook his head. “No! And can you please stop using fecal matter related words every other sentence?”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  “I don’t think I will.”

  “Fair enough. But what’s that about you helping build the machine?”

  Kvasir sighed. “I wish I never was part of that. That’s what got me banished in the first place.”

  “You need to start making sense my friend; why did it get you banished?”

  “It’s a long story, and I don’t think I should waste whatever time I have left alive delving into a memory I’d rather forget.”

  “You’re not getting out of this talk that easy, buddy. But for the time being we can table the finer details. However, get your big Asgardian butt back to work, before I kick the shit out of it.”

  Kvasir put a hand in front of his mouth as his tattoos blinked rapidly.

  Cedric forced a tense smile. “I just got the mental image— I think it sounded better in my hea—”

  Kvasir vomited on Cedric’s shoes.

  “Hopefully, that should teach me a valuable lesson regarding my big mouth.”

  “WHAT HAPPENED?” inquired Chase the moment he arrived next to Spiros.

  Spiros jumped to the side and stumbled to the ground, flashing Chase with his dangling genitals.

  “You really need to put on some clothes,” said Chase before kneeling and putting a hand on Gaia’s chest.

  Chase closed his eyes and sent his consciousness inside her matrix.

  “Never mind that. What the hell is wrong with her? Please tell me she isn’t dead!”

  Chase flinched.

  “What?” asked Spiros, unable to contain the worry in his voice.

  “Her emotional sub-routines overloaded her entire matrix.”

  “Did she…? Did she do that to herself?” sobbed Spiros.

  “I don’t think so, but we have to do something fast, or her entire matrix might get lost.”

  “What can we do? Please save her!”

  Chase’s thoughts raced. He needed to find a place to backup Gaia’s mind before it was lost. But in her state, he couldn’t be sure that dumping her consciousness into the Hope’s memory banks was a safe move. The last thing they needed was to recreate another vile AI.

  “What did you tell her? Her matrix is deconstructing at the seams.”

  “You know very well what I told her, or do I have to draw you a picture?”

  “Right. Well, hearing you say these words have sent her matrix into a cascade failure. I— I wonder why.”

  “Screw why. What can we do to prevent it?”

  “This is going to hurt,” said Chase as he grabbed Spiros’ forehead.

  “Wha— aaaaaaaarg!”

  But Chase had already unleashed his mind inside Spiros’. Their consciousnesses merged, and soon they were standing in an empty dark place, just the two of them.

  “What just happened?”

  “We’re running out of time. I don’t know how long Gaia has before the corruption in her code gets erased. So I jumped into your mind to have more time to talk it over and make the right decision.”

  “What? You’re not making any sense! What difference does it make? Couldn’t we have had this discussion without the mind-invading move? My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

  “Poor choice of words,” smiled Chase.

  “Oh…I didn’t even think about that.”

  “That’s because you didn’t have the mental image of when your head actually exploded.”

  “Oh god…you just showed it to me.”

  “Not on purpose.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Well, we’re talking at near light speed at the moment, so hopefully we have plenty of time before your physical body tr
anslates these thoughts and takes action.”

  “How can you do this?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve noticed that I can pretty much project myself into both organic and artificial minds, and I wonder if it’s not because of my trip into Gaia 2’s matrix. Ever since that fight I feel my mental projection abilities are so much stronger. But let’s table the why for later and focus on a solution to save Gaia without risking the creation of another malevolent AI.”

  “She wouldn’t want us to take that risk. No matter what.”

  “I know, which is why I felt that I didn’t have any other choice than to buy us more time in order to discuss options.”

  “I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this part, Chase. How much time has actually passed since we’ve been in here?”

  “About a thousandth of a second.”

  “Incredible!”

  “It’s not exactly something I can keep doing forever. I’ve expended a lot of energy bringing back your soul from the Underworld.”

  “And I haven’t thanked you for it yet, either.”

  “You’re welcome; but now, please think. Fast!”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?”

  “What?”

  “Our minds are connected. I just learned Gaia will self-destruct anyway.”

  “Don’t panic just yet. We haven’t agreed on anything on that subject.”

  “I know you’re thinking that to be true, I can feel it, but your thoughts also betray subconscious feelings, which is too weird to even try to describe right now. Your instincts tell you that even if you tell Gaia to wait on the self-destruct, you feel she will do it anyway.”

  “Alright that’s what I think she wants, but for the sake of argument, can we please focus on one problem at a time? Right now if we don’t do something in the next few minutes, she’ll be lost, forever.”

  “Now I wished she hadn’t saved my consciousness and you hadn’t brought me back to life. All that was a colossal waste of time.”

  Chase slapped Spiros’ representation body. “What’s done is done, Spiros. Now get a grip on yourself and help me.”

  “Ouch!” he complained. “I don’t know that I needed that!”

  “Trust me on this one, you did.”