As Charles rode the elevator down, he thought not of the task at hand. To find, locate and eliminate the specimens. He did not think of the anger that Roger had displayed. Nor did he think of any potential consequences that might befall him if he were to fail. For the first time in years, he thought of Jillian, his wife. They had been married for almost fifty years when her sickness had begun. It revealed itself after her first attempt at rejuvenation, he remembered. The new skin had not taken, but had instead begun to age immediately. The organs that had been replaced were rejected by her own immune system, and regardless of the subsequent treatments that were tried, she quickly had begun to die. Even with all of the amazing technologies at hand in New Sebastian, no one could find a solution.
As overbearing and asinine as Roger could be, it was him that had approached his father, the Premier, about Jillian. And it was his father that had said there might still be hope. He had told Charles that there was a place, another place besides New Sebastian, that had made even more advances in unusual medical issues. And that there might be a possibility to help Jillian. But to even try this last chance at her survival, she would have to go there. Forever. She would never be allowed to return to New Sebastian. When asked, the Premier had said that the other place had developed some type of contagion that could devastate the peoples of new Sebastian. Jillian had been reluctant, to say the least, when she heard this. To this day, some many years later, he still remembered her last words with him.
“Charles.” She had said weakly, her eyes barely open but they clearly expressed her pain as her body continued to shut down. “Come with me.” She had pled.
“Darling.” He said softly, as his hand rested against her cheek. “You know I cannot.”
“Forget about the Chancellorship!” She said angrily. “This is our life, we’re talking about.”
“But I cannot forget it, Jillian. You know that I cannot.” He said softly. She turned away, as her tears streamed down the splotched skin of her face.
“Let them find some one else to do it!” She spat out, and cried in sobs now. “I need you!” She yelled, and turned back to him. “I! Need! You!”
“And I…” His voice broke. “I need you. But I must stay. You know I must.” He said quietly. She cried quietly for a bit. He held her. After a moment, she calmed, and pulled herself up in the bed.
“I know.” She said softly. “You were born for that responsibility.”
“I love you.” He said, tears in his own eyes.
“And I, my dearest Charles…I love you.”
He remembered how they had quietly held one another for hours, as neither of them had said a word. And when the time came for her to go, they had parted ways with a last hug, a last kiss, and the last gentle touch of their hands. His eyes still teared up as he thought of his last glimpse of her. That had been over twenty years ago, and yet still it tugged at his heart as much as it had then. Twenty years ago. And even now, he did not know if she had survived. He would never know. The elevator door slid open, and startled him from his memories. He stood up straight, took a breath and exited the elevator into the hallway. His comm unit vibrated, and he pulled it from his tunic.
“I am at sector two, sir.” Came Amelia’s voice from the unit.
“As am I.” He said to her. He rounded the corner and came up behind her as he pocketed the comm unit. She turned around, and handed him the bright metallic gun. He took it from her and looked it over. It was not much larger than his hand. He quickly checked the bright blue meter on the bottom. Satisfied that it was fully charged, he tucked it away in his tunic. “Follow me.” He said, and stepped past her to the large doors ahead. They slid open from a middle seam, and led into a large darkened room. As they crossed the threshold, the lights came on from within. There were stacks of boxes throughout the large room, with sizable aisle ways in between. She followed on his heels.
“Are we going through the tunnel, sir?”
“If they were going to escape, it would be through here. Contact Guardian control and have a dozen units dispatched. Have six placed in the warehouse station, and have the rest sent here. And let them know we’ll come through the tunnel. I don’t want those damn things to take us out by mistake.”
“Yes, sir.” She said and pulled her comm unit from her own tunic. She rapidly keyed in the commands, and sent the message.
They wound their way through aisle after aisle, until they finally exited the aisle, and came to a large opening in the center of the room. Huge doors on the far wall suddenly slid open and a rectangular skid slowly moved into the room, stacked with the same kind of boxes that filled the room. As it came to a stop, the mechanical arm came to life overhead, and began to pick up and move entire stacks of boxes from the skid and place them into the room. As she saw this for the first time, Amelia was amazed at the speed and dexterity of the great arm. Huge stack after stack of boxes were picked up one by one and meticulously placed within the great room, and never did the mechanical arm hesitate. Charles saw her amazement, and spoke.
“It’s something else isn’t it?” He asked her.
“Yes…sir.” She said hesitantly.
“The whole system is completely automated. No human intervention at all.”
“How does it know where to put the stacks?” She asked, as her eyes followed the next stack as it swung to the far edge of the room.
“Damned if I know.” Charles said. “It’s been running like this for as long as I can remember. We never have to come in and fix anything. It just keeps running and running.” He said and shook his head, as he walked up to the skid, and jumped aboard. He reached down and offered Amelia his hand. She hesitated briefly, as she watched the great arm as it swung swiftly back towards the skid, grabbed the next stack in line, and then swung out into the room, and lowered it down. She took his hand as he helped her aboard. A few moments later, the skid was empty except for them. The doors slid back open and it began to move slowly back into the tunnel. Amelia stumbled slightly, and fought to keep her balance. Charles stood rock firm, and looked into the tunnel as they entered. As the skid slipped inside, the doors behind them slid shut, and darkness engulfed them as the skid picked up speed. Amelia had almost let fear overtake her, as she felt a brief gust of wind against her face in the dark. Her heart beat so loud now that she feared Charles would hear it. Her hands clenched tightly, her nails dug into her skin, and she fought to maintain control now that she was submersed in complete darkness.
Chapter 25
Immortal Page 24