Mindguard

by Andrei Cherascu

  Alex’ eyes widened. Sheldon and Sophie were on the run? How had they managed to escape this incredible army that had apparently taken out even Maclaine Ross himself? His mind was looking for answers, racing to connect the dots.

  “Prototechs,” he said, louder than he had intended. “They’re both prototechs. They escaped and you can’t find them. That’s why you need my help, to track them down.”

  “That is correct,” she said, with a smile that suggested she was satisfied with his conclusion.

  “I won’t,” he answered. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of any of you. I won’t help you take down Sheldon Ayers… or Sophie…”

  Tamisa’s smile widened. “You’re in love with Sophie Gaumont,” she guessed. He didn’t reply but he couldn’t help blushing.

  “Alex,” she said softly, “we have reason to believe that Sophie is not aware of the true purpose of the mission. We suspect that her father deceived her and that this mission is a danger to her and the well-being of the IFCO. Neither Sophie Gaumont nor Shedon Ayers are criminals as far as the Enforcement Unit is concerned. We hold Horatio Miller and Maclaine Ross responsible and consider Kriss White an accessory. We intend to prosecute Miller and White accordingly. But first, we must stop this information package from reaching its destination. It’s true, because Sheldon and Sophie are prototechs, we cannot detect them. We know from the mission files that their final destination is Carthan but we have no way of locating them once they are on the planet, at least not in time to stop them. That’s why I need you. I know Sheldon will take charge. I need you to think like him, I need you to try to predict his movements. Get inside his mind. You have my personal guarantee that no harm will come to either of them as long as they don’t pose a direct threat to any of my men.”

  Alex was torn. He cared about Sophie and he idolized Sheldon Ayers. This was his chance to help save them before it would be too late. Unless the woman was lying. He had no reason to believe that anything she said was true. But why would the enforcers even be involved in this if it wasn’t?

  “I’m telling the truth, Alex,” she said. If he weren’t a mindguard, Alex would have thought she had read his mind.

  “Alex, use your intuition, use your amazing intellect.”

  She came closer, so close he nearly expected her to kiss him. His fear dissipated and he felt incredibly attracted to her. From this close distance, he could better see how stunningly beautiful she was. Her dark eyes were deep, intelligent and wild. They revealed a person who was, at the same time, unhinged and very composed. Her lips were full and feminine, lips that could as easily kiss as they could give the order to kill. He could smell her perfume.

  “Tell me Alex, am I lying?” she whispered. “What does you instinct say?” He looked at her for what seemed like an eternity. “No,” he decided. She nodded as if to say ‘all right’.

  “Stay here and collect yourself for a while. Timekeeper Kernis will give you access to our files on Maclaine Ross, so you can convince yourself that I’m telling the truth. Read about his family history, specifically about the actions of his father, Jensen. Perhaps then, things will make more sense. You’ve got an hour, then we need to get to work, all right?”

  Alex sighed and despondently stared at the floor. Tamisa placed an understanding hand on his shoulder.

  “I know this is hard, Alex. I know you’re confused and scared, but you are doing the right thing. You are helping these people. Once this is over, you’ll see that I was telling the truth. You’ll see that you can trust me. And then I want you to join my team.”

  Alex did not see that coming. The look of confusion on his face must have been really funny because she chuckled. It almost came off like she was flirting with him.

  “Of course,” she said, “you’ll have to show me that you can out-maneuver Sheldon Ayers. He’s your idol, you want to be just like him? Here’s your chance to surpass him and save his life in the process.”

  With those words, she turned around and left the room, leaving Alex before the most important decision of his life.

  ●

  Alone in the narrow hallway, Tamisa had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. Every cell in her body wanted to just pick up the young mindguard, smash his head against the wall a few times and order him to get to work. Time was running out and the situation was spiraling out of control. Every second mattered. She couldn’t afford the time it took to gently secure his cooperation. And yet, that is exactly what she had done. She knew she could achieve a lot more by gaining the man’s trust than under the threat of physical harm, so she had to remain calm. It had been incredibly challenging.

  Tamisa felt exhausted and she also felt ashamed. For the second time, she had used her sexuality to her advantage. With Francois Gaultier, she had felt a perverse pleasure in turning his libido against him. With Alex Lea, she just felt dirty.

  It was the opposite of what she stood for and it was not what she had set out to do in her career as an enforcer. However, one had to use every weapon in one’s arsenal, the commander himself had taught her that. At that moment, it did not make her feel any better. She had not only sexually manipulated Alex Lea, she had also lied to him.

  As she reached the far end of the hallway, Tamisa found herself in front of the heavy access gate to the ship’s containment area. Francois Gaultier and Ray Manner had already been transported to the detainment center on the Terra Antiqua Orbit Station, but there was one more prisoner who could not be moved yet.

  She reached the containment area infirmary. The computer recognized her iris and the door slid open. On one of three beds, with a complex life-support system monitoring his vital signs and a web of motion-activated neurostunners spread over his naked body, lay the most important prisoner of all: Maclaine Ross.

  Chapter 30

  Nikolaos Apostolos was my friend. I have never met a more ambitious, more intelligent man. He was determined to be the very best at everything he did. Some say it was his inquisitive nature, his spirit for adventure and discovery, that steered him towards his untimely death. They say perhaps he should have lived his life with more caution, but I cannot disagree more. I find myself guilty of those very same character traits - yet I am still here. No, Niko’s death came about as a result of a tragic accident, a random occurrence. For in the end, no matter how powerful or unique a person may be, we are all subject to the randomness of the universe. Niko’s inquisitive nature, his desire for knowledge and his thirst for discovery have not caused his death. They have, instead, enriched his life. His individual accomplishments in the many fields of activity he pursued are unparalleled, and I know how proud he was of the work that he did. I know because I have known him all my life. Niko did not have a family, he chose to focus his time and energy on advancing humanity. Because of that, we are all his family. And therefore, as a member of his numerous family I say… goodbye my brother!

  Horatio Miller’s eulogy for Nikolaos Apostolos at the ceremony held after the man’s disappearance and presumed demise during an adventure and exploration trip

  Destiny!

  The word came to mind every time Nikolaos looked in the mirror. Since his self-imposed exile on Kalhydon, living among the very ill, he started each morning with a rigorous ritual. First he said a prayer to the Lord, the unseen guardian of his life, who held his destiny in the palm of His hand. Then he went to the mirror, where he carefully inspected every inch of his naked body. The ritual usually lasted over twenty minutes.

  Soixtet’s disease always debuted with small, almost indiscernible protrusions on the skin. From that moment, death was inevitable. Some of the afflicted died quickly, they were the fortunate ones. The others survived for a longer time, up to a few years. They lived to see their bodies slowly fall apart, pieces of skin dropping off like autumn leaves.

  For two years Nikolaos Apostolos had lived in this pesthole. Every morning, he examined his body in search of the protrusions, the small harbingers of death, and every morning he
found nothing. He had never heard of anyone being immune to Soixtet’s. If the Lord had chosen him to be the first, then he knew that there must be a reason. Perhaps he was not yet meant to die, perhaps the Lord was protecting him because there was still something he needed to do.

  Nikolaos always considered that being a man of faith meant being a man of responsibility. He did not know why the good Lord had chosen to protect him from this horrible disease, when other - certainly more deserving people - were tortured by it every day. It was not his place to question His judgment but he decided to make the most of each day by helping his brothers in any way he could.

  He helped them with their chores, for any physical strain came with tremendous pain. He fixed things that needed repairing, and treated them when they were ill. He was determined to continue doing this until the day the first marks on his body announced his ultimate fate and afterwards until the day he could no longer stand. Perhaps this was his destiny. Perhaps this was the reason God was keeping him alive, to help the brothers when no one else would.

  His education had shaped him into a scientist. He believed that the world functioned according to certain inflexible laws of nature. He did the work of his mind guided by this conviction. But with his soul, he believed that there was something greater than nature to govern over those laws, and he did the work of his soul guided by this belief.

  He did not like to discuss his faith. However, he did so with the brothers, for he wanted them to know about the work of God, that they may find some comfort in their tortured existence. His own beating heart and his healthy body were proof that the Lord had plans which would not bend to the will of biology.

  Destiny!

  Over and over again that word echoed in his mind as he once again inspected his body and found it healthy. He washed himself and ate a quick breakfast of garad fruit, indigenous to the planet and incredibly delicious. He thought about the work he had to do that day. Sister Nora’s roof needed fixing. Since her husband died a few months ago, Nikolaos - under the guise of Brother Torje - visited every week to help with the more difficult chores.

  He put on his thinnest robe, for it was particularly hot that day. He stepped outside, shading his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the extremely bright sun. When he took his hand away, he saw a man in front of him. The man’s entire body was covered in what looked like black scales. Nikolaos immediately recognized the Guillermo armor, designed to protect the wearer against contamination. He instinctively knew why that man was there, and who had sent him.

  The day of his demise was finally here, but it was not in the way he had expected. Could it be that his destiny had already been fulfilled? He helped the people of Kalhydon for a brief period of time and now he was going to die. His life would end and their suffering would go on - it seemed so senseless.

  “What is your name?” he asked his would-be murderer. His voice was calm, it did not tremble. He felt as if he were speaking to one of the brothers.

  “My name is Louis Larring, Mr. Apostolos. I was sent by Horatio Miller.” No mouth was visible when the shielded man spoke. His voice was muted by the Guillermo armor, but even so, Nikolaos recognized no malice in it.

  “Sent to kill me,” Nikolaos said. It had not been a question.

  “Yes,” said the assassin.

  “I presume he also has a message for me.”

  “That is correct,” Louis Larring calmly answered.

  Nikolaos smiled. Of course. I still know you so well, old friend. Your hubris is as predictable as your brilliance is remarkable. He invited Larring to speak with a slight nod.

  “Educator Miller knows that you despise him for trying to take your life, and he understands. But you have placed yourself in a position where your actions can contribute to the downfall of humanity. That which you have discovered together – and don’t worry, Mr. Apostolos, I was not made privy to this information – is a flaw in the natural order of human evolution. It must remain unknown. It must be un-thought. Those are his words, Mr. Apostolos.”

  “Yes, his words,” Nikolaos said with a bittersweet smile. “I would recognize them anywhere.”

  “Would you like me to deliver a reply?”

  “Please,” he answered in a faint voice. “Tell him ‘If the Lord wants something known, He will make it known. If not through me, then through someone else’.”

  “Is that all?”

  Nikolaos took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wanted to savor it, for it was going to be his last. “Yes, Mr. Larring.”

  “I admire your dignity, Mr. Apostolos,” Louis Larring said, without a trace of dishonesty.

  He stretched out his right hand towards Nikolaos, who could see the man’s scaly fingertips starting to glow red. The Doctor closed his eyes and prayed for forgiveness.

  ●

  The shot was so loud its sound traveled to the nearby village. When Nikolaos opened his eyes, he saw Louis Larring lying on the ground, dead, missing the left side of his head.

  Destiny!

  He was alive, there was work still to be done! He turned to see from where the shot had been fired, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. He did not know the wounded man, but he knew the young woman. He knew her very well and he loved her deeply, for he had watched her grow from a quiet, withdrawn child into an intelligent and beautiful young lady.

  “N-n-niko,” Sophie said, shaking.

  “Sophie, miracle of miracles,” the doctor shouted.

  The girl held the shotgun as if it had a mind of its own. She looked like she wasn’t really sure who had fired the shot, though the gun had been in her hands when it had sent Louis Larring to his death.

  “Who was that? Is he dead?”

  Nikolaos could tell that the girl was in shock. A brief surge of panic rushed through him, when he realized that this was Horatio Miller’s daughter and that she was pointing a shotgun in his direction. He quickly dismissed that thought. This was Sophie, whom he loved like a daughter. She would never harm him, no matter what her father had done. She was also the only reason he was still alive at that moment.

  “Who is that man?” she repeated, pointing the barrel of her shotgun towards the dead mercenary. Then, as if she had just noticed that she was speaking with her longtime friend: “I… I thought you were dead.”

  Nikolaos decided not to start the conversation with the phrase ‘That man was sent by your father to kill me'. Instead, he pointed at the wounded Sheldon.

  “He is badly injured,” he said. “I’m going to need your help, if we are to save this man.”

  “That’s Sheldon Ayers,” Sophie said, as if those words contained within them the meaning of life.

  Chapter 31

  Do not set the table in advance, if you have even the slightest uncertainty about the number of guests you will be hosting.

  Old Proverb circulating in the Enforcement Unit Academies, attributed to Prime Timekeeper Nolan D’Mikaly

  “So, it’s not that bad?” Sophie asked, clinging on to hope, determined to ignore reason with all the stubbornness of a child.

  “It’s very bad, my dear,” Nikolaos said. His voice was that of a true father. “I just meant he will not die right now. But his chances for long-term survival are very slim.”

  Sophie couldn’t hold back her tears. Because of everything that had happened in the last few hours, she had started harboring a naïve hope, that maybe they would make it after all. It almost seemed like some mysterious force of destiny was really watching over them.

  They had escaped the enforcers. They had fallen in a river and managed to swim to shore. They had been attacked by desert dwellers and they managed to escape. And now, the unlikely reemergence of a friend she had long thought dead - a friend whose own life she saved by just being in the right place at the right time - had prevented Sheldon’s death. All those events seemed so unlikely, that something inside her refused to believe that it was all by chance.

  And now, Niko was telling her that it was all for nothing. He had
operated on Sheldon on his dining room table, with instruments he had carried with him on what the world thought had been his final journey. He managed to stop the bleeding and close the wound, but Sheldon lost a lot of blood and the completely unsterile conditions of the impromptu surgery would unquestionably cause an infection. It was just a matter of time.

  “Barring a miracle, I don’t think he has much longer,” Nikolaos whispered.

  Sophie was devastated. When she broke out in tears, her old friend embraced her and held her tight.

  “You obviously care about him a lot,” he said softly. She answered nothing, because she didn’t know what to say. When she no longer had the energy to cry, he stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes.

  “Don’t lose hope quite yet,” he said. “And don’t dismiss a miracle so easily.”

  He proceeded to tell her about the island of Kalhydon and its unfortunate inhabitants. She was heartbroken, hearing of their merciless destiny.

  “I have been exposed to the disease every single day for two years,” Nikolaos whispered. “I should long be ill. And yet there is no symptom. It’s as if God were protecting me, as if I still had -”

  “…something to accomplish,” she said. She knew exactly how he felt. She had never shared Niko’s belief in a god, but the events of the last few days had left her unsure of what to think. Was the universe protecting them, helping them reach their goal? Or was some mythical god watching over their lives? It seemed ridiculous, but it felt real. She looked at Sheldon, who was unconscious, resting in Niko’s narrow bed. He would have surely dismissed the idea.

  She watched him breathe and realized with great pain that he would soon breathe no more. Even though she only knew him for a few weeks, she could no longer picture a universe without Sheldon Ayers. She remembered Isabel’s warning about addiction to a mindguard’s protection. For the last few hours, since their arrival on Kalhydon, Sophie no longer felt Sheldon’s protection. It had slowly faded away. His mind had left hers. It made her feel completely exposed and vulnerable. It was terrifying.