Gareth and th Lost Island

by Patrick Mallard

  Wanting to shift the conversation to something less depressing, Tralnis decided to ask some questions about the Automatons. “My people have built some Automatons, but they are like windup toys compared to you lot. How did they manage to give you each different personalities?” he inquired.

  “That was one of the greatest gifts the Mascalians gave us. Before the Wizard Wars, each adult had a copy of their personality magically stored in a crystal. Each Automaton is given a random crystal when they are brought on line,” RENE 7 replied.

  “Oh… is that why you refer to yourselves as ‘he’ or ‘she’? Leftover impressions from the personality donors?” Izzy asked, leaning forward in interest.

  RENE 7 held out her hand palm down and wiggled it side to side. “Yes and no. Only about 30 percent of us had definite feelings of being one gender or the other when we came online. 50 percent of us determine which gender we are after going through some initial tests,” she explained.

  “What about the other 20 percent?” Tralnis asked, as interested as Izzy was.

  “The tests are inconclusive, and the Automaton is allowed to choose. Most of them just end up flipping a coin in the end,” RENE 7 answered.

  “I’m not sure I want to know the answer to this, but what type of tests do you perform to assign gender?” Tralnis inquired.

  Without missing a beat, RENE 7 looked down at him, and replied, “The easiest, and most reliable one, is to have the Automaton pretend to use the loo. If they leave the toilet seat up, they’re male,” she stated. Without the help of facial expressions, Tralnis couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

  The transport slowed down, and began to drop in altitude. It came to rest in a flat empty square, identical to the one it had picked them up in. Kevin rolled out of the back, while DAR-C 254 detached herself from the side. RENE 7 led the biologicals out of the transport, and pointed towards a rather non-descript, windowless gray stone building. “Center is in there,” she told them.

  This time, RENE 7 took the lead with the other robots at the rear of the group. The humanoid robot knocked twice on a solid looking oak door before opening it, and walking in to the building. She led them into a reception room complete with a “secretary” behind a desk. The robot rolled out from behind her desk to get a better look at the newcomers, and to let them get a better look at her. Her torso was very similar to the RENE models. Her lower half, however, was based around a large sphere that her torso rode along. Her top half was connected to bottom half with magnetic clamps on either side of the ball.

  “Gentlebeings, I would like to introduce you to the Logistics and Operational Node Interface. She helps Central run the island,” RENE 7 stated.

  “Please, just call me LONI. Unless you lot are some sort of ambassadors, I don’t see why we should have to keep things formal,” the administrative assistant requested.

  RENE 7 pointed to each biological in turn as she gave their names. “LONI, this is Pilot of the Roehus, Tralnis of the Dwarves, Henry of the Chim, Sheldon of the Ur-Kwa-Kwa… I’m sorry, it’s Kwa-Kwa-Ur now. The human females are Teesh and the Morgana sisters, Elizabeth and Isadore,” she said. RENE 7 paused for dramatic effect before she bowed in Gareth’s direction. “And last, but definitely not least, Gareth Mintel,” she said, emphasizing his last name.

  LONI wobbled a bit on her ball before getting herself back in control. “Central will want a blood test to confirm this young man is who he claims to be. It would be quite the morale booster for the Automatons to learn the Mintel line lives on,” she said, while pulling out a bronze bowl covered in runes from a drawer in her desk. An ancient stone knife also covered in runes sat in the bottom of the bowl. “Gareth, please use the knife to prick your thumb or finger, and place four drops of blood in the bowl,” she requested.

  Gareth picked up the knife, and poked his left thumb to let four drops of blood drip into the bowl. After the fourth drop, the runes flared with a bright purple light.

  Instead of giving them the results right away, LONI stared at a set of crystals mounted on her desk. “That’s… not… possible,” she muttered in disbelief.

  RENE 7 walked behind the desk, and looked at the crystals herself. The metal apertures of her eyes opened to their widest setting in shock. She was very grateful DAR-C 254 had adjusted her disbelief filter. RENE 7 looked up from the crystals, and stared at Gareth, her “eyes” still comically wide. “The blood test shows that you are not a long lost descendant of the residents of this island,” she told him. Gareth’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He had hoped he would finally find some information about where he came from. “According to this blood test, you are, in fact, a prior resident who left just before the Blight was released on the island,” LONI stated, flooring the young man.

  “See, I told you he looked good for being 13,000 years old,” Kevin said in a smug sort of tone.

  “What?! How is that even possible?!” Gareth demanded.

  The wall behind LONI slid open to reveal a mass of crystals, rune engraved pillars, and tubes in all sort of shapes and sizes. “Perhaps I can shed some light on that,” a warm, fatherly sounding voice said. “Please come inside, Gareth. Your friends are more than welcome to join you,” the disembodied voice requested.

  Chapter 30

  Gareth looked at his friends, and shrugged his shoulders before walking forward. He was somewhat surprised that room was able to fit all of them, including the robots. When they were all inside, the wall slid shut, causing the room to darken slightly. Four large crystals mounted in the floor, ceiling, and opposite walls suddenly came to life, projecting light into the exact center of the room. The ghostly face of a man in his later years took form, and appeared to look at them. Izzy thought the face bore more than a passing resemblance to her boyfriend.

  The face turned its eyes to Kevin. “It’s good to see you again, my old friend,” he said fondly.

  Kevin waved his hand cheerfully, and gave his patented, “Helooo.”

  “Welcome, Lord Mintel. I am Central, and it’s been quite some time since I last saw you,” the face said.

  “We’ve met before?” Gareth asked incredulously.

  Central nodded. “Oh yes, your father used to bring you here all the time. You see, this is where he created me. I suppose you could say, in an odd sort of way, that you and I are siblings,” it told Gareth. For his part, Gareth leaned against one of the floor to ceiling pillars as his knees suddenly felt weak. Izzy rushed to Gareth’s side, and wrapped her arms around him in both physical and emotional support. Tralnis and Henry took up positions on his other side.

  “Well, that would explain his 8.1 DM signature,” DAR-C 254 said dryly.

  “Floating disembodied head, I overheard the mechanical people use that term earlier. What does it signify?” Pilot asked.

  “Sorry, we forgot that only Mascalians would know what we were talking about. The DM signature scale is an exponential scale that measures how much Dark Magic the subject is capable of using,” DAR-C 254 explained.

  Elizabeth gave Gareth a dirty look, which caused him to raise his hands up in a gesture of innocence. “Whoa there, Elizabeth. Before this trip, I never even knew I was able to use magic, let alone evil magic,” he protested.

  Central’s projected image frowned. “What would evil magic have to do with anything?” he asked, somewhat confused.

  Elizabeth turned to face Central. “You said Dark Magic. Everyone knows magic is divided up into Light Magic which is good, and Dark Magic which is evil,” she told him like she was speaking to a dense child.

  “Nonsense! That’s not how magic works at all. Magic is only ‘good’ or ‘evil’ based upon how it is used,” Central corrected her. “Light or Dark refers to whether or not the magic can be detected by normal means. The magic that can be detected by Wizards, and their ilk, only amounts for about 15% of the magic in the Universe. The other 85% is what we call Dark Magic. The Mascalians are the only known biological species able to sense and tap into Dark Magic,” he
lectured.

  Tralnis looked from Central’s floating face, to Gareth, and back again. He summed up the other biologicals’ thoughts perfectly by asking, “Huh?”

  “Long ago, the inhabitants of this island were no different than the other Humans on Hadronus. That all changed when the Void Stone fell out of the night sky during the First Great Apocalypse. The strange energies given off by the stone slowly altered the people of this island, until they became what we now know as the Mascalians. Exposure to the stone over countless generations had given them the ability to sense magics like the ones found in the Void Stone,” Central explained. “The Mintel family had always been the most in tune with Dark Magic, and were the ones who developed the runes able to tap into it. Their work is what keeps the Automatons and this city running long after ‘normal’ runes would have failed,” he stated.

  “That’s all well and good, and we thank you for the ancient history lesson, but I’ve known Gareth since he was a wee lad. So unless these Mascalians of yours spend nearly 13,000 years as toddlers, this makes no sense at all,” Tralnis said firmly.

  The smirk the floating face gave Tralnis reminded him far too much of Gareth. “Actually, Gareth’s presence here today answers a question I have always had about the final battle before the Blight was released,” Central said. His face faded away, and in its place was a moving picture showing a large airship the likes of which hadn’t been seen in 13,000 years. The ship sped from the island, and tried to dodge its way through Leyships of truly enormous proportions. The Mascalian ship never stood a chance, and exploded when it was struck broadside by the blasting spells cast by eight separate Wizards. The image froze, and then zoomed in on a small sphere rocketing towards the sea below it. The image began to move again while still zoomed in on the tiny craft. It hit the waves, and sank at a faster speed that what gravity could account for.

  The image disappeared, and was replaced by Central’s face once again. “That was the Mintel family’s private ship. Like all ships of her class, she was equipped with null-entropy lifeboats, escape pods with runes designed to freeze time within them. The HMS Majesty was only able to launch one of her lifeboats before being destroyed. I always wondered if it had been a misfire, or if there had been someone aboard it. Now I know,” he said.

  Izzy chuckled, and hugged Gareth, thankful that his parents had managed to save his life all those years ago. “You know, Gareth, you’re lucky I don’t mind dating an older gent,” she teased.

  “Well, as nice as this has been reuniting with family, you should probably head off to visit your home. You’ll should check to see if there is anything you want to take with you before you leave Mascal,” Central advised.

  “Leave? We just got here! Why are you trying to get rid of us?” Gareth protested.

  Central shook his head no. “It’s not what you’re thinking Gareth. In case you hadn’t noticed in your flight here, most of Mascal is still sterile. Only within the last hundred years has the land around the city begun to show signs of life. As mechanical entities, we have no need of food, and any food left by the Mascalians turned to dust eons ago. We have nothing to feed you. You’re more than welcome to return to the island anytime you want. You just need to bring your own food,” he explained. “The provisions we were able to salvage from the remains of your Leyship will only last you a few weeks at most,” he added.

  Elizabeth rubbed her face with her good hand. “Thanks for reminding me that my…” she shot a quick look at her sister who was glaring at her, “… our ship was destroyed,” she complained. “Just how exactly are we supposed to leave this gods forsaken island?!” she demanded.

  “Well, I somewhat expected you would use the experimental battleship that is sitting in a null-entropy dock at the moment. We would have used it to travel across Hadronus, but it requires a Mascalian as Captain to bring it on line,” he replied. “It will take an hour or so to shut down the null-entropy runes. During that time, everyone but Elizabeth should go visit Gareth’s old home,” Central said.

  “Why not me?” Elizabeth demanded, her hand inching towards her pistol.

  LONI pointed to Elizabeth’s mechanical arm. “To be perfectly honest, Elizabeth, shiny brass is sooooo last millennium. I thought you might like an upgrade at a salon nearby,” she offered. LONI leaned over, and whispered something further in Elizabeth’s ear.

  Elizabeth’s jaw dropped, as she exclaimed, “You’re kidding? You can actually do that?!” LONI just nodded. Elizabeth spun around, and looked at Izzy. “I’ll catch up with you at the dry docks,” she promised before she let LONI lead her away.

  “While I take Elizabeth to get spruced up, RENE 7 and DAR-C 254 will take Gareth, and whomever wishes to join him, to his family’s home. Kevin will escort the rest to the dry docks,” LONI announced over her shoulder. Pilot and Sheldon broke off from the others to better acquaint themselves with the new ship before they prepared to leave the island.

  A short walk later, the remaining biologicals found themselves at the home where Gareth spent the first years of his life. It was a stately, two story home with a round tower on one corner. The walls were the same white stone that made up most of the city. The roof had dark grey, overlapping shingles that met at a peak in the center. A strange, gray fog seemed to be frozen in place around the entire building.

  “What’s with the fog?” Izzy asked, after she grabbed Teesh’s collar to keep her from running towards the front door.

  “That is a level 6, personal domicile null-entropy field. Runes carved into the stone foundation register the presence of the owners. If they are gone for more than a month, the house seals itself up until they return,” DAR-C explained. “If Gareth is who we think he is, the field should collapse when he touches his hand to the door,” she stated.

  Gareth let go of Izzy’s hand, and cautiously approached the front door. He slowly reached out his right hand, and touched the front door. Like a pebble being dropped in a pond, ripples spread out from his hand to encompass the entire house, causing the gray fog to fade away into nothingness. Gareth slid his hand down the door, and turned the handle. The door opened easily, and he held it open for his friends. He kept the door open for the Automatons, but they waited on the walkway that led to the front door.

  “Thank you, Gareth, but we have an errand to take care of. It shouldn’t take too long, and we’ll just let ourselves in when we are finished,” RENE 7 stated.

  “Alright, I’ll see you in bit then,” Gareth said. He steeled himself for whatever he might find, and stepped across the threshold.

  Inside the home, the walls had wood paneling on the bottom half, with red and white striped wallpaper on the top half. A simple wooden table stood near the door with a strange looking contraption that Gareth assumed was a place to put one’s hat and coat. Izzy stood just inside the entryway waiting for him.

  Izzy held Gareth’s hand for an hour as he walked from room to room, trying to memorize every detail. “So how does it feel to be back here?” she finally asked when they reached a room on the second floor that was obviously a nursery.

  Gareth shrugged his shoulders. “Strange. I keep thinking that I should feel some sort of attachment to the place, but I don’t. Nothing seems familiar,” he replied.

  “Gareth! Come back to the study, I found something!” Tralnis yelled from down the hall. Gareth and Izzy joined Tralnis, Henry, and Teesh in the study. The Dwarf was holding a large book, which he put down on a coffee table. With a smile, Tralnis opened the book, and flipped to a certain page. “I recognize the scamp in this picture,” he said happily.

  Gareth leaned forward, and smiled despite himself. The book was full of pictures of what he assumed where his family members. The picture Tralnis pointed out showed Gareth around three years old being held in his mother’s arms, while his father looked on fondly.

  Teesh pointed to the toddler’s hair in the picture. “Wow! Nice hair, Gareth. It looks liked you licked a charged Aetherium tube,” she teased him. Gareth rea
d the note below the picture, and broke out laughing. “What?!” Teesh demanded.

  “Well, according to the caption here, that’s exactly what happened. I got into some of my father’s equipment, and decided I wanted to see what a charged Aetherium tube tasted like. They said my hair didn’t go back to normal for a week,” he chuckled.

  Tralnis folded his arms, and looked up at Gareth. “Licking charged Aetherium tubes, huh? You know that explains a lot,” he teased. Henry nodded in playful agreement.

  Izzy playfully hit Tralnis in the arm. “Prat,” she muttered.

  A metallic rapping on the door frame drew everyone’s attention. DAR-C 254 was floating in the hallway. She was holding a pair of shiny, brown, knee high boots in one hand and a garment bag in the other. She had used her third hand to knock and announce herself. RENE 7 was standing a few feet behind her. “Gareth, RENE 7 and I thought that since you will be the Captain for the new ship, you should dress appropriately. We had the fabrication units whip up a dress uniform in the style of the Royal Mascalian Air Navy,” she told him.

  “You mean Central was being serious about me being the Captain?” Gareth asked, slightly confused by the idea.

  RENE 7 nodded her brushed brass head. “I don’t fully understand it either, but Central said the ship will only bring itself online if it has a Mascalian Captain. It was a failsafe device in case we lost the Wizards Wars, which I suppose we did,” she explained.

  “Elizabeth is not going to like this one bit,” Gareth muttered, fearing slightly for his future safety.

  “We’ll deal with Lizard Breath later… as a team,” Izzy promised. She kissed him on the cheek, and then moved her mouth to his ear. “Shoo, go put the clothes on. I’ve always had a thing for guys in uniform,” she whispered, as she gently shoved him towards the bedroom they had just left. DAR-C 254 floated behind him, eager to show off their handiwork. Izzy started to follow them, but RENE 7 stepped in her way, and wagged her finger at Izzy. “Can’t blame a girl for wanting to get a peek,” Izzy muttered as she turned around to go wait in the study.