The Psychonaut: Book 1 in the Psychonaut Trilogy

by Adams, Tom

  “Whatever. If it makes them happy.”

  The vehicle doors opened and Merrick saw the silhouettes of muscled frames looming before them. He also detected the almost pungent concentrations of testosterone in the air. A phenomenon that always left Merrick laughing to himself. The correlation between supercharged male sex hormones and baldness was well established, and as they got closer, Merrick could see that nature had started early on some of them.

  “Mike, is that you?” one of them called.

  “Yep. Is it Johnny?” he replied.

  “That it is,” came back the reply.

  Mike stepped forward and shook hands with the man. There followed some brief introductions amongst the ex-servicemen, but most appeared to know each other.

  Although, they didn’t know it, Merrick had them at a disadvantage. They were broadcasting their feelings and motivations like flares going up in the night. For the most part, Merrick detected defensive thoughts mixed with a healthy dose of curiosity. Two of them, he sensed, were on a knife edge of indecision. Half inclined to take Merrick’s money and run, balanced against the prospect of a high-paying gig.

  “So, you’re the client?” A skinhead giant called Biff addressed Merrick.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “But I’ll tell you what, it’s a bit hard to have a meaningful conversation when I’m talking to shadows. Do you mind if we adjourn to somewhere with a bit more light?”

  Biff scoffed. “Well I can’t see anywhere in the immediate area. What do you suggest?”

  Merrick smiled. “Well, what do you fancy? A sun-drenched tropical beach, or an oasis in the desert?”

  Johnny turn Mike. “Is your mate on the wacky-baccy or what?”

  To be fair, Mike looked like he was wondering himself when Merrick casually pointed to the sky and brought his hand down. Before the men’s startled eyes, what looked like a rip in the air opened in front of them. It leaked a dazzling light from between the folds of the incision. Every one of the mercenaries adopted an immediate defensive posture. Three of them drew knives.

  “What the f—“ Johnny was the first to respond.

  Merrick made an open-handed gesture. “Don’t be alarmed, gentlemen. Just a little display to help convince you the mission I’m offering is both bona fide, and nothing like you’ve ever participated in before.”

  Chapter 34

  Letters from earth

  Lotus noticed it start as an itch in the small of her back, an uncomfortable irritation that spread up her spine, gathering momentum. Her bones vibrated as magickal oscillations radiated out, spreading across her scalp and behind her eyes. The irritation was almost unbearable now as it spread into her brain, setting her mind afire. Shamon said there would be a cost exacted on her, and measured in pain. She could hold it in no longer. With a cry, she released the magickal energy through her eyes and saw it traverse the room, entering the body of a Necrolyte. Slowly, the creature rose from the floor. It looked down, saw it was levitating and began to thrash about, its arms and legs dancing in the air.

  Then, abruptly, the magick dissipated. The Necrolyte fell to the floor and Lotus staggered forward, reaching out to a table for support.

  “Go,” she said to the creature. Obedient, it picked up its javelin and left. She didn’t want anyone seeing her in this state. The toll on her mind and body was immense, but as she fell onto the bed she knew this was only the first time. She had triumphed, and the thrill was indescribable.

  ~~~

  “It was mind-blowing,” Mike said. “Truly awesome.”

  They had gathered in Celestia’s room again. She was up and about, performing stretching exercises, back to her usual restless self. It wasn’t until Merrick recounted the night’s events that she placed herself in a chair and listened. Arun was the only one of the Outcasts not present, owing to the insecure nature of the ward in which he convalesced.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Albany said. “You tore a hole in this reality and stepped through into another?”

  “That’s about the size of it,” Merrick replied.

  “This is a game-changer,” Mike said. “If you can create wormholes at will, any body of personnel can outmaneuver their enemy over and over again.”

  “It’s not as simple as that,” Merrick said.

  Mike looked back at him. “What do you mean? The guys we recruited last night passed through your gateway no problem. You should have seen their faces, Albany. I’ve never seen anything that can leave Biff speechless. Once he’d stepped through into the prehistoric landscape Merrick revealed, his jaw dropped a mile.”

  “There’s a cost to these manipulations,” Merrick said. “The gateway I opened occupied a place where the wall between realities is thin. It didn’t need much energy to hold it open, but there are other locations where the barrier is dense. Some of them leave me exhausted.”

  “So there are limitations. However, you’ve got to admit this gives us the upper hand against Shamon.”

  “Potentially, yes.”

  “I don’t understand,” Celestia said. “How long have you known you could do this?”

  “Ever since our return here. The gateway down below doesn’t just announce its presence, it speaks to me. It urged me to experiment. To try expanding my ability.”

  “And you think you can seek out a way to reach Celebrai?” Destain asked.

  “I already know. First I must pass to the Şahşah gateway. Beyond that is the nexus. It’s a key junction in the gateway’s continuum. From there I reckon there’s one more transfer needed to access Celebrai.”

  Albany stood up and started pacing in front of the window. “Can you see beyond the gateways at will?”

  Merrick shook his head. “Only once a gateway is open can we see inside. I had to find the crossroads by trial and error, but once I’ve breached the wall between realities, I’ve found it’s easier to open next time.”

  “Then it’s time to make plans,” Albany said.

  Merrick took out his smartphone and opened a note-taking app. “Right. First of all, not a word about our new discovery to Karapetian.”

  “You’ve told him just about everything else,” Mike said. “Why the reticence?”

  “I need to test its potential first, and having been stung once too often by Karapetian, I’d rather hold something back.”

  “Despite insisting on total transparency?” Albany said.

  “Tell a little truth with many lies.”

  Albany raised an eyebrow. “It’s your call, I suppose.”

  Merrick narrowed his eyes. “Do you trust him? Completely, I mean?”

  “Point taken.”

  “So,” Merrick continued, “after this, the four of us will take our first foray through the established gateway here. Celebrai is cold, so dress for winter. We’ll be covert and travelling across country. We’re also going in armed.”

  “What with?” Albany asked.

  “Handguns for you guys and assault rifles for your escort,” Mike said.

  Celestia cocked her head. “Do any of you know how to use a pistol? And what’s this about an escort?”

  “The handguns are a last resort and for close quarters only,” Mike said. I’ll give you all a brief run-through before departure. Your escort will consist of three seasoned vets from the contingent we recruited.”

  Celestia looked skeptical. “Is that wise? You only met them last night. Can you rely on them?”

  “I chose Johnny, Biff and a guy called Hacker. I’ve known them since my army days—I’d give them my back any day.”

  “And the primary goal?” Albany asked.

  “Intelligence gathering,” Merrick replied. “Anything from the terrain, climate, the civilisation and, if we can get close enough, details of Ukurum forces and defences. Celebrai is a complete unknown. We’re not even sure if Shamon has gained dominion over further worlds and civilisations.”

  “I can help you there,” Destain said. “The reason I was so useful to Shamon lay in my ability t
o combine farseeing with telepathy and probability determination. After a while he took me into his confidence and I probed the extent of Celebrai. In short, he got lucky. The populations of Celebrai are primitive, like those that existed on Earth a couple of hundred thousand years ago. Easy, vulnerable fodder for his war machine. They were also the perfect template for his mutation chambers.”

  “The Amorphic?” Celestia asked.

  “Yes, and other experimental prototypes he was working on. Fortunately, he hasn’t found another gateway yet, despite many scouting expeditions”

  Merrick tapped his knee, deep in thought, then looked up. “That’s good news, Destain. Is there anything else we should know?”

  “Not a great deal. I was a prisoner for the first twelve months. It was only recently that Shamon gave me a few limited freedoms. One thing I am sure about, however, is that any of us would be immediately recognised as alien.”

  “I’d thought about that,” Merrick said. “Albany, we’re going to need your genetic manipulation abilities—all of us.”

  “I can do that,” Albany said. “But it’ll be intensive work over the next two hours, and I don’t have any template to work on, only your descriptions of the natives.”

  “Again, I can help,” Destain said. “Can you see the image I’m putting in your mind now?”

  Albany brought his hands up to his temples. “Hey, that’s creepy—feels like a cockroach is crawling around in my skull.”

  “But can you see the image?”

  “Yes ... yes. Just get out of my head.” A relieved look came over Albany’s face. He shook his head, as if trying to dislodge a last vestige of Destain’s presence. “Don’t do that again without my permission.”

  “I’m sorry, brother. I forget that you lack experience.”

  “Who’s the illusionist Karapetian’s lending you?” Mike asked.

  “He hasn’t told us yet.”

  “Why don’t you use them to provide the disguises—like Rovach did?”

  “It puts an illusionist out of action if we encounter a combat situation. Rovach couldn’t transfer his illusions while his mind was on a skirmish I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

  “Fair enough,” Mike said, looking at his watch. “Is there anything else you need me for? I’ve got to meet the guys from the mercenary squad.”

  “If anything occurs to me, I’ll cover it when we meet in the gateway chamber. Does anyone else have any questions?”

  “How long are we going to be out there?” Celestia asked, “and does Karapetian know what he’s going to do if we don’t make it back?”

  “I’ll talk to him now about a plan B. As for the time, it’s another unknown. I’m not sure if there’s time expansion or constriction beyond the gateway, but I think it wise to keep our first sortie brief, don’t you?”

  They all nodded or grunted.

  “Well, I guess we need to let Albany do his work, and suit up. We’ll meet in the chamber in two hour’s time.”

  “Better make it two and a half,” Mike said. “I need time to brief my guys and get them used to the weird setup here.”

  Merrick agreed the revised time and closed the meeting. Albany started his manipulation on Destain, reveling in the discomfort he was able to inflict as payment for his brother’s recent mind probe.

  The others waited their turn while Merrick left to speak with Karapetian. He had brief seconds to think on the way downstairs. Here he was, self-appointed chief of the Outcasts, his mind juggling with logistics while subduing the sense that he had few qualifications for the job. Against this, he balanced his gratitude for the Outcast’s unquestioning loyalty, and acceptance of the role he had taken on. He could only hope he could justify their willingness.

  ~~~

  The gateway chamber was as Merrick remembered it. Karapetian waited for them, his brow furrowed, demeanour pensive.

  “Are you sure this is a well-considered mission, Merrick? There’s a lot that could go wrong.”

  “We’ve got to get the upper hand on Shamon,” Merrick replied, “but if it makes you breathe easier, I’ve asked Destain to give a reading.”

  “And what have you predicted?” Karapetian asked.

  “There are three likely outcomes, each of them fortuitous,” Destain said. “That is, provided we stay within Merrick’s remit. As soon as there’s a radical change in our decisions, I’ll have to recast the runes.”

  “So you haven’t predicted any adverse outcomes?”

  “I didn’t say that—I just indicated they were unlikely.”

  “How unlikely?”

  Destain paused, then held out his ocular hand. “I cannot explain it mathematically, but if you care to put your palm in mine, I can communicate it.”

  “I’ll trust your judgement,” Karapetian said in a clipped tone, hands remaining on his hips. “Remember you need to prepare for the unexpected. You’ve only experienced the realm beyond as an astral projection. You know the immediate threat are the Simiata—but there may well be others. I suggest you withdraw at the first sign of their presence, we can always fall back and construct a containment plan. It’s something I’m going to have to do anyway if we’re to enlist more of them to our cause.”

  Merrick nodded. “I intend to create a gateway as soon as we all land on the other side. Once I’m through, I’ll hold it open while you all transit. Prepare yourselves for what awaits. You’ll be on the lip of a building and if you step forward without thinking, you’ll be over the edge.”

  “No doubt a measure our founding Hierophant put in place when he created the gateway,” Karapetian said. “No wonder every attempt before has resulted in failure—none ever came back.”

  Merrick looked around. He had no problem differentiating between the Celebrain forms thanks to his third eye, but Albany and the mercenaries were, in all likelihood, confused. He looked at the illusionist Karapetian had given them. Her name was Aislynn and her mind was closed to him—no surprises there.

  “So, is everyone ready?” he said.

  They all gave an affirmative.

  “Good luck,” Mike added. “You boys look after this crowd now, won’t you.”

  Biff gave a mock salute, made all the more comical as his almond-shaped, Celebrain visage betrayed no emotion at all. His buddies grunted their mirth as Merrick gave his attention to the task.

  He focused on the gateway and saw its shimmering surface depressed inward, a funnel of entry for a Psychonaut. Then he was in.

  On the other side, he had to stop himself toppling over the building’s edge, despite his forewarning of the hazard. The gateway propelled his body through with force, necessitating a shift in his centre of gravity in a backward direction. He scanned the top of the building, relieved to find himself alone under the oily-black sky. He immediately about-faced and returned to the other side, as they had planned. After warning the party again, he passed through and held the gateway open.

  He put Johnny in charge of receiving the party while he explored the roof top. He held the gateway open with minimal effort. He knew this would not be the case with his virgin gateways. The rest of them came through without hindrance. All except Celestia were in awe of their surroundings. The mercenaries held drawn weapons but relaxed once they perceived there was no immediate threat.

  “This is something else,” Albany said.

  “Just wait until you see the next realms,” Celestia replied.

  Merrick beckoned them over. “We need to move fast, the Simiata can detect our presence and will be closing in. I think I’ve found an optimum breach point. Same plan as before. I go through, check it out and then return. If the breach closes for longer than five minutes, assume the worst has happened.”

  Merrick detected anxiety from Celestia. “That means you’ll be stuck over there, and remember, we can’t get back to Earth either,”

  “There’s no other way,” he replied. “Destain, are our options still fortuitous?”

  “They are,” the clairv
oyant replied, “you can be confident.”

  Merrick spread his palms out in front of him, fingertips probing, looking for a weak point. Once satisfied, he gathered his will and felt the force leave him. A sound like tearing metal or nails scraped over a blackboard filled the air. It was a strain, but he saw a long tunnel ahead. He also heard the shrieking of a Simiatan in the distance.

  “We’re going to have to move fast,” Albany said.

  Merrick threw himself into the fissure and immediately felt an incredible pressure in his ears, as if he had emerged dozens of feet underwater. He ran, as if in a dream, feet slipping on invisible ice. It took several long seconds to burst through to the other side, where he emerged in Jahun’s cave. He allowed the gateway to close and staggered over to a rock, grateful for a short rest. He groaned while allowing his psychonautic energy to fill up again, banishing the disorientation as it did so.

  After a minute or two he recovered and the buzz in his head had subsided to a minimum. He reconnoitered the cave and tunnel beyond as fast as he could and, once certain that the location was secure, returned to his previous position. He held out his hands again and felt the depression reform—quicker than before. He’d assumed correctly that the gateways were easier to maintain the more he used them.

  He returned to his expectant companions, who were quick off the mark in following his lead back through to the Ashgabat side.

  Once through, they spent some time taking stock of the situation and for Merrick to rest.

  “You look tired,” Celestia said.

  “I’m surprised you can tell with this face,” he replied.

  “You forget—my senses work beyond the natural limits.”

  The Celebrain face in front of him had the sides of its mouth curled upwards a touch. “They’re a grumpy lot, these Celebrains,” he said, “your smile looks more like a leer.”

  His attempt at easing her anxiety didn’t work. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, “we should explore the gateways beyond the nexus as a mind-meld first, it’s much safer.”