The Nucleus paused as it searched through the vast arrays of databanks hidden deep with the hardened foundations of the amphitheatre. Its consciousness filtered through the coloured rays of information dividing and splintering data in to small packages of rainbow, combining the packages into one virtual cube of bright shifting light. Thule. The Nucleus had already examined this data package many times before ever since the revered lady Archer had informed it of Khadrae within Atlantis and, even worse, within the vast War Factory. What the Nucleus knew made it… uneasy, a very unfamiliar feeling.
“You fear me don’t you, Nucleus,” mocked the voice of Thule. “You’re scared of me because you know what I am.”
“We are an artificial intelligence designed to facilitate the provision of information and ideals to the survivors of the cataclysm that destroyed Atlantis. We have no need for emotions.”
“You have no need for emotions but you have them,” laughed Thule in a deep rich laugh that retained an undertone of mockery. “That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
Thule paused, his presence tainting the mind of the Nucleus.
“It is a coincidence that you and I have been trapped down here in the depths mere hundreds of yards from each other. All those thousands of years we could have been of use to each other and totally unable to communicate again until now.”
“How did you survive?” asked the Nucleus, curious despite the feel of that loathsome presence.
“We were not the only ones to survive the cataclysm unleashed by the Tuatha de Danaan. Various flora and fauna survived the fall, even some members of the seven tribes. By conserving my energy and feeding on life forces only when necessary I survived and did not pass through the Silver Gates into the Elysium Fields and peace beyond.”
“You will never pass into the Elysium Fields,” replied the Nucleus almost contemptuously.
The touch of Thule whipped across the mind of the Nucleus and although it didn’t feel pain, it felt a moment of panic as the integrity of its data faded.
“You must learn not to interrupt me when I’m speaking, Nucleus,” hissed Thule, his hiss mirrored by that of its puppet Khadrae. “And you are correct. I will not go to the Fields of Elysium because my soul was stolen. Stolen by godless thieves!” Thule screamed. “But I have a chance to recover my soul but you…” Thule spat out the word ‘you’ with a screech of bitterness, “…you will simply fall to pieces and rot. You will cease to exist! And I will live on forever as a god! But what am I saying? I know there is no god, no goddess, no Elysium Fields, no souls, no destiny, no life, only nothingness.”
The Khadrae swayed in time to the despairing cadence of Thule's voice, shaking its head as if trying to dislodge an irritation. Suddenly it howled, stretching its arms forward, claws extended ready to disembowel and Thule's insane voice swept and battered against the Nucleus. “No gods, no afterlife! None! Not until I have my ascendency!”
“And how will you do that?” replied the Nucleus calmly. “You are trapped on Atlantis as I am. On the surface the ancestors of the Tuatha de Danaan make ready for war led by the Core.”
The Nucleus felt the focus of Thule upon it, a harsh and undivided attention that attempted to strip away its mind and see what the Core was. But the Nucleus had not been idle. It had created programs of light that sped around the internals of the data core, enhancing the security against the unsophisticated mental probing of Thule.
The Khadrae growled, reflecting the frustration of its master.
“What is the Core?” whined the voice of Thule.
The Nucleus thought about this question wondering if it should answer and if it should lie. Thule was dangerous and the Nucleus had no doubt that if unleashed on the world at large Thule would cause great havoc, pain and destruction. But if Thule remained on Atlantis, the Nucleus itself would be at risk from the volatile being. The British would not be able to assist against the full might of Thule unleashed. Thule would have to be dealt with but meanwhile, why not channel Thule’s energies into something useful? After a minute fraction of a second the Nucleus decided to tell Thule the truth.
“The Core was built by the Tuatha de Danaan to contain the memories and spirits of their greatest soldiers, tech-scientists and gene doctors. The Core was created so that they would win the great war that destroyed Atlantis merely by surviving long after their enemies had turned to dust. Using the experience that they gained in our creation, my creators took a step up to the level where technology and spirit could be fused together.”
The Nucleus could feel the psychic connection between the two of them shake and shiver, almost breaking, as the mind of Thule recoiled in shock and horror.
“The Tuatha de Danaan created this blasphemy? They encouraged it? My own tribe dared to turn their backs on the gods that created them and gave them life? Did they not listen to anything I ever said to them?” Thule screamed and raged across the link battering against the mental buffers that the Nucleus had erected. “No, yes, I knew this. Once long ago I was told,” Thule muttered. “Long, long, long ago...”
The Nucleus took its opportunity to prod, noting Thule's instability as he lurched from not believing in gods to cursing his tribe as heretics. “Perhaps you must teach them the error of their ways. The Core has allied with a tribe called Germany. It is probable that the Core is disseminating its heretical ideas to this tribe.”
“Heretical! That’s what they are! Heretics and Blasphemers! Liars and schemers! Undermining the priesthood and the gods! Foul heretics!”
And with that last scream of rage, the Nucleus felt the clammy touch of Thule disappear and the lone Khadrae turned with a hiss and ran down the lit corridors into the depths of the complex before vanishing from the Nucleus’ monitors.
The Nucleus pondered its encounter for a long time paying particular attention to the puzzle of how Thule expected to leave Atlantis to vent his rage. Perhaps it would be useful to enlist the support of the British. The Nucleus had said it could not assist in their battle against the Core but this was only assisting an escape which was within its programmed parameters.
If the Nucleus could smile then it would have done so as it felt a golden glow of satisfaction pour through it. Smugness was not an emotion it possessed but if it did then it would no doubt be feeling smug.
And up through the cold layers of water, past the turbulent ocean surface, far on into the stratosphere and beyond into the dark cold night of space, and finally onto the surface of the Moon, the Core felt the jolt of a psychic vibration and the thousands of ghosts trapped within the machine wondered at what had awoken.
The next book in the Atlantean Triumvirate series is
Ghosts of the Past
An Atlantean Triumvirate Page 27