Krikos: The Vertical Horizon

by Rishabh Dubey

  ‘Virtual Fight Animation’ – The most advanced level combat training technology. Verdo Hoko, moving through an aquarium of training cadets, finally arrived at the Central Ludus. There was nothing but complete darkness on the other side of the Glass Screen.

  “What is happening there? Where was VIN?” Verdo Asked.

  “Master VIN is inside this Ludus. He is currently training in multiple critical threats mode” the attendant replied.

  “Sounds… err… dangerous… what is it?” Verdo gave a follow-up question.

  “Multiple Critical threats is the second most difficult level of the Combat Tech whereby virtual projections of classical villains are made and programmed to peak human capabilities. They have a single aim, to fight the target with their best... and their best is supposed to be the best,” the attendant said.

  “Why no lights then?”

  “Wait for … 5…4…3…2… and the lights are on...” she replied in synchronisation with the lights.

  "Oh, there he is... WHAT THE... those are... 1...10... How many are those exactly.”

  “39 virtual hostiles up for elimination.”

  “Elimination???”

  A tall, broad and lean shadow stood on the centre-podium of the Ludus arena. The 39 hostiles surrounded him from every direction and dimension. They all charged at him with their full force. He took a jump here and one there and dodged their blows in a calm and ignorant manner. He came out of the translucence to reveal his fierce and ferocious green eyes hawking every target at once. He gained a mock posture and took out his two Sai Gladiuses and stroke back and destroyed half of them within seconds. He turned his back to the rest, but his overconfidence dwindled when some hostile attacked and scarred his right shoulder. He retired his Sai Gladiuses and reached his back for something bigger. The Magnus Gladius di-Dux – the weapon which rivalled even the Magnus Gladius di-Xanethius. He readied the sword’s core for some serious damage, stroke the ground and disappeared in a dash. A large quake was felt, and Verdo Hoko fell down. When he got up, he saw only pitch black darkness again and then heard the sound of the opening of a door. Kridious walked out of the Ludus, undisputed and victorious. He removed his vest as well as the swords and placed them on the submission desk. Then he turned to find Verdo standing there.

  "Hey, old man… what brought you ...outside?” Kridious remarked as he removed all the combat accessories.

  Verdo hastened towards Kridious as if he was going to jump on him. He took his Electronic Data Pad out and placed it on the submission desk beside Kridious “Section 2379… you know how to get past it.”

  “Well, I know how to get into it. But I guess that’s not what you need. What do we have here by the way?” Kridious said.

  “The Epilion… well, I searched its origins and missions, and they seemed as if they’d come out of some damn paradise. But this wasn’t any paradise. Paradise has angels and animals and not humans,” Hoko said perspiring heavily.

  “Calm down man. Just calm down. Let’s take a walk to the locker room.”

  “Locker room? This is no time for a shower.”

  “Okay... you just maintain your composure. I won’t take a shower... let’s take a walk outside then.”

  “Towards my library, we shall go. I got to show you something.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Well, I hacked into the Hidden Database and streamed the graphs and designs of the Epilion. It has the specific aerodynamic body which was essential for an explorer. But its design was much different than that of other Rimor ships. It has too much of metal weight near its rear and its H.T. tubes were also far bigger than the prevalent Rimor designs.”

  “What else?”

  “You remember the Hexagon Extra-terrestrial Intelligence Explorer, that went on the same mission to Annaeax under the then Xanethius a century ago? Well, I streamed through its design too... It had a similar structural pattern.”

  “Similar structural pattern… what does that mean? It was an explorer made by the same organisation.”

  “Yes, it was… but the thing is... its design was perfect. A perfect match for that of the Epilion with even similar ballistics. The mission failed… and why? Because of a malfunction. 200 years of space research and 500 years of no technical failures specifically in the Spacecrafts... and when it came to the most important mission of all... the product of every diligent and meticulous and superbly genius scientist and engineer there is. And with the best possible crew... there was a ‘technical malfunction’. We are not living in an ideal paradise, but neither are we living in a Dukedom of jackasses,” Hoko mentioned furiously.

  “There is a small percentile probability of failure everywhere. “

  “Yes, there is ... but we humans tend to make the probability of error as low as possible... and the probability of being in the safe percentile maximum. After all this... darn it for Galacta’s sake... WE LIVE ON A MAN-MADE STAR EATER ... Such capability can deny probability, can’t it? And what’s the thing about this disappearance of the Explorer? I mean technical failure is one thing but disappearance... It all seems too shallow to me.”

  “You are thinking too much mate. Okay, consider me believing everything you are saying... You mean to say that the technical error was no technical error and was rather enforced by some entity... You mean it was deliberate. Who and why would do that?”

  "Who did that? Well, you would be thinking now that some unknown entity, let’s say an extra-terrestrial would have done it ... if it would have been done. But I suggest otherwise.”

  “You mean Human… you mad old man.”

  “Mad doesn’t make me a liar does it ... Mad doesn’t make me a hypocrite secretive organisation, does it? I am not the one hiding info here. I tell everything I suspect or know. And it’s not the thing I know that scares me. It is the not knowing part, the ‘why’ that frightens me.”

  “Okay. So, what do you suggest?”

  “I say that the Epilion is in grave danger.”

  “That is impossible man. Krawn is out there with Rush. Nothing can happen to them. I pity the one who would try to indict harm. “

  “You have been blinded by friendship VIN. No one is unbeatable. No one. You may be a bio-human, but even you have been beaten plenty a time by Krawn.”

  “That is what I am saying. I am unbeatable … and Krawn beat me. Makes him the perfect warrior, doesn’t it? I am telling you, man, his mind is faster than lightning. Whatever bad might happen, he’d have thought and solved it far before you could have even imagined it. He is the Xanethius for Galacta’s sake.”

  “So was he….”

  Diaries of Flex:

  Episode 4-

  To see the unseen.

  “T

  he satellites, they revolve around their celestial core or in other words, the master planets. The planets revolve around their Stellar Centres that is the Sols. The sols revolve around master stars, and the stars revolve around their galactic cores. The galaxies go around the universal sediment. The sediment moves in universal orbits into the vast abyss of nothingness, infamously known as ‘free space’. So, what is the most important object? The centre of gravity? The Centre of Everything? Probably ‘nothingness’. In reality, the most important object is not an object. It's an objective. The objective of nature that runs on its own erratic speculations. One christened as “Chance”. Yes, chance, the carver of all objectivities.” – In the immortal words of Simon Wager, the scientist who died due to an erred medical examination. What are the ‘chances’ of thinking you have muscle pain in your shoulders and dying of cervical malignancy? I guess 22000 years of development could merely make just the words immortal … Philosophy is an art of fiction. But some philosophies mean something. Such is this one. Chance is something which runs the universe. And Flex... sadly, was a part of it.

  It had been days since I had last read the book. I say book, but merely a large collection of scribbled rough papers. It was
high time I considered reading the next part. I opened up the hard glass bound red seal and turned over to a random page. Now it was another chapter entitled in large screaming blocks ‘Galactic Infringium’. And I read on.

  The context was not in favour of my mind. So, I thought of reading the chapter preceding this one. But to my grave grief, it was an even more alien-toned set of words for me than the one earlier. But I did not lose will and turned backwards, perhaps giving in to my general curiosity –

  The designs are ready. The feeling of one witnessing his demise, the very idea of the end of the celestials by their hands, pleases every iota of my body to a stimulated goose-bump. The Eutopium can’t be readier. The only hope is the theory of solar extraction. The prototype can be manufactured right away. I just need an exotic entrance into the council. The resistance is what they impel. It is what they shall get.

  If anyone else would have said that to me, it’d have me worried. But since Flex had a habit of chattering without any known cause, I thought of giving it a superficial cheerio... So, I turned to the next page. It was all blank. But then I saw a small piece of folded paper stuck to the bottom of the page. I snatched it out and opened it up. It seemed something like a blueprint on a white sheet. Classical engineering ways … it was always Flex’s preference. The print was entitled – Hexurion Alpha Dispenser Gun, what would be later designated by the Militants of the Hexagon as the Hex-A-Gun. Possibly, I presumed, some of his fantasised plans which could never be a success. As such none of his plans were ever a success, till then. Then I saw something written which hindered my ability to blink and think. It was written-

  “Ion thrust chambers on plutonium and Rif'g disintegration chamber.”

  Flex used my name. I could never have been more surprised. An arrogant, self-centred astrophysicist and engineer, used the name of another human being. I read on-

  Since I have your attention now, Sabrink, I NEED YOUR HELP. I know our thought processes and ideals always reflected off an inherent animosity though shaped down to a dimly apparent cold war. But I have a job for you. You're the one human being who could understand me. If you are reading this, either I am dead, or the Celestials have captured me for heavy parole. So, it is on you now. You must do one thing for me. The only hope for humanity. You must find the truth. The penultimate truth. And you must do it as soon as possible… from my journal itself. Yes, the truth is somewhere in my journals, and only you can find it, not even me now. Find the truth that you need but don’t seek. Read it… Read it all…

  Into The Dimension:

  Episode 4-

  The guest.

  I

  t had been 80 hours or so since the Epilionians encountered the Annaeaxian Prabarus-Uz Witt. Krawn had not yet given the orders to bring Witt back to his consciousness. They had all examined each duct and chamber of the UISE to find that it was a specialised space station with thrust based motion capabilities. A little like the old earth space stations, there were major dissimilarities between the designs used in the station and those known to the Flex Data Grid. The major one being the metal alloy used. The metals, though were very well known to the Data Grid, the alloy has been mentioned anywhere. They had also found that though the machinery and technology seemed a little new, the edgings and outer physical design seemed classical as if done rather manually and not by other machines. The central generator of the station seemed as if it had run out of power long back. This fact does not coincide with the condition of Prabarus-Uz Witt, who seemed to have been injured and stranded very recently only. The most important of their findings was the very strange space shuttle stuck in the rear section of the Station. Krawn presumed that the shuttle was how the alien had gotten into the station in the first place. But there were many more questions unanswered and the ones answered were also subject to ambiguity. The Epilion was preparing for ‘releasing the anchor’, which implied taking itself out of the Electromagnetic field hindering with the Primary Communications.

  In the central command room of the Epilion, Krawn and crew sat on their respective chairs to analyse the situation. Ram was programming the secondary thrusts for heavy throttle. Rush, Steffy and Castino were in the Intel room with Prabarus lying down tied to the examination desk. It was Rush’s responsibility to put Prabarus back to sleep if he ever woke up. Steffy had been examining the physical characteristics of the alien. Suddenly, the Neuro Scanner showed a rapid rise in neural radial patterns. Steffy found that the heart rate was not rising. It seemed as if, for the first time, Prabarus was ready to have a direct, calm conversation as was evident from his ‘waking up without screaming’. Rush got up with the stun gun to put him back to sleep but was called off by Steffy –

  “No wait…. Wait for a second... He wants to speak something. Quick, Castino Sir, hand me that helmet behind you on the platform.”

  “You want to talk to it? You know what orders we have, don’t you?” Rush gave his rhetoric.

  “You don’t know what he just did. His IQ can be greater than most humans. He just used a specific set of reactions to bring us to talk to it. An organism with senses… I don’t find much threat in that.”

  “History testifies that it is the combination of senses and intelligence which call out for fear. I am with Rush here. But you do what you have to,” said Castino as he passed the neurotransmitter.

  “Ok. You don’t do it. I will. If anyone here is strong enough, I am. If he said anything manipulative, then he is dead for sure,” said Rush as he moved to grab the helmet.

  They both indulged in an argument over the helmet.

  “Everyone knows who the best at interrogation here was. Give me that for Galacta’s sake. I have been tired of the lack of some action.” Rush said.

  “Okay. But don’t be very rash. You know we risk jeopardising a future healthy inter-species relationship,” she said as she left the helmet.

  “How does his attacking us first make “US” jeopardise our future relations? Anyway. Okay, here I go,” Said Rush as he wore the helmet. But before he could start with his questions, a minor vibration was felt underneath. It seemed to have emerged from the Secondary Fusion thrusts.

  “Those guys are done talking… so we should start with it… shouldn’t we?” Rush said as he started with his questions. He asked a sequence of them and received answers in his neurotransmitter.

  Rush- So Mr OR… Ahem… Mrs Prabarus-Uz Witt…. You human?

  Prabarus- I don’t understand the question.

  Rush- So not human I guess. What were you doing there on that station? And what do you know about the station?

  Prabarus- I don’t know what that station is or was. I thought you people were inhabiting it or something. And about me being there, I was chased down there.

  Rush- Chased. By whom and why?

  Prabarus- You won’t understand.

  Rush- I won’t understand. I can damn understand everything. But YOU need to understand that YOUR life was at stake here. Tell me where you came from and why and who chased you away from there?

  Prabarus- At first, when I saw you I mistook you as one of them. But it now seems that even your species was divided.

  Rush- What? Be clear, will you?

  Prabarus- When I first saw you I took you for the scouts after me. There is no mistake they are the same species as yours. But when I saw you getting startled with my presence, I thought that you were more surprised to see me than an average scout.

  Rush- Who was after you?

  Prabarus- They are called by different names on my planet.

  Rush- Planet. You mean Annaeax?

  Prabarus- We prefer Yumsono. But you can have your names.

  Rush- So did you suggest that HUMANS are after you? WE humans?

  Prabarus- We call them the Irinks. I have never had a direct conversation with many of them though, but I used to be a political enforcer in their small colony on our planet. They showed up a few centuries ago and started trading. Trading good te
chnology with little space for living. But their small land occupation enlarged into a huge colonisation. I was an important general in the Irinks Enforcing squadron. But recently, when I accidentally entered the restricted section of their space station, I found huge machines working on something which none of the Yumsono people knew about. When I went and shared this info with an Irink Senior of mine, he ordered my official arrest. They have space blockades everywhere, so I had to escape the system and that too very fast.

  Rush- Go on.

  Prabarus- They followed me, but I lost them somewhere around this space station. I don’t know why, but they left off and stopped following me.

  Rush- Around the station was a magnetic field. But modern ships are equipped to survive those. Is this the reason your ship crashed? Was it an old model?

  Prabarus- I don’t know, but suddenly the ship’s generator overloaded or something, and the power fluctuated, and I crashed into the station. I thought I had been attacked or something, so I ran from the pod and hid inside the station. I don’t know when but I dropped the brown case somewhere around there…

  Rush- Definitely the field then. And what brown case?

  Prabarus- I had seen the Irink Senator open this strange chamber on the mysterious facility of theirs on one of their Yumsono space stations. He used a combination of keys and biometrics and codes…. He placed them back inside the brown case. I couldn’t sneak inside there but when I was being escorted from there to their cellars, I revolted, instinctively caught hold of the case and rushed to space pod. I don’t know where I lost it though… I went back to the pod to check if I had dropped it there but there were no signs of it…