"Not for me," Mica replied as she brushed her hair aside, "doing what we do takes a lot of imagination; dreaming up worlds and the people that once lived, and you can't help but wonder about their hopes and dreams, and how different them must have been from our own," she finished with a distant look in her eyes. I could see that she was imagining it here in this moment and the past glory that this citadel once held.
I had to give it to her and the professor, for they made me view things in a different perspective; one far beyond my little scope of the world I had been groomed to anticipate from our self-absorbed, social-media pushing society. We pretended to reach out and share ourselves, only to have far too many expectations about being accepted. It was if it was all some type of twisted psychotically experiment to preen our population. I found it odd how many people's lives centered on being popular with people they never actually knew or would ever meet. When I returned from my tour in the military and stepped outside of that narrow vision and took a moment to take an honest look at our culture in all of its flaws, it seemed pretty nuts that our society had been primed to be so entirely co-dependant that it could be seen as unhealthy or even downright dangerous.
I had only learned to be more self-dependant over the past few years out of training during my various jobs in the field. I've worked as a private bodyguard and general security from time to time, but that type of self defense discipline made me realize that there were far too many people who were entirely untrained for the realities of life outside their little bubble. It made me wonder how many of the citizens of the Kish who dwelled within this advanced civilization were left entirely unprepared for the chaos that befell them during the last polar shift which spun the earth on its edge.
I sat there with Mica as we enjoyed the morning sunrise while Logan got up and made his way back to the communications room to get in touch with the ship. He had previously borrowed my radio so he could open a channel. Fortunately, this console was placed out in the open, so there was no chance of him getting himself sealed. Once he returned back to the console, Logan set down the radio and began adjusting the crystal rods on the control board.
"Logan expedition, this is Walter, come in team," a voice crackled over the radio. To Logan's excitement, he picked it up and responded in kind.
"Sir Walter, good to hear you old friend. We've been trying to reach you all night, but to no avail," the professor breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah, Logan, I hope all is well. We were experiencing communication issues onboard and there have been some serious political complications escalating tensions back on the mainland," Walter answered, "It's been a long night here on the ship with the crew in a fuss, and they are understandably worried about their families."
"I don't get your meaning: why are they worried about their families?" Logan remarked in confusion.
"There have been some global tensions arising from the numerous earthquakes and hurricanes caused by the strange weather fronts which have been popping up. Oceans waters have been receding from the coasts of Ireland and from what I heard it actually snowed in Arabia last night!" Walter barked back as he related the shocking news, "These chaotic events have strained many national governments into declaring martial law in a desperate attempt to bring the discord among the population under some measure of control. Several nations have recently placed a majority of their navel forces out in open water, while strengthening their land based military presence into the civilian population; but they have met small pools of opposition by this unprecedented show of force, and several communities worldwide have collapsed into anarchy."
Logan predicted something like this might happen, but things were falling apart at the seams much faster than he could have imagined. Walter related that there several power outages that hit several major cities which drew in the military presence to regain civil order from looters; however, they encounter small pockets of dissidents who were opposed to their presence. He also reported that several provinces in Canada also had their electrical grids collapse during an especially intense aurora event overnight, as did the southern coastline of Australia. Minor conflicts in the Middle East had recently spread to adjacent territories and there were talks of international war on nearly every news channel, feeding the frenzy.
Walter went on to dictate that a great number of civil defense forces from rival nations were activated in effort to secure their borders, and that tensions were escalating as civilians suddenly found themselves locked within areas of devastation and unable to escape to safety. The humanitarian crisis mounted when civil unrest began to spread from the lack of appropriate aid by the local government entities in their given districts. Civilians became disillusioned with the lack of integrity and response from the authorities who they elected to protect them.
Logan had seen this type of development throughout history surrounding certain cultures that evolved to serve the upper elite who enjoyed the perks of status, while the servants and laborers who were the backbone of their society were kicked to the wolves when the empire faced any kind of calamity. Economic failure fell like a tidal wave upon those aristocratic survivors who had never worked a day in their life, and had no idea how to exist without someone serving their every need. Unfortunately, our own modern world had blurred the lines by populating it with consumers to the point where the average person had no real clue as to how much they actually relied on others to provide for their every need.
The polar shifts may be just another natural cycle of our world that mankind had experienced before; but until now, the lack of evidence of their demise was brushed aside as a tall tale. The remnants of the Kish and their culture told another tale. That humanity had been wiped out to but a handful of survivors who were left to repopulate the earth. Now we were witnessing the approaching shadow that was promising to produce a radical thinning of the herd.
It did make the professor wonder if maybe the world was better this way, since mankind had done so little to protect their environment and merely pursued its own selfish endeavors to pollute and destroy it. Perhaps this cycle of change was just Mother Earth's way of shaking off the parasitic fleas which humanity had become. From his time in the forum of social studies at the university, Logan had come to the conclusion that our present civilization, despite all of its technological advances, was the most synthetic and unworthy since the dawn of recorded time. It was the one single hypothesis he held that wasn't constructed from logic, but from his own gut feeling.
Logan returned to where we sat after his conference with Walter on the ship and enlightened us of the turbulent political atmosphere back home. We were shocked by what he said.
"The good news is that Walter did get a satellite image of a heat burst in the Antarctic region which he believes may pinpoint our location. They are double checking the scans to make sure there were no other false reads. So we may know by tomorrow if they actually found us," Logan offered with grim smile of hope.
I was trusting that we hadn't traveled too far inland so that they could send a helicopter to come retrieve us if they were finally able to determine our current location. Mica began to question why there were six spheres which comprised the original orb the Kish had referred too as a weapon. Logan explained how it may have been more than coincidence within the Sumerian culture itself, which had been lost to antiquity until the 19th century and operated by a sexagesimal system; which in fact we even used today. I was surprised to hear that it was because of the Sumerians archaic science that we still used their mathematical system for measuring time and geographical mapping, such as 60 seconds in our minutes and hours, and why there are 360 degrees in a circle, all which based on their ancient calculations.
I found it to be an astounding revelation that the creation from the minds of a bygone culture could still have left such a fundamental impression in our modern world that most people would never come to realize in their lifetime. That gave me a whole new perspective on Logan and his team of scientists, whose hands drew the s
trings from humanities neglected past. In light of what we discovered of the Kish and the renewing cycles of the earth, it appears we had somehow stumbled upon our own forgotten future.
Logan returned to the raised dais to converse with the glowing icon of the woman who emerged from the ancient device. From their interaction it became clear that this apparatus of the Kish had been asleep for countless centuries, and was wholly unaware of the vast transition of time that had passed while it was left locked under layers of ice. The one thing that Logan was certain of was that this ancient weapon and its six component spheres had begun to awaken from their long sleep which once again began to harness the geomagnetic forces originating from deep within the earth. It had served as a warning device, but what could it do to help us now?
"It is possible that the central core of the device can be accessed from this citadel, but only once it becomes active," the glowing maiden related, "and once it does, you should be warned that it cannot be shut down until it completes is cycle."
That was troubling news, for we were hoping that we could define a measure of control over the device, but the ancient artificial intelligence finally revealed that it had no clear notion of how much time had passed or even what global position the earth was currently in; which was data it required to assist us to that end. We had no way of merging their technology with our own since we had lost most of our equipment, including our GPS device which Alexander had been carrying. We were stuck waiting for the inevitable, which what made Logan have a change of heart about plans for our rescue. I did not like what he had to say.
"We have to stay here..." he began with a sigh of defeat.
"What the hell are you talking about, Doc?" I snapped back, "We could get off this ice block by tomorrow, and you want to do what ...play hero?"
"Allen, please calm down. Unfortunately, he's right," Mica stepped forward to put a hand on my shoulder, "I don't like the idea of it either but it's our duty as scientists to see this through and be here to make the adjustments to the spheres when the time calls."
The steaming emotions I felt quickly dissolved after realizing how selfish and blind I was about our obligations. I was cold and tired and stressed out about the news of the global meltdown, and I didn't want to spend the aftermath of it trapped on a slab of ice in the middle of nowhere. Logan suggested that we would be relatively safe here when the polar shift occurred, but that revelation gave me little comfort.
"I just don't see why you need me here," I began, realizing I must have sounded like a coward as the words fell from my lips, "you could call in several more experts in this field to help you do whatever it is you're going to do," I barked.
Mica's eyes turned sad when I said that, just as Logan's body language gave a weak sigh of resignation. I felt like a jerk just then, but I didn't like the fact that my life had been turned upside down since coming on this ill fated expedition. I was tired and scared, and didn't know how to deal with it other than running away. Whatever it was they held their loyalties too, I just didn't feel like I was of the same caliber. In reality, I just wanted an explanation as to why I should be forced to live up to their expectations.
"I'm sorry Allen, that the prospects of this journey were not fully divulged to you in their entirely. I should have been more honest with you," Logan granted with a heavy heart, "when the times comes I will have Walter send out a helicopter to drop off supplies, and they can pick you up and take you back to the ship where you will be provided with transport back to the mainland at the nearest convenience."
The look Mica turned my way made me feel small. We had shared so much and I thought I was starting to see a new perspective; but maybe a tiger can't change its stripes. I had been groomed all my life to fit into a certain mold, and when the stakes proved to be too high I had proven that I wasn't up to the task. Until this moment, I hadn't realized how weak of character I actually was; and my integrity suffered for it.
"Allen ...Allen, wait," Mica turned to follow me as I stormed away; more disgusted with myself at the moment than with our hopeless situation. I finally came to a stop as she caught up with me, but not knowing what to say. The scowl set on my face was from a mix of emotions I wasn't able to process.
"I, I just can't do this anymore," I yielded to her, "Neither Logan nor Tom ever gave me the full scoop as to what we were doing here, and I feel like this whole thing was a mistake," I rambled on, "I know its stupid and that I would likely be somewhere else when all this, – this bullshit with the world turning upside down, but I don't see how we can do anything here without the right equipment and people who know what they're doing!"
"I understand Allen, I really do," Mica offered with a kind word as she leaned on my back, "but you are the right person; can't you see that?" Her words hit me like a rock.
"I don't know how you do it," I blurted like a baby, with tears of embarrassment welling in my eyes, "the world is coming to an end and we're stuck out being chased by monsters, playing with magic rings and giant stones and whatnot," I stated as I touched the small metal circlet on her wrist she had recovered from the dais, "and I don't know what to believe in anymore!"
"I believe in you Allen," she muttered with a glint of kindness in her eyes, "but are you so afraid of losing everything that you don't want to at least try to help save what we can?"
"But that's just it Mica," I followed with an injured tone, "I don't have anything or anyone worth saving," I admitted. It was only in that moment that I realized how shallow my life had become. I had been living paycheck to paycheck, and running off to escape my regrets without having anything of real value to fight for. I felt hollow.
She kissed me just then. I didn't know why; because I had just bared myself as a whiney coward who was desperate to escape myself and had chosen to abandon them. Somehow, all of that pain and anguish washed away in that moment she held me; as if time itself stopped so that I could appreciate that there was more to life that I was willing to see. I had been hurt before, and trust wasn't something I gave away for free. I had become bias and jaded; which didn't make me a tougher person, but someone far more brittle. I lingered in that moment Mica embraced me, recognizing what had been missing in my life for so long ...someone who actually believed in me.
It was a little awkward when we finally pulled away, but all I could do was start with the stupid questions.
"Why aren't you mad at me?" I spilled as I looked in her eyes while she wiped her lips.
"You needed reminding that there are people right here right now that need you, Allen," she muttered softly; and I couldn't fault her for her honesty.
"Well, Mica, I just..." I searched for the words.
"If you want, I can drag the professor over here to kiss you too if that will change your mind," she motioned towards Logan who was standing in the other chamber. Her slight smile soon turned into a giggle that became infectious.
"Hah, no, nah ...that won't be necessary," I grinned as I peered over her shoulder towards the professor who was conversing details with the interface.
"Time is short Allen, and we may not have much time to get what needs to be done. If you go back to the mainland you might end up just another casualty in what will eventually come," she noted with a raised brow, and I realized that she may be right.
"But I'm not a scientist nor possess any doctorate. I've got no skill sets you guys need to get this done. Hell, I accidentally locked myself in a room for Christ's sake!" I blurted.
"You've gotten us this far," Mica smiled back with a soft look as she took my hand to drag me back over to the platform where the professor was standing. I knew she meant them as words of kindness, but they hit a soft spot when I thought of both Alex and Thomas, who we had lost along the way. The guilt of that still haunted me when I thought about it.
"Ah, there you two are. By asking several key questions I've seemed to have gotten somewhere with this guide," Logan granted as he pointed to the illuminated ghost of the woman.
"Does this work by
some sort of network that we can connect to with the other domains?" Mica inquired.
"Eh, not exactly a network per se, as least not in the way we think of it, but its more of an integration of knowledge which are unique among the other regions of the Antarctica that only share various select bits of information," Logan answered. His analogy left me a bit perplexed, but that was nothing new.
"But will we be able to adjust the connection of these six geomagnetic orbs once the polar shift begins and align them accordingly?" Mica inquired.
"Yes, I believe we will. Apparently there is a control tower at the upper level of this fortress where we can conduct the operation," the professor answered.
This was good news, but we were still helpless to aid the global population suffering the inclement weather and earthquakes which were devastating coastlines and rocking several regions. From what Walter had reported, the death toll was climbing and putting governments on edge because their forces were being mobilized towards non-military endeavors in during the course of conflicts between hostile countries. This left their borders vulnerable, and there were many rogue nations who would take advantage of such a scenario. During this geographic crisis, our civilization was tipping towards another world war.
Logan retrieved the information from the interface so he could draw a crude map of the fortress. From this data he planned our route to reach the upper level. Once we got inside the control room we could manage the alignments of each of the orbs from that main control chamber. The only trick was that we would have to wait until the polar shift finally triggered the central core. In the meantime, we only had a few days of raw vegetables to last us and fresh snowfall which had drifted in from the shattered green house dome that we could melt for fresh water.
We had to wait until late that evening until Logan could once again get the ship's crew back on the air to deliver an update. Unfortunately, political tensions had continued to rise and a few rival states had began bloody conflicts in the heat of the natural disasters. Each district was desperate for food and medicine which they had chosen to gain by use of force rather than put down their arms and help one another. The ugly side of human nature had shown its true colors.
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