Reluctantly, I backtracked and made my way back across the connecting bridge and took a seat upon the soft blue moss which littered the shoreline so that I could contemplate the situation. Common sense told me that the enormous framework attached to the ceiling above the lakebed was some sort of down-spout; and that the source of water could have been coming from a river which once resided on the surface far above. The only other option I had was to explore the path of the overflow, and so I began tracing the banks of the frozen lake. Reaching the edge I found the tip emptied into a colossal reservoir nearly half a kilometer deep. It was near this outlet that I came across several dozen capsules like the one I had arrived in; haphazardly stacked in a pile.
Apparently a few survivors had been out here before in those last days before the race of the Kish vanished from the earth. Searching for clues within the capsules, I stumbled upon a large stack of battery rings like the one Mica carried upon her wrist. It was certainly a favorable find, but not knowing if any one of them still worked, I decided to take as many as I could carry so that I could test them one at a time. The metal rings were uncomfortably cold and couldn't fit more than a few over the cuff of my thick jacket; so in my ingenuity I eventually stacked a dozen of the rings over the tip the staff in effort to haul them easier. Having done so, I started my way back towards the bridge so I could try to activate the interface with one of them.
Carrying the staff as I progresses back towards the bridge, at first I didn't notice the dancing sparks of static emanating from the stacked rings. I circling the shoreline and was making my way across the bridge when I began to realize that each of the rings on the staff were now spinning in place around the metal shaft.
"Uh-oh," I muttered aloud as I tried to tip the rod to slide off the staff, only to discover that they wouldn't budge.
Frankly, in my cold-induced fatigue I had forgotten what had happened when Mica combined the ring she had worn with the staff to reveal the door panel back at the fortress, and realized it had probably been careless of me to stack so many rings that close together. As I tried to pull the rings off one at a time, I was rewarded with a painful shock as I tried to displace them. With a note of urgency, I scurried my way across the bridge as the entire length of the rod began to turn white hot. With only a third of the way left to go, electrical arcs from the overpowered staff began to strike my arm with painful lashes.
Gritting my teeth in agonizing pain, I tried to hurry so that I could set down the staff on solid ground and try to figure what to do next; but a powerful jolt from the energized staff stunned my arm and the nerves in my hand froze open, releasing my grip. The staff and the spinning rings dropped to the floor of the narrow bridge and rolled over the side. Dancing arcs of electricity fingered their way into the air, as if searching for a handhold to save itself. I fell to my knees and peered over the edge as it fell, while biting my lip in remorse.
Arcs of electricity radiating from the staff which reached out and touched the surface of the frozen lake before the sharp rod pierced the ice. I hadn't expected it to bite its way so deeply into the hardened surface as the electrical field reacted with the frozen water. Bright blue flashes raced out across the icy crust of the lake, followed by disturbing cracks as each tremor broke the serene silence of the cavern. Within moments, the lake below erupted in a massive upheaval as the energized staff reached critical mass at the apex of its violent reaction.
I looked from side to side, seeing that the bridge itself was cracking and beginning to collapse and got back onto my feet and started running for the central structure; nearly losing my footing as the narrow bridge crumbled beneath me. Jumping to the edge of the structure, the last remnants of the bridge broke off and fell away into the turbulent lakebed as shards of ice erupted into the air. Great rifts opened up in the place of ice below as electricity clawed at the edges of its shattered surface. Deep within the frozen lake a great deafening moan thundered through the air.
The cavern shook as blocks of stone and ice rained down into the turbulent waters which began to spout through the ice. Daring to peek once again over the edge towards the source of the clamor; not quite believing what I was seeing, within the depths of the frozen waters a giant orb as black as death was bristling with arcs of electricity. It took me only a moment to realize that I had really screwed up and swiftly fell into a state of stark panic.
Rushing back into the control room where the interface was located, I found that it was now illuminated by a ring of lights showing symbols upon it surface which had been hidden during my brief visit before. More bolts of electricity reached up from the lake to strike the overhanging structure; generating enough energy to spark the console to life. A concave pillar rose from its center and a familiar female face sprang to life from pins of light which floated within. After several moments it began to speak, though not in the fashion I had anticipated.
"Logan, it's on," the woman's voice stated, "it connected just now ...Allen, are you there, can you hear me?"
"Um, yeah it's me ...is that you Mica?" I answered to the device.
"Yes, yes, we were worried about you," the sentinel image answered in its own voice, which was not Mica's; but merely repeating her words like an avatar, "we found a way to hack with the interface so that we could communicate directly."
"That's great, but I have to – to tell you something," I stuttered as another jolt of electricity sparked through the interface while I gripped onto the console to keep my footing as the structure shook violently.
"Were you able to locate the core?" she asked through the sentinel interface.
"Yes, but I kind of did something foolish ...I mean I had a little accident," I quickly corrected, "I'm in a structure of some type hanging from a cavern roof and the core is at the bottom of a frozen lake. Well, it's not really so frozen anymore," I admitted.
"We can try to control the interface from our end once it becomes activated; but did you find anything that was blocking the connection to the fifth energy orb?" Mica asked.
"About that," I paused as the room shook momentarily, "are you sure that the main core can only be triggered by a polar shift? Because it seems a little feisty at the moment," I added for color as the groaning noise echoed in from outside the chamber.
"Are you saying its active?" the icon asked.
"I'm not positive, but it may have been awoken by an ample release of energy," I granted with a look of guilt. My eyes turned towards the liquid light above me which began to swirl with a strange rhythmic pause like a heartbeat.
"How did that happen?" the interface responded.
"Something to do with the rod and more than a few power rings," I blurted quickly, "anyhow, I'm trapped inside this superstructure above the exploding lake. How the hell do I get out of here?"
A long uncomfortable pause made me wonder if the electrical interference had shorted out our connection, but the interface finally responded with a sense of urgency in its tone.
"The Mu sphere just went online. I don't know how you did it, but good work!" the icon stated, though I wasn't sure if it was Mica or the Professor speaking.
"Yeah, that's great and all, but I would like to survive this, guys," I begged, "is there a way I can get out of here; like another ejection pod or something?"
"Wait a moment," the interface answered as the room shook violently while I wondered if I actually had a moment left to spare, "we're going to disconnect from the interface at your location so you can ask it yourself; since our hack overrides its internal functions ...okay?"
"Sure, go for it," I spat, knowing I had no other choice in the matter. The face of the sentinel fizzled out several times until it finally began to respond once again.
"Welcome visitor; may the light of the sacred tree fall upon you..." the ancient device began to mumble its familiar introduction.
"...Of the sacred tree fall upon you," I repeated mockingly, "yeah, yeah, I don't really have time for pleasantries at the moment," I interrupted as the buildin
g shook once again, "is there any way to evacuate this facility to a safe distance?"
"There appears to be a disturbance in the base system, please wait while we access the situation," the interface responded as I stood there with my mouth open in shock at being placed on hold by the ancient service.
"Hey! Hello in there, this is kind of an emergency and I don't have a lot of time to wait," I yelled while I slapped the platform now coursing with flickering runes and blazing symbols. Aggravation got me nowhere as minutes passed while the eruptions continued its violent escalation outside the complex.
"We have accessed that his structure is in danger of collapse, please make your way to a departure pod and seek immediate escape," the device offered as an answer as I looked around in desperation, "correction, all of the pods seem to have previously taken, you will need to find another route of escape," it amended its previously suggested course of action.
"Aw fuck," I sighed, "is there anything else I can do from here?" I asked the console, praying for a miracle.
"This facility is utilized to provide coolant for the central nucleus," it answered, "it appears the core has recently awoken from dormancy prior to a terminal event."
I certainly didn't like the words it chose, but I couldn't argue that things didn't look good for me at the moment. The interface addressed its concerns for my safety and directed me to enter a passage behind it, though it was unaware that the passage was blocked by a wall of ice. It kept repeating its request to evacuate over and over until a final jolt of electricity coursed through the device and appeared to short it out. Feeling like an idiot for getting myself in this situation, I ran back towards the entrance to see what was happening below.
Peering over the edge with a sense of dread, I saw the skin of the black sphere rolling with waves of electricity. Its surface was so dark that couldn't tell if it was rotating as I had seen the others orbs do before. The enormous block of ice it had been entombed within all these ages had fallen away. I watched as it began to grow larger, though I didn't realize how that was physically possible until I began to realize the sphere was actually rising towards me. I rushed back into the control room to see if I could possibly crack open the ice to the escape portal within the back chamber, and tried in desperation to claw at the cracks and kick at the wall of ice blocking my escape.
"The core sphere is now activated; anyone in the facility should escape to a safe distance," the interface popped back to life as it replicated its former warning.
"Why can't you just turn that god-damn weapon off!" I demanded while cursing through heavy breaths as I continued to beat at the wall of ice in vain.
"The prophets at this facility have concluded that the energy sphere was never meant to be used as a weapon," the interface answered to my astonishment. I was so shocked that I ceased my antics to take a breath.
"What the hell do you mean?" I asked, "Everyone in the Kish said it was a weapon that was going to be used against them, but they captured it from an apposing army," I heaved as I remembered the knife sheathed on my belt and continued to chip away at the ice with Tom's dagger.
"That was a misrepresentation of the truthful facts which the prophets of this realm revealed during their researched during the last era of their people," the interface answered, "a foreign force comprised of three races we called the Trinity, once visited our shores with a great device they wished to use upon our lands. However, these visitors were not invaders bent on conquering our region; but had brought this mighty tool to help save both their world and ours from its untimely destruction."
At this revelation I was left completely speechless. The shaking had subsided, but the orb outside was growing ever closer to the superstructure situated directly above it. Asking the sentinel what it had meant by its statement, it revealed something the rest of the expedition team had overlooked entirely. The history of the Trinity and their defeat had been recorded with a certain bias; to make the Kish appear as victors of an unnecessary war. To hide their shame, their rulers had altered their recorded history to save face for a paramount mistake they could not otherwise erase.
The sentinel outlined how the prophets who studied the core had learned its true purpose and revealed that it was neither meant as a weapon nor as an energy source which the rulers of the Kish had parted out to each of their clans; but that the intended function of the peculiar device was to reset the natural cycle of the earth's polar shift. The Trinity had comprised of three advanced representative cultures from across the globe that needed to deliver the sphere to a specific geographic location on the planet in order to expedite the earth's natural shift, in their effort to minimize the catastrophic reactions of the climate during the failure of the planet's protective magnetic shield. However, in their unfound fear of this strange civilization which arrived upon their sacred lands, the Kish labeled these visitors as intruders and seized the curious device they labeled a great weapon for themselves; and in the process, unknowingly fated their civilization to its own doom.
The people of the Kish stole this remarkable technology and divided it out among their domains in order to keep peace among their rivals; but each of these realms manipulated the powerful apparatus to their own end, provoking their downfall. They had done this to themselves. It appeared that mankind had carried the seeds of its own destruction by allowing greed and fear to persist in its culture over countless centuries. In the end, the earth was probably better off when the ways of the Kish were erased from history and their society had been left buried and forgotten.
"You also inquired about Hel," the interface declared as an afterthought to its long speech.
"Uh, what the hell do you mean?" I answered with furled brow, as electrical arcs from the rising orb began to penetrate the structure.
"Yes, Hel, the sub domain of this realm," it answered bluntly. I recalled that Logan had mentioned it was the kingdom of the dead or some such nonsense from his collection of myths and legends, "which is currently your only route of salvation. Do we have your permission to deliver you there?" the interface inquired.
"I uh, sure, whatever, do it!" I shouted with a note of apprehension as bolts of electricity surged through the structure, shattering the overhanging foundations.
The wall of ice blocking my way split and fell to the side, opening a gap large enough for me to crawl through to the portal beyond. Finding only a small round chamber lined with crystalline panels within, I spun around in confusion. There were no controls of any kind in the small room; it was another dead end.
"You will be delivered to the suspension chamber, farewell visitor," the voice of the interface crackled before activating the apparatus.
The crystal panels flashed once and I suddenly found myself enveloped in a type of composite glass, or ice, I wasn't sure which. I felt a sudden pressure as the clear block which now encased my body shot up through the roof and jettisoned sideways out over the lake. As the block spun around I could see the massive black orb crushing the complex which had once fed the reservoir below; obliterating it entirely. My nerves struck a note of concern once I saw where I was heading, as my flight sent me over the edge of the banks of the shattered lake and down into the dark abyss waiting below.
Encased as I was, I couldn't move a muscle and was beginning to choke for lack of air. Feeling dizzy, I quickly blacked out. My last thoughts were wondering if this was how I was going to end my short and sorry life, by becoming a preserved specimen to be put on display in some museum thousands of years from now. I certainly didn't like the idea of it.
* * *
Back at the crystal fortress, Mica and Logan were struggling to keep up with the console which suddenly lit up around its entire perimeter. They were caught by surprise when a clear shard of crystal rose up out of the central platform, emanating a familiar voice.
"Is anyone out there?" it called, while the Professor and his assistant shared a shocked glance.
"Who was that?" Logan called over to Mica, though his query had b
een overheard by the crystal transmission.
"This is Alexander Beaumont with the Logan expedition," the voice stated.
"Alex, is that you?" Logan cried in wonder.
"Yes, actually ...I just stated that fact. And to whom am I speaking?" Alex asked.
"This is Logan. Mica is here with ...well, Allen is away on assignment. Where are you?" the professor tried to fit his excitement into one sentence.
"After we got separated, I went back to the machine at the center of the quarry and managed to activate some sort of transport. It delivered me to a place that translates as the Mu, if that makes any sense?" Alexander offered.
"Yes, yes it does! The realm of Muspelheim," Logan responded. It made perfect sense that the domain of the Dwarves would be located near the fiery forges of the Mu.
"Anyways, I stumbled upon one of those giant spheres which they had locked down with an atrocious amount of clamps and chains. While searching around to try and find a way to open communications, I unwittingly released the sphere, which has recently begun to power up. The good news is that it also activated the console here so that I could contact you," Alex granted with a sense of accomplishment.
Mica filled Alex in on the events that followed, including the balloon ride to the fortress of the Asgardians, and having sent off Allen to unlock the central core. Logan informed him they had also been able to reach Walter on the ship, and were able to locate their current position via satellite. With a little luck, they could also determine where to find Alex, unless there was a way he could travel to their location at the crystal fortress.
Tapping into the communications array Alex had activated they were able to contact Walter once again to get an update on the global situation. Things had only gone from bad to worse. Allen's accidental activation of the main core had seemed to coincide with the reported increase of seismic activity worldwide; which led to several ruptures along the ring of fire throughout the pacific basin. Several countries had tipped towards the brink of a 3rd world war; threatening invasion or retaliation as the borders of many nations were overrun by great numbers of the population seeking sanctuary from local disasters during their exodus.
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