Of noted concern, they were unable to contact Allen after he had released the core. Logan attempted to hack the sentinel once again at his location, but found the system would not respond. Presuming the worse, they advised Water onboard the ship to send out a supply run to their location; and possibly send a search and rescue party out for Alexander and Allen on their return trip. Professor Logan gave Walt a list of thing he would need so they could resume their work with the orbs; and hopefully assist them to escape the confines of the control room if they were unable to access a way out.
Several hundred kilometers away, a giant black orb broke its way through the ice, sending tremors throughout the area. The dark sphere sat in place as it hovered like a specter of death above the horizon, having risen from its frozen grave. Deep below the earths crust the inner core began to pull at the surface, sending shock waves through the mantle as it tugged on the gravitational pull of the moon. Sea levels rose and swelled to heights never recorded; feeding raging storms that battered the coastlines across hemisphere.
While the catastrophe unfolded the colossal black orb poised above the frigid wastes Antarctica began to turn; adjusting to the invisible magnetic currents streaming from the earths core. Thick clouds around the frozen continent began to amass and swirl about the black orb positioned at the eye of the storm; drawn into its vortex. The frozen shelf entombing the continent of ice began to crack and shatter; breaking free from the ground beneath. Specs of ice first began to rise soon followed by broken blocks floating above the fractured surface of its wind swept plains.
Unseen for ages upon the earth a gravity storm manifested upon the surface of the Antarctica; displacing several thousand kilometers of ice. Loose debris from mountains ranges to the shores hung suspended in air as the energies emitted from the six orbs spreading across the continent created a cyclone of magnetic waves. The ancient device of the Trinity was never designed to operate in this fashion, and the distances between the parted fragments created a colossal gravitational anomaly within the void between them.
"What is happening?" Mica uttered in panic as she saw enormous boulders of ice and snow lifting into air around the fortress. Looking through the crystal walls, it was obvious something remarkable was happening. Logan left the console to stand beside her as he too was left gawking in wonder.
"I have no idea ...could it be that the core is causing this reaction?" he muttered to himself. Mica didn't have an answer.
"We have to try and reach Allen; we have to find out what is happening at the region of the Nif.
Trying as they could, Logan and his assistant set off trying to initiate the original hack they had had made into the Sentinels interface so they could try to reach him again through the ancient information system. In desperation, they tried to find their lost colleague.
* * *
The gravity storm surrounding the active core now suspended above the surface had caught Allen's suspension capsule in mid-flight and slowly lowered it to into the depths below at the rim of the vortex where an eddy of magnetic streams converged. Allen's capsule came gently to rest at the bottom of a great chasm where the overflow from the frozen lake above once drained. Among an island of crystalline cylinders littering the small isle, Allen found himself the newest addition to the collection of the overfilled suspension chamber. A single crack in its casing had been aggravated by the gravity stresses during his decent; and with a creak of weakness the capsule broke asunder.
Allen's limp body rolled out to the ground. After several moments he began to cough and gasped for breath having nearly died from suffocation while locked within the transport cylinder. The black haze lifted from his eyes and with a faint sigh Allen struggled to sit up and took a look at his surroundings. Peering high overhead, he realized he was now at the bottom of the gorge far from the lake far above.
"That ...that's just great," I sighed with a dense feeling of hopelessness sinking into my stomach; knowing that there was no way that I could scale that impossible height back to the level of the lake. Even if I was able, there was nothing left of the complex the central sphere had decimated as it broke through to the surface. I had screwed up royally and there was nobody else to blame but myself.
Gathering my energy to get up and survey my surroundings, it was clear that this place was a dumping ground for suspension capsules; the real question was, what were they for? Brushing off the layers of frost from the large cylinders which were haphazardly toppled together in piles, I notice there appeared to be odd assortments of containers sealed within every one of them. I remembered that the interface called this place Hel, which apparently was a suspension repository. Could it be that in the last days of their civilization the Kish had begun to collect a massive stockpile of remnants from their culture?
It was the only conclusion I could think of, but there was no clear reason why they would have them encased in these thick glass-like shells. It was almost as if they wanted to preserve them individually rather than in some large storeroom or buried crypt. Perhaps this was their way of keeping their societies secrets; or maybe it was just a type of sealed disposal for dangerous waste. Every conclusion that Logan had stated suggested that the Kish chose to use natural non-invasive methods in the operation of their style of technology, so it didn't make sense if this was poisonous or radioactive waste.
The thought of that made me worry. Regardless of any unforeseen danger, I didn't wish to stay here any longer than necessary. I had expected a place titled as the kingdom of the dead to be more impressive; however, this was just a colossal trash bin for countless cylinders. It did make me wonder what the true purpose of the enormous drainage apparatus that once graced the roof above the frozen lake. The only logical conclusion was that it was meant as a cooling bed for the central core, for lack of any other answer I could think of.
I was a little startled to see pebbles and chips of ice floating around me which were gently rising into the air above. I took a closer look through the fissure the orb had created in its violent departure from the lakebed and saw the swirling chunks of ice and rock high above. It was as if someone had turned off the gravity near the orb. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage.
Looking through the graveyard of containers, I found a few that were cracked open like my own. Of those few, the thick crystalline material was mostly intact, and I didn't have anything to break them open with except bits of stone. With luck I finally found one that had been entirely breached by the failure of the casing. Daring to reach inside, I removed several tablets composed of both glass and stone.
I was perplexed. These certainly didn't seem dangerous or the appearance of mere garbage which would be discarded into this massive junkyard. The stone tablets were etched with the same Sumerian scratches that I had seen Logan deciphering before. The glass panels appeared to be made of some sort of fabricated crystal, but instead of etchings like their stone counterparts, they contained colored bars embedded within them. Having no clue as to what they were for or what they said, I chose a few tablets at random and placed them in my coat pocket before wandering off towards the edge of the funnel.
I turned around to peer across the wide chasm to the sound of a rising pitch. A thin beam of light began emerging from the far wall, partially hidden behind thick layers of ice which had formed over the previous millennia. Once the source if light hit the top of the embedded structure, the ice around it shattered and fell away; raining down a deadly shower of frozen debris. Hidden behind the veil of ice was a doorway a hundred stories high which suddenly folded open and slid back into its own recess, and approaching on foot from the darkness beyond emerged a single mysterious figure.
Revelations
The lone figure materialized from out of the gloom and began to slowly approach my position from the far side of the fissure. Curious as to who or what this person was, I pushed myself forward to meet this stranger halfway across the broken field. As we grew closer I could see that this being was wearing a curious set of robes
consisting of and bronze metal plates with a piece of headgear which obstructed its face. It raised its hand as if to greet me; so I mirrored the gesture while standing there in shock as I faced this visitor from a long forgotten past.
It tried to say something in words I couldn't recognize, presumably speaking some ancient tongue. Like an idiot, I shook my head and shrugged, as if that was the universal gesture for not understanding. The being stepped forward aggressively and was taken aback by its change of demeanor as I stumbled and fell while backing away in defense. It loomed over me and suddenly reached for its helmet and pressed the attachment clamps to remove it.
As its helmet came off I saw a blackened figure underneath, wearing a pair of cracked bifocals.
"Sorry lad, I didn't realize you couldn't hear me through the helmet. I've been wearing it so long that I forgotten I had it on. It's quite comfortable actually," Alex muttered as he stepped forward to take my hand to help me up to my feet.
"...Alexander?" I mumbled, not believing my eyes. His face was covered in black soot, looking as if he had walked through a smelter, "How, how did you get here?" I stammered in utter surprise.
"Ah, well after we got separated I found this suit in one of the storage chambers of the Nida, you know, that Dwarven crypt we came across. Anyhow, their race is much smaller than the average Joe; even for my size it was a tight fit, but adequate," Alex answered, referring to his shorter height, "I couldn't find a way to reopen the doorway where we parted so I used this neckpiece here to access the machinery we found in that strange mineral farm, which activated some sort of transport container," he stated while tapping the bronze mantle covering his shoulders.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're alive, my friend," I shook myself back to the reality of our situation, "but we are in a real pickle here," I pointed upward past the edge of the frozen lake and the broken rift open the surface where storm clouds were swirling with giant chunks of ice suspended midair.
"Oh, well now, that is astonishing," Alex admitted as he looked up in wonder at the sight.
"Logan and Mica are at a citadel he called Asgard..." I began until Alex interrupted.
"Yes, I know. I was able to reach them through a crystal apparatus. They told me you were here," he smiled through the grime covering his face, "the transport I found sent me from the mineral farm to another location rife with active lava tubes where I discovered an enormous forge filled with remnants of all sorts of devices made from interesting alloys metals. After exploring a bit I ran into some sort of holographic guide that gave me the details of locations to each of the territories we had yet to discover, and I freed a shackled energy orb in order to get one of those control boards to work again. It was all quite an adventure!" Alex spouted with a grin.
"Well, your little adventure isn't quite over. We still have to get out of here. Do you know a way back ...and what the hell is that you are wearing?" I inquired while distracted by his oddly plated outfit.
"Oh, this ...as I lost my thermal jacket a while back I put this thing on to keep me warm, but it actually acted as vital insulation from the searing heat of the forge," he uttered with a sigh of relief as if he was reliving that hellish nightmare, "that place was hot, I tell you!"
"But can you get us back to the others at the fortress?" I begged him once again.
"Ah, well I'm still working on that little crux. At this moment, I would have to say no," he uttered with a half-guilty glance towards me, "however, it would appear that anywhere is better than here," Alex announced as he scanning the piles of capsules lying around in a jumble as far as we could see.
"Do you know what this place is?" I asked, noting Alexander's primed interest in the blocks and what was contained within.
"The holographic guide stated this place was a suspension repository," Alex responded, "where they apparently stored genetic material and technical information, from what I gathered."
Making our way back into the cleft from where Alex emerged, we boarded a narrow horizontal lift which lowered us farther into the depths; revealing just how deep the stack of capsules were within the fissure.
"This will take us down into the complex of the Nif," Alex advised as he stood before a panel which appeared to connect with his bronze neckpiece.
"I though that region was on the lakebed above," I replied.
"No, I believe the area above was merely a convection bowl for the main core, where they once used fresh water as a type of lubrication for its function. The energized water would be purified and delivered to the bottom of this tank where it was used to activate a series of buried cells deep beneath the crust; like some giant batter. It was actually quite a genius feat of engineering if I say so myself," Alex noted with a hint of admiration in his tone.
The bottom of the lift opened up into a massive chamber where fresh ionized water was now seeping in from portions of the melting lakebed far above. Whirlpools quickly condensed the flows which were redirected into several separate channels. Each one was large enough to swallow an entire aircraft carrier. It was all quite impressive to say the least. The size of the facility itself looked like it could accommodate several hundred thousand or more people.
Alexander led me to the interface he had used to find the repository and grabbed a crystal shard from several laying upon the ground around us to show me how he could hack their systems in order to establish communication. He placed the shard on the interface board and stood before it.
"Apparently this device also works by proximity to the magnetic locks within this neckpiece as we had discovered before. These crystals focus the audio transmissions to their sister consoles across the continent. It was a little trial and error at first, but I finally got it to work so that I could reach the others," Alex advised as he turned to look at me before activating the console. As he did so the familiar glowing hologram of the female guide sprang to life before us and gave its custom introductory.
"Logan, Mica, can you read me? Is anyone there?" Alex tested the transmission band. After several minutes of trying he was able to connect with them.
"Alex, is that you old pal?" the glowing maiden repeated in the sentinels feminine voice.
"Yes, I made it to the Nif and found Allen," Alex responded.
"That's fantastic, we thought we had lost him too," the console related his response, "we are detecting a gravitational anomaly at your location; can you verify?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, we can verify it all right," I responded over Alex's shoulder as he stood at the control board, "the central core has released itself from a frozen lake which was used as some sort of holding tank, and has drifted to the surface."
"Astonishing," Logan repeated over the interface, "we had a supply shipment inbound, but it had to turn back because of the adverse weather conditions. We got a hold of Walter on the ship but he warned us that in light of the approaching catastrophe, our fellow scientists have forwarded predictions tot he Authorities that it would be an extinction level event of such a scale that several governments have abandoned aid to their citizens and began maneuvers for self preservation."
This situation had turned upside down in a heartbeat. Regimes worldwide had started to evacuate to their underground shelters to preserve the continuance of government. Like cowards, they had chosen to hide in their bunkers so they could survive the calamity and deserted their own citizens. It was a sad revelation that those in authority we so trusted, chose instead to save their own necks rather than fulfill their sworn obligations; not just for their own people, but had entirely forsaken the humanitarian crisis in its entirety.
"Wow ...what bastards," I blurted out loud.
"Bastards, yes; I certainly agree," the interface repeated Logan's words, but in the voice of the female sentinel, which almost made the remark comical.
Walter had also related that martial law had begun to wane and led toward a chaotic breakdown of society as people ransacked cities and looted supplies in their desperate fight for survival. On a troublesome note, he let Lo
gan know that there was a pair of military vessels currently approaching their location by sea. Apparently they had intercepted the communications between Logan's party and the ship, and were sent out to investigate.
Walter and the captain weren't sure what to do. If they tried to evade the military ship, it would likely send them too far from the flight range of the supply helicopter they had waiting on the pad. If that happened, their team might be left abandoned forever with no chance of return. That made me wonder how long we could survive here if we were left on our own.
Alex had said that after his rations ran out; he had survived by eating lichen and fungus, and even harvested strange bugs as a source of nutrition. I hadn't realized that the little fellow was such a hardcore survivalist; which left me partially impressed. The small red beetles he had found established their colonies near the active lava tubes. I declined his offer to try one when he pulled a few dead ones out of his pocket.
Cool water started gushing in from the rift below as melting ice poured in from the fractured lake and began to shower into the overspill tank. Unfortunately for us, the tubes to the buried batteries were already choked with ice since the waterworks weren't designed to operate at this temperature, and the level quickly began to overflow the banks. There was no time to delay as Alex and I scrambled for higher ground within the complex to escape the rising water. Out of desperation we breached a venting system and followed it through its winding labyrinth; fighting the drafts of heated air.
"Ah, I need a rest, this suit is heavy," Alex complained as he plopped down in the vent passage.
Islands in the Sky Page 26