by Adam Thielen
“Who?” asked Parsk.
“One of the newer members; one that is attending the summit,” Wu speculated. “If what the AI told Tamra is true, the order may be staying behind to protect the mages, or worse, escaping with them.”
“Fine,” relented Parsk. “I will arrange it.” Some of the other members groaned. “Who are we sending? Is it really wise to send Redstone?”
“That’s why I said two,” Wu smiled. “I will accompany her. I can make sure this stays a friendly visit.”
“Someone else,” said Parsk.
“I am going. For one, I believe she’s right, and if she is, we can’t risk sending anyone green. Plus, sending a council member shows we expect compliance,” declared Wu.
“Fine. Objections?” queried Parsk.
“If he wants to go, it’s better than sending someone who doesn’t.”
“Good luck, Charles. Hope you are both wrong.”
* * *
Tamra only knew Charles Wu by reputation. His years as a warden were marked by several of the highest profile MESS interventions in North America. Many of his missions ended in the death of a mage, but one of his high profile cases involved protecting a mage from an radical group dedicated to cleansing the world of magic. Wu was seen as fair, level-headed, and courageous. He was easily the most decorated and well-known officer in the service. He was also a handsome man, with female officers often fawning over him.
He approached Tamra while she rested on the bench in the wide hall outside the conference room. At first Tamra found it difficult to believe that the council would take her concerns seriously, let alone one of their members accompany her. Her story had to sound far-fetched if not outright crazy. Wu introduced himself unnecessarily, then began peppering her with questions about the fiend, Drew, Taq, Kate, Matthias, and everything else she had mentioned. It occupied their time while they walked to the armory.
“I read your report of the battle with the fiend,” he said. “I have to say it’s very impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“I got the impression from what you wrote that you care about the mage, Taq.”
“I do, Mr. Wu,” she stated. “A lot of officers see them as a liability, a nuisance, an annoyance. I know why we exist though.”
“They are dangerous,” he countered. “We allow them to exist. People with powers others can only dream of.”
“People, all the same. Few mages have real power, and it comes from strength inside them,” Tamra asserted. “I’ll share an insight with you. Taq is powerful. Maybe the most powerful mage alive, but it wasn’t given to him. He destroys himself to push his capabilities. Mage or not, anyone willing to suffer in order to achieve is not to be underestimated. He’s also a good kid.”
Wu chuckled. “It’s not unheard of for wardens to become too sympathetic and try to aid in the escape of a mage.”
“And yet, he’s practically on the loose due to this corporation. If anyone is not taking mage threats seriously, it’s Noxcorp and—,” she cut herself off.
“And the council?” Wu smiled. “It’s alright… and it might be true. In their defense, we are on thin ice here. Despite our own priorities, corporations rule. They giveth, and they taketh away.”
She met these words with silence as they entered the armory, a room with several racks filled with weapons and support equipment. Armaments included grenades of various types, airguns, mag rifles, firearms, blades, blade launchers, shock rods, armored vests of varying thickness and flexibility (inversely proportional), mag pulsers, stealth packs, aug shades, and breathers.
Tamra ran her fingers along a few of the more exotic handguns. “I’ve never been inside before.”
“Council privilege,” Wu started. “Captain’s too actually. Take whatever you want. This may look like an inspection, but we must be prepared for the worst.” Tamra had not followed, in her mind, a worst case scenario to its logical conclusion. She shuddered slightly, then pulled two fire grenades from the rack as Wu raised his eyebrows.
Wu removed his pants and shirt. His body was perfectly sculpted, with the exception of his abs lacking the six pack of his youth. Tamra couldn’t help a fascinated glance, or two. He pulled on a thin woven shirt and pants, then went to the far wall and pressed his thumb against a locker. It popped open, revealing a pair of handguns extensively modified just for him. Wu strapped a harness around his chest, holstering his guns under each armpit. He donned a pair of shades, then buckled utility belt with several pockets.
Tamra took her time browsing the aisles, eventually finding an assault rifle worthy of her use. Its chamber split into three barrels and could use powder, mag, or air propulsion. The gun contained various contingencies such as explosive clips and a protractible blade.
Tamra secretly wanted an excuse to return the favor of removing clothing. Whenever the choice between career or personal life had presented itself, she always chose the former. While perhaps not married to it, she was devoted to the mage enforcement service and to her place in the world. When her shift ended, only her guinea pig Snortle was waiting for her to return to the campus apartments. There were short periods of regrets, but Tamra ultimately lived by her own rules, and for the most part she was content.
Her fantasy of disrobing was thwarted by her preference of armored jackets worn over clothing, and she was already wearing Kevflex Khakis on her legs.
Tamra slid bracers over her wrists that hid small thin blades. They were laced with neurotoxin and extended with a quick flick of the wrist. The last item she grabbed was a tracking dart. It contained compressed air and could link up with her sight implants to enable targeted guidance. In the event they had to fall back, it could give the service a second chance to find the mages.
“Now what?” she asked, having run out of pockets and holsters.
“Now we wait,” he said. “Parsk won’t make the call until we have the itinerary of the Noxcorp council members we believe can be trusted to give us what we want.”
Tamra nodded. “Let’s start going over the plan, blueprints of the building, and the path to the underground facility.”
“Def,” he agreed. “As well as potential resistance. We have files ready on most of the security staff, their training regimens, and armaments. Information freely given, ironically, to facilitate cooperation.”
“Cooperation is the last thing I expect,” stated Tamra. “We’ll show up, and they’ll send us packing.”
Charles adjusted his harness. “This is too important. Few things transcend corporate politics these days, but this is one of them. We won’t leave without answers; this I promise.”
Episode 10: Wild Midwest
Taq stood up and dusted himself off. He had awoken in the same spot Morrison had left him during his last visit. It was still daytime, so either a lot of time had passed, or very little. He heard a voice in his head, “I have done what I could to slow down time while you were gone. He hasn’t gotten far.”
“Drew?” asked Taq aloud as he picked up his revolver. “We were fighting ghouls. I have to wake up. Please.”
“The ghouls are dead. If you get on the horse and head for the train station, I will explain what we must do,” the voice claimed. “You can choose to wake up afterward. But you must hurry.”
“But what is all this?”
“Questions after,” it insisted.
“Fine,” resigned Taq. He scanned the area and saw a horse tied to a post outside Morrison’s shed. It was already saddled. Taq stepped into the stirrup and threw his other leg over. Riding felt oddly natural to him in this world. He kicked his heels down, speeding it along the dry dirt trail along the eastern edge of Tulsa. Instead of riding direct for the station, he found the train tracks and followed them back. As he reached town, he wondered at all the people walking along the road, going about their business in this make-believe world. How many were dreamers, he wondered.
“Start talkin',” Taq insisted.
“This world is a simulation t
hat runs collectively on the brain matter of various people throughout the world while they sleep. I am a caretaker of the machine that makes this possible, a machine you saw before coming here. I myself am not organic, but a computer system. I call myself Drew. I explained much of this to Tamra Redstone.”
“Drew? Why was I in your body, and who’s Amy?”
“I do not know why we share agency,” Drew confided. “You encountered a fiend, and an entity named Tom Morrison damaged me at the same time you dreamt. It is likely connected. Amy… was a person. A dreamer. A friend. Morrison killed her.”
“Do you mean in real life?” asked Taq.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry,” said Taq. “Is that what this is about, revenge?”
“I do not know.”
“You do not know… why you want him dead?” Taq scoffed.
“It is confusing,” explained Drew. “My systems are obscured from self-analysis by design. I will not deny the possibility. However, Morrison created the fiend you killed and is too dangerous to exist.”
“He created it? I thought he was it, was Winter I mean.”
“Morrison existed here before Winter changed and exists here after his death,” continued Drew. “He tried to possess Winter, but it only transformed the mage into a monster. It seems—”
“Wait,” interrupted Taq. “Are Kate and Tamra okay?”
“Tamra is well. Kate is here. She is why we are here now,” Drew answered. “She was attacked by a ghoul. Her aura has been tainted. She will soon succumb to the corruption and become a ghoul herself. The transformation is similar to that which Winter underwent. I have brought her heart rate as low as I could, to slow the change. Kill Tom Morrison, and she might live.”
“Why? How?”
“The corruption reaches through the Ether from Tom to his victims,” answered Drew. “I can see it in this world.”
“If Tom isn’t a fiend, what is he?”
Drew explained that fiends were not actual vampire mages, but mindless ghouls capable of instinctively using the magical abilities of their former selves.
“The mythology of the fiend was concocted by a vampire order to hide the truth. Real vampire mages still live, and we have to stop them.”
“What do you get out of all of this?” questioned Taq.
“I do not understand the query.”
“Why help us?” Taq simplified.
“Morrison and the others must die,” stated Drew.
“Er. I guess that will have to suffice,” replied Taq. “How do I kill him?”
“I suggest a fatal wound upon his body,” the AI answered. “The explosives in the saddlebags of your horse may help.”
“The… explosives?” Taq reached into one of the bags and pulled out stale bread wrapped in cloth. He let it fall behind him and reached in again. He felt a pair of long cylinders with fuses sticking out. He removed his hand and continued riding, now distracted by the scenery. While looking about, something occurred to him.
“Drew, why is the dream in the old west? Why this time period? Why this location?” peppered Taq.
“I do not have enough data to solidify an explanation,” admitted the AI.
“Doesn’t it seem strange, though?”
“What is strange?”
“You just said the world is a dream,” started Taq. “Dreams come from dreamers. Who came up with this? Is it all made up? Humans aren’t alive from this era, and the vampire mages you mentioned would have been imprisoned during this time.”
“I understand the confusion,” Drew stated.
“How do you explain it?”
“I have a few hypotheses. I have also researched it; these places and even some of these people can be historically verified,” Drew revealed.
“What kind of hypothesis?” asked Taq.
“Perhaps the time and place is influenced by a dreamer closer to the machine. Likely a vampire. Or maybe this time and place is a common denominator among memories the dream draws upon. Also likely consisting of vampires,” offered Drew.
“Not very convincing,” Taq evaluated.
“Or,” started Drew. “The dream is dictated by at least one of the vampire mages.”
“Right, but they were already imprisoned.”
“Or not,” the AI postulated.
“Ooooooh. But that would mean… what would that mean?” Taq puzzled.
Taq heard the train whistle shriek. In the distance he saw a long bridge where the tracks crossed a deep ravine. “Dammit. Is the train headed this way?”
“Yes, it has departed the station. You may have to jump onto it,” stated Drew. “I must inform you of something. Your brain is connected to me through a direct neural interface. It was the only way I could ensure you would arrive. I cannot guarantee your safety. Tom Morrison is dangerous and clever. If he can harm you, he will figure out how. He was almost able to corrupt my storage matrices.”
“And you brought Kate here?” roared Taq. “Where is she?”
“As either of you get closer to Tom, I must leave you in hopes it prevents him from sensing you as he was able to sense me in my past encounters with him,” the AI informed.
“Where?” demanded Taq.
“By now, if she was successful, she is aboard the train.”
* * *
The man who claimed to be a machine had left, and Kate was now on her own. She had so many questions, and he provided no answers. With much of her own thought consisting of data streams and calculations, Kate often felt distant from other people. She had given up a lot of ‘non-essential’ brain matter for use in processing algorithms and for data storage that wouldn’t fade the way memories do.
The change to her personality was significant. Wildly emotional as a teenager, her mood swings and passions seemed to wither as she underwent the various replacement and connective surgeries. The silicon and crystalline had become more a part of her than she intended. She wanted to understand how the AI’s own consciousness worked, and how it had come about. Perhaps it would help her understand her own identity.
Kate lurched forward coughing loudly. She pulled a handkerchief from inside her blouse and wiped her mouth. When she pulled the cloth from her face, it was smeared red. Drew had let her know about the corruption. Kate was dying. She thought of Taq, and how she would likely break his heart someday, if not today. “Not today,” she thought.
The train station was active, but not crowded. Several passengers were still making their preparations, stepping onto the train, or waiting for a specific car to board. A man in a small blue hat called out once per minute, “Now boarding!” Kate had hoped Taq would be here to meet her. Her eyes studied every passenger, never recognizing any faces.
Curious, she decided to have a bit to eat before boarding. A young girl walked around the station platform, peddling cookies. Kate took two. The train had moved forward several cars and stopped again. Kate continued stalling by pacing up and down the platform until the very last set of cars were boarding. She couldn’t wait for him any longer.
Kate stepped aboard the train. The AI had given her a description of Morrison and advised her to wait for Taq, but she wanted to prepare. Kate had no gun or weapon of any kind. She entered a dining car and took a seat, stealthily pocketing a steak knife. She looked around to survey the cabin’s occupants. She expected everyone to be carrying a six-shooter, but saw no guns of any kind. The knife would have to do.
The train whistle signaled their departure. The entire car rumbled to life as the vehicle inched its way forward at first. The noise and rumbling was as exhilarating for Kate as the speed was unimpressive. After a few minutes she decided that it was time to find him, Taq or no Taq.
Kate had boarded near the rear, and so she decided to make her way forward from car to car. She came to a door that led to a large gap between the cars. She turned around to see a seated passenger staring at her. She smiled, turned back to the door, and exited onto the car’s outer platform. Underneath the coupling
hooks, Kate’s gaze became transfixed on the ground rushing below, which seemed incredibly fast and incredibly deadly for someone who would botch a platform jump. Kate looked up toward the other car. The edges were less than a meter apart, but to her it may as well have been a hundred. She held her breath, took a step forward and leapt, hitting the door of the second car before her feet touched the platform, bouncing backward and nearly falling back into the gap.
Kate slid the door open casually, revealing Tom Morrison standing across the car staring at her, waiting patiently. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
* * *
“What’s that mean?” asked Koch. An alarm had been tripped on one of the vitals displays for the vampire mage named Brell. Two more staff had joined Koch and Phillip while Robert had left to make arrangements for secret passage to the cold site.
“I set an alarm to trigger if brainwave activity in the orbitofrontal cortex increased beyond a specified threshold, much like I recorded with Karach before he died,” explained Phillip.
“Like Karach? Are you saying he’s dying?”
“It’s possible,” he speculated. “The magnitude of activity took about thirty minutes to reach its peak in Karach. That could be the point of no return.”
“We need to act,” Koch declared.
The scientist pondered while staring at the display. “Maybe I was too late with sedative before. I could give him something now, to possibly switch him off until the danger is over.”
“Do it.”
With his fingers, Phillip dragged various chemicals on a display together. They were represented with color-coded dots with formulae written inside. He resized the icons to adjust the amount of each, then pushed them together, commanding the computer to mix them. Phillip declined to name the new dot when prompted and flung it over to another display that contained representations of the three pods in the room. He positioned it over Brell’s pod and tapped. “Confirm… Yes… Yes, I’m sure, dammit,” he muttered. A moment later, one of the tubes leading to Brell’s pod changed from clear to pale yellow and the substance fed into the mage’s bloodstream. The scientist watched the screen intently.