by Paul Ormond
“All you want me to do is pour it in to this thing?” XiaoFan asked after she turned away from the burner and looked at Ramon through the visor on her mask.
“Everything is in place. Just pour it into the funnel and it will spread through the device,” Ramon said, his voice muffled by the mask covering his mouth.
“It’s your stuff so you can do what you want with it.” XiaoFan said before she approached a long tube-like instrument Ramon had placed on a table. “Don’t blame me if your equipment doesn’t work.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve done several rehearsals of this process before using smelted aluminum,” Ramon said as he looked over the parts laid on the table beneath the device. “Pour it in and we will distribute the materials.”
“All right, but, once again, don’t blame me if it goes wrong,” XiaoFan said, raising the pot and pouring the glowing molten liquid into the funnel.
“That’s it just nice and careful,” Ramon said while he watched the funnel fill up.
“It’s done,” XiaoFan said, placing the pot back onto the burner.
“You’ve done your job now sit back and watch,” Ramon said before he turned to face his companions. “Dr. Bentley, are you ready to do your job?”
“I’m not sure why I have to do this part?” Christine said, tucking a loose curl of her hair back behind her mask.
“Because you are a neurosurgeon. We need those steady and nimble hands,” Ramon said before he stepped away to make room for Dr. Bentley at the table.
“Yeah, ain’t no way your fat fingers are going to be handling it,” Sanchez said from across the room.
“You keep quiet,” Ramon shot back. “This is not the time nor the place to be trading insults. You stay on your side of the room. We can’t have your tweaky ass getting near this stuff.”
“You just said no insults.”
“I did, and I meant it, now shut your dirty mouth you mangy delinquent.”
“Oh, come on, Ramon, you sure know how to dig the knife in.”
“Both of you need to knock it off right now,” Christine said while looking over the equipment. “This process requires accuracy and efficiency. We’ve only a got a narrow window of time to pour this stuff before it cools.”
“She’s right, Sanchez. Cut it out,” Ramon said.
“You started it.”
“I didn’t start it. I finished it,” Ramon said before turning to Christine. “Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’m ever gonna be,” Christine said while she gripped the handle on the tube.
“You’ve got this,” Ramon said.
“I know. Now back off. I can’t do this with you breathing down my neck.”
“Message received.”
“I still can’t believe I’m pulling off these stunts with you two?” Christine said as she released the trigger on the tube, letting the liquid flow.
“It might. I certainly don’t see anyone holding a gun to your head,” Ramon said with eyes fixed on the molten liquid pouring into the fabricated part.
“That’s the part that scares me,” Christine said as she pulled up the spout. “First one done. Which one is next?”
“Do the hub. It requires the most material,” Ramon said, pointing to a large round section in the center of the table. “Do you feel threatened by me now?”
“I’m not sure if this is the place to discuss our relationship,” Christine said, repositioning the spout.
“I don’t think we have anything to hide,” Ramon said before the liquid metal poured out of the spout filling the hub. “All the work we’re doing is based on your creations. It would appear that you are the evil mastermind here.”
“That may be true. The big one’s done. It looks like we’ll have just enough to finish up the rest.” Christine said while aiming the spout at another part. “I think I’m just questioning my sanity as we go further down the rabbit hole.”
“You know what they say about crazy people,” Ramon said after Christine poured out the last of the material into two smaller pieces. “They think they are perfectly sane.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Christine said, tilting up the tube. “That’s it. We had just enough. Our friend, XiaoFan should be congratulated for preparing such excellent material.”
“She’s been paid well,” Ramon said, looking toward XiaoFan sitting next to her sister on the opposite side of the shack. “How long do you think it will take to cool?”
“As thin as it is, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes,” XiaoFan replied. “There are a few cooling methods, but I wouldn’t want to damage whatever it is you are making.”
“No, we won’t be taking any risks with this stuff,” Ramon said after he set his weight down onto one of the plastic stools opposite the girls. “While we wait, let’s talk about what comes next. Like it or not, we are about to take a major step in our relationship. As Christine can attest, getting involved in our operations is not something one can do on a part-time basis.”
“You have brought this up before, and I told you how I feel,” XiaoFan said without looking up.
“This is the thing, XiaoFan,” Ramon said, lacing his fingers together. “As reluctant as you are to help us, if you search your heart, you will discover this is what you always wanted. The people we are going up against are the same people that locked up your father. We are not the enemy.”
“I understand what you are trying to do, and I already said I would assist you. You do not need to waste your time trying to convince me. I know in my heart what is true and I am sticking with it.”
“I’m not trying to change your mind or pull on your heartstrings. But before we go any further, I just want you to understand that what we are doing is for the good of everyone.”
“There is no such thing as ‘for the good of everyone.’ No matter what we do, some will benefit and some will suffer. That is the nature of the world.”
“Fair enough. So you have to decide who will suffer. Will it be you or your enemies?”
“If I make my enemies suffer, they will hurt my father.”
“Aren’t they hurting him already?”
“You foreigners just don’t understand the way things work around here.”
“I’m not trying to understand how things work around here. I can’t even understand how things work in my own country. That is why we are trying to change things. This technology isn’t something they can use to box us in and keep us in line. It is meant to set us free. Isn’t that what you want? To be free?”
“Freedom is an idealistic goal. We all know none of us are free, and there isn’t a technology in the world that could change that.”
“I had no idea you were such a fatalist.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you feel powerless to change the world.”
“But it's true.”
“That we’re powerless?”
“Not that we’re powerless, but that we can’t change anything.”
“That is exactly what our enemies want us to believe. But any true initiate will tell you that the power to change the world lies within our minds. In fact, it is the only thing that has changed the world.”
“Wow, Ramon I had no idea you were so into philosophy,” Sanchez said, lighting another cigarette.
“Of course you wouldn’t, you simpleton,” Ramon said without looking at his cousin. “Having a conversation with you is like playing one’s guitar to an ox.”
“It’s actually ‘playing a lute to a cow’,” XiaoFan said, cutting in. “That’s an old Chinese idiom.”
“Then you understand what I’m saying?” Ramon said, lighting a cigarette.
“Yes and No,” XiaoFan said, adjusting herself on her stool. “While you seem content spouting ideals, you haven’t displayed any ability to bring these ideas to life.”
“In just a few moments, I will show you just how capable the Cell is of bringing these ideas to life,” Ramon said as he put out his cigarette. “How are t
hings looking over there, Christine?”
“It’s almost ready,” Christine replied while she inspected the parts cooling on the table.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“HOW LONG ARE they going to keep us locked up in here, I wonder?” Mitch asked while he leaned against a cold stone wall at the far end of the sterile room he and his companions had been confined within. “It’s not like we’re criminals or anything.”
“He really doesn’t stop asking questions,” Mitch heard Robert Chapman say from the opposite corner.
“You really don’t want to test me right now. I saved your life, and I could end it just as quickly,” Mitch snapped back. “If you want to go on living, you really should declare what side you are on.”
“I know what side I am on. My loyalty has always been to Earth,” Robert said. “But, if you think about it, wherever our friend Mitch turns up destruction follows.”
“You’ve said enough,” Gerald said, stepping over Robert. “Davis, you still got that sock on you. It’s time to gag this waste of flesh.”
“Not the sock again,” Robert said, making a face. “I’ll be quiet. I promise.”
“One more word, and it’s the sock. You hear me?” Gerald said, leveling a look at his former boss.
Robert nodded his head in agreement before Gerald turned away in disgust.
“One day, very soon, I’ll want to hear everything, but for now we need to focus on where we are,” Gerald said. “Other than Drak’s assurance, we’ve got no idea how this situation is going to turn out. In my opinion, I think we just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. If this planet is occupied by the Master’s forces, then we’re in even bigger trouble. When they learn about our presence here, you know they will come with everything they’ve got to exact their revenge. The fact that we handed over our weapons and assets to these people is driving up my blood pressure to say the least.”
“As painful as it was to hand everything over, I don’t think we had much of a choice. If we don’t play along with them, we’ll damage any chance of establishing a working relationship. Let’s just see what Drak has to say when he gets back,” SoHee said as she rubbed the spot beneath her chin where the cube had sat before she relinquished it to their captors.
“He’s been gone for a while, but I guess he’s got a lot to report,” Davis said, getting to his feet and stretching his arms overhead.
“These guys can’t be too careful,” Mitch said, turning to face SoHee. “They are a resistance army fighting against an Empire controlled by an AI. I’m sure they’ve run up against all kinds of subterfuge.”
“They’ll want to hear all of us explain ourselves individually,” Gerald said. “It’s pretty standard procedure to separate everyone and see if their stories corroborate.”
“I didn’t know there was an inter-dimensional code of spy craft,” Davis said, cutting in.
“It makes sense no matter where you are,” Babcock said as she sat leaning against the wall with her legs crossed at the ankles. “Pull ‘em apart and see if there are any holes their stories.”
“We’ve got nothing to hide,” TaeJun said, piping up. “We just tell the truth, and if they are who Drak says they are, then we should all be on the same side.”
“You better make sure you tell the truth, Chapman,” Mitch said as he traded looks with his nemesis. Robert was about to speak, but he glanced sideways at Davis standing over him.
A banging sound broke the silence in the room, and Mitch turned his head to see the door slide open before two guards wearing white robes stepped into the room.
“Which one of you is Mythic?” the first guard asked, scanning the prisoners through his mask.
“That would be me,” Mitch said stepping forward.
“If you’ll come with us, there is someone who would like to speak with you,” the second guard said, gesturing toward the door.
“This should be fun,” Mitch said, making his way to the exit. “I get to be the first one to be waterboarded in another dimension.”
“You just do as they say, Mitch,” SoHee said, watching him go.
“Don’t worry. I won’t cause much trouble.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” SoHee said as the door slammed.
Finding himself sandwiched between both guards, Mitch was led down a stark hallway in the opposite direction they had been brought in. As they came to the end of the hall, one of the guards made a gesture, and a door appeared in the white wall. Waving his hand, the door slid open, and Mitch saw a passage lined with glowing wires leading into the dark.
The guard stepped through the door without hesitation and led Mitch to an open hatch. Stepping up onto a raised platform, the guard waved his hand again, and Mitch felt a vibration beneath his feet as the platform jerked into motion.
The lift moved in a diagonal fashion along a wall lined with glowing wires before coming to a stop at a metallic walkway that led to an open passage.
Prodded forward by one of the guards, Mitch stepped onto the walkway and followed the lead of the other guard while he turned the corner and entered a wide hall lined with arched doorways.
After passing by a few entrance ways, they came to a stop in front of an unmarked door. The guard pulled his hand to the right, and the door slid open on command.
“Enter the room and take a seat,” the guard said, making a gesture with his hand.
“Just like that?” Mitch asked, confused by the guard’s ambivalence.
“We could cuff you again if it made you feel better,” the other guard said.
“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll pass,” Mitch said before taking a cautious step forward.
“What am I walking into?” Mitch asked, almost to himself.
“You’ll see,” the first guard said. “The captain isn’t one to mince words. So just watch your step.”
“Is that who I’m meeting? Your Captain?” Mitch asked as he crossed over the threshold of the door.
“Just go in and sit down, or we’ll be forced to beat you.”
“Ok, I got the message.”
Stepping through the entrance, Mitch looked over his shoulder as the door slid shut behind him. Alone inside a darkened briefing room, he spotted a single light hung over a long table casting shadows across the room.
“Take a seat,” a gruff voice said from the darkness.
“I’m sitting down,” Mitch said, shuffling toward the empty chair underneath the light. “Look, we’re not criminals or anything.”
“I’ll decide who the criminals are,” the voice said.
“Ok, but we’re not here to cause any harm. I know what you guys have gone through. Drak told me everything,” Mitch said while he peered into the darkness beyond the light.
“Did he now?” the voice said and Mitch heard footsteps moving forward before a robed figure dropped into the chair across the table and flung off their hood.
An older man with graying dreadlocks and dark wrinkled skin stared back at Mitch with cold eyes. The man leaned back in his chair and stroked the well-trimmed beard covering his chin. Mitch couldn’t help but notice the large scar curling around the man’s right eye.
“And what else did Drak say about us, Mitch Mythic?” the man asked, looking sideways at Mitch as he crossed his legs.
“He told me about your struggle against the Masters,” Mitch said, watching the captain. “How they came here and took everything. You and your people are all slaves.”
“That’s an interesting story,” the man said. “But how would you feel if I told you it was a fabrication?”
“I’d be a little confused. Was Drak not telling the truth?”
“The truth is a little more complicated than what your friend told you, I’m afraid. You see, your friend Drak, as you call him, harbors some dangerous views.”
“Are you saying that he is a terrorist?”
“Ha, not exactly. But he happens to be a member of a group of people whose worldview is a little extreme.
”
“Wait a minute, what about the Masters? The enslavement?”
“That’s the complicated part, but let’s not concern ourselves with Chalthantar’s problems. There are some things we need to straighten out.”
“What do you need to know?”
“For starters, I’d like to know how you came to possess this,” the man said before a holographic screen appeared above the table. An image of the staff Mitch obtained in the temple rotated before him.
“Drak and I, alongside a Jarkadian soldier named KiGuan, found them in a temple.”
“Just found them laying about?”
“Not exactly, we had to solve a puzzle.”
“And how did you solve this puzzle?”
“A man named Teron showed us how to alter our environment.”
“Teron? Do you know him?”
“Not really, I mean, I met him and he showed us what to do, but I don’t really know him. I know that he is dangerous. Well, he was. I’m pretty sure he is dead now. He and KiGuan.”
“KiGuan, who is this KiGuan?”
“A Jarkadian, no, he’s actually a mutant. He’s a mutant Jarkadian. You see there is this AI called Mother, and she made these mutants, but she abandoned them and left them to die, but they fought beside us in this huge battle against the Masters. It’s kind of complicated.”
“I can tell. I don’t need to know the details. Tell me more about this power. These items, how many were there?”
“There were three. We all got one each: me, Drak and KiGuan. We brought them with us when we jumped the wormhole, but KiGuan died while defending us, and the staff was lost with him.”
“So the three of you used these items in a battle against the Masters on Jarkadu? What did the Masters want on Jarkadu?”
“They wanted to suck the planet dry. There was this huge machine controlled by Mother. It connected with this pyramid, the same place where we found the staffs. There were these huge snakes, but they were actually what powered the staffs.”
“Ok, that’s fine. I get it. You are a very good storyteller.”
“It’s just a little hard to explain. A lot of things happened, and it was such a blur.”