my golems shall harm you.” The alien was a necromancer: he did not need me alive to interrogate me. I had every reason to ignore him and escape.
Dr. Minmax was a proficient necromancer but he was an excellent illusionist. I kept crawling back to the vent where I saw him below! He chuckled every time, clearly enjoying what had become his sadistic game.
An illusion is a confounding of the senses and nothing more. As magical sensory manipulation it is merely subliminal suggestion. I focused my thoughts and feelings on my objective to escape. I ignored vague notions and mixed feelings for I knew to distrust them.
Things were crawling in the ducts and they seemed to be getting closer. Golems were undoubtedly converging on my location. I peered out vents hoping to find a good spot where I could exit the ducts. I found the room I shared with Meredith. I knocked out the vent cover and dropped into the chamber.
I was neither a Sentinel nor a Scout. I was unarmed. That I dared venture to “neutralize” an enemy who enjoyed every advantage gave me pause. I doubted both my sanity and my wits. I was afraid.
The life of one is forfeit for the common good. I do not question the irrefutable wisdom of the obvious. One of many is insignificant but to be the one is everything. One does not fear or suffer less than many. The death of one is no less dead than the slaughter of a multitude. I did not want to die.
I was suddenly angry with my sister Darya Red. The fool swore to die that I may live. Alas, she perished and for naught! Better that she was alive to help than lost in a pile of lifeless vainglory. I was alone and doomed because of her! I forgave my sister. She did not mean to forsake me.
I tweaked my handheld analyzer into a bioscanner and used it to avoid danger as I negotiated the corridors and stairwell. I marveled at how a short trip proved a long journey when danger lurked. I was surprised how very long a short moment was when things were intense.
I reached the closet where I had found the bodies of the Sentinels. The pile of corpses remained within. I searched the closet but could not find the minicarbines I hoped for. I imagined the weapons being tossed into the trash and rolled away while Sentinels draped over the shoulders of golems were carried to the closet. Regardless, I had wasted time only to remain unarmed.
“Fairuza Blue,” Dr. Minmax hailed me. I considered deactivating the communicator function of my goggles but always hesitated to do so. The sinister alien told me, “Golems are guarding every possible route of escape. Surrender and your life shall be spared. Trouble me with your mischief and you shall die to no avail.” I made no response.
Dr. Minmax rambled, “You are a Concubine Keeper; not a Concubine Sentinel. It is not your duty to die for nothing.”
I am a science officer in the Virgin Army. Ideally, Sentinels protect me so I can do my part unmolested. Should circumstances deteriorate I am expected to adapt accordingly. As a Virgin Soldier I am trained in unarmed combat and in the use of small arms. Though not as proficient in combat as a Sentinel I am expected to fight should the need arise. Unfortunately I was hopelessly outmatched. I knew I must be crafty if I hoped to prevail.
I have a habit of speaking without thinking. I told Dr. Minmax, “Meet me alone and unarmed in the cafeteria. I have a means of knowing if golems are nearby.” I dared claim, “I’ll know if you came armed.”
The alien questioned me with statements, “You are using your analyzer as a bioscanner. Perhaps there is a way for you to know if I am armed.”
Yes, there was a way for me to know if he was armed: should he draw a knife or gun it would be the last thing I see. I answered him slyly but truthfully, “I will know for a certainty if you have a weapon.”
The melodious but somewhat shrill voice of the alien told me, “I shall await our parley alone and unarmed.” He sounded way too smug for me to entertain even the slightest confidence. Why would he need golems or a weapon since he was bigger, stronger and had magical powers? I might as well hop into his arms and ask him to carry me away.
My plan was not foolhardy because I did not actually have a plan. I needed to think of something totally stupid if I was to prevail. I considered the chairs and tables within the cafeteria as objects to my advantage. The chairs were readily available weapons. The tables were obstacles to him snatching me. If the vent cover had not yet been reattached to the vent then I was awarded a possible means of escape. The more I pondered my bad idea the more I committed myself to it. Alas, I would meet the alien on my terms. I hoped for the impossible best.
The tall, slender alien was alone in the cafeteria, his head held high and his posture erect. His hands were pressed together as if in prayer. I was disappointed to notice that the duct vent was again covered, thus, one option of possible escape was denied me.
“Fairuza Blue the Audacious,” Dr. Minmax greeted me. “Scan me at your leisure.” The alien outstretched his long arms but his supposed smile was clearly a smirk. He wanted me to come closer. My skin crawled. I kept my distance. The alien arched an eyebrow.
The alien clapped his hands. He disappeared! I turned to escape but my exit stretched away from me the harder I ran towards it. The alien loomed over me, stretching unnaturally as he did so. I ducked away from his clutches and darted under a table.
Dr. Minmax chuckled, “You are such a feisty little creature.” I scurried away from his grasping hands.
Everything suddenly went dark. I knew the darkness was an illusion because the night vision function of my goggles did not activate. The voice of the alien taunted, “You are the cheap and easily mass-produced clone of the weaker sex of a lesser race. I am beyond you.”
I countered, “My lesser race conquered you. We cheap and easily mass-produced clones of the weaker sex have dominion over you. As one of the Many of One I am beyond you.”
I am a mystical physicist. I understand the science of magical sensory manipulation. I knew the illusions which confounded me were merely illusions. Alas, my distress made me susceptible to sensory manipulation. How strange that our feelings have greater sway over our thoughts than does our actual knowledge.
A Concubine Sentinel channels her thoughts and feelings into mindless and dispassionate obedience. This discipline hardens her against distraction, hesitation and fear. I am not a Sentinel.
Yes, I am moody and my thoughts wander. Alas, I am especially vulnerable to the subliminal suggestions of a sinister magician. I can also be stubborn and pugnacious. I growled and shook my head. I screamed as loud as I could. The illusion shattered and I could again see and hear clearly.
I hurled a chair at Dr. Minmax but he smacked it aside. I leapt onto a table and lunged at him. I remember him cringing. I tackled the alien but he did not fall. I clung to him, grappling, biting and clawing like a crazed animal. He wailed and thrashed about, trying to escape rather than fight.
A Savant is twice as strong as a human of the same weight. I was smaller than Dr. Minmax. How I prevailed befuddles me still. Alas, those who were not there explained to me what happened as best they could. Savants are stronger than humans but they are not warriors. Dr. Minmax was terrified by my sudden aggression. As I assailed him he panicked and ran into a wall and knocked himself unconscious.
I remember the golem janitor finding me and Dr. Minmax on the floor. The automaton asked me, “May I help you?”
I answered him, “Yes. Bring me a roll of industrial tape.” I bound and gagged Dr. Minmax and had the golem carry my prisoner to what had been my quarters.
The golems caretaking Shadow Station 13 were never entirely under Dr. Minmax’s control. They only followed simple and immediate commands. They preferred their routines and would wander back to them if called away from them.
I deactivated the enervation field and retrieved my satchel. I was having my prisoner loaded onto the entomopter when I happened upon my fellow Keepers bound and gagged within. They were sedated and I let them sleep. I supposed Dr. Minmax intended put us Girls in Blue to work to help him utilize our data he was stealing. Alas, he did want me alive after all.
I made my report and was commended for my resourcefulness. My prisoner was taken into custody and I assume he was rightly punished for his crimes. I know the golems caretaking Shadow Station 13 haunt it still.
Fairuza Blue Page 8