by J. N. Chaney
In the early hours of the morning, before the first of the two suns had risen, a sound erupted from the other cell, followed by the voices of the guards.
“He almost lost the ghost,” said one. “The Lord would have been angry.”
“Put him there,” said the other.
Terry crept to the wall, waiting for the guards to leave. They slammed the door, shaking the stone floor, and finally left. He listened closely, focusing his mind, filtering out whatever he found unimportant.
After a moment, he heard breathing, slow and steady, fused with the beating of a healthy heart. There was someone there, but was it Ludo?
“Hello?” whispered Terry to the wall. “Ludo, can you hear me?”
No answer.
He raised his voice a little. “It’s Terry. Are you there?”
The body on the other side let out a soft moan. He’s alive, thought Terry. “Ludo!”
“Terry…” muttered his friend.
“Are you alright?”
“I must…” His voice trailed a bit, like he was about to pass out. “…Ysa…” His breathing slowed again, this time replaced by a light snore. He must have been exhausted.
The night crept by, but Terry couldn’t sleep. His thoughts were on his friend, and he burned at the possibility of what those men had done. What reason did they have for doing any of this? What had Ludo ever done to them? Why had they called him a traitor? He was only a simple farmer, living peacefully with his family…wasn’t he?
Of course. Anything else was absurd.
******
Somewhere on Kant
January 18, 2351
Much to Terry’s relief, Ludo was still alive the next day. He did not wake until the midafternoon, however, and so Terry waited, listening from inside his tiny cell.
When Ludo did awaken, he let loose a series of violent coughs. Between outbursts, Terry asked him questions. “What is this place? Where did those men take you? How do we get out?”
Ludo gave short answers. This was a Xel prison. The men had taken him to a healer because of his wound. There was no escape. Not yet.
“What do they want with us?” asked Terry.
“They have Ysa,” said Ludo, clearing his throat. “They will make us slaves or kill us.”
“What about Talo?” asked Terry.
“I don’t think they caught him,” said Ludo. “I taught him to go to the cliffs behind the valley, to the cave near the water. He will wait for us there.”
“How long will he wait?”
“A few weeks. If we do not meet him, he will go to my sister’s home in West Lake. She will look after him.”
“I don’t understand any of this, Ludo. Why did they take Ysa?”
“Ysa is a priestess. She flies higher than most. She is sacred. You saw her in the field. You know.”
Terry remembered the fight at the farm between Ysa and the purpled-eyed man. They were unstoppable, the both of them, fast and strong like gods. Each of them put Terry to shame. Was that what flying meant? To do what Ysa had? “How do I fly?” asked Terry.
Ludo coughed and spat, gurgling phlegm in a desperate attempt to breathe. It took him a while before he was able to continue, and when he did, his voice was hoarse and dry, cracking between words. “It takes a long time to fly like Ysa,” said Ludo. “Many years are needed. Meditation and study. All the days must be filled with study, but most can never achieve it. Ysa was born already flying. This is why she is special.”
“But you meditate all the time,” said Terry.
“Everyone has it in them to fly. Some are natural fliers, but each of us is capable. Until the ghost is gone, we must try to touch the sky.”
Terry thought of the meditation sessions. If only he had more time to study the practice. He was getting so close to understanding.
“Ludo,” said Terry, pressing the corner of his forehead to the wall. “I’m sorry we’re here. I’m sorry this happened to you and your family.”
“Thank you, my friend,” said Ludo, and then he was quiet.
A few minutes later, Terry heard snoring from the other side, and he dared not wake him. Ludo deserved his rest.
Terry crossed his legs, put his hands atop his knees, and closed his eyes. He performed the breathing exercises he’d learned from Ludo and Talo, and attempted to clear his thoughts.
He didn’t think this would accomplish anything meaningful. After all, sitting quietly with his eyes shut hardly seemed proactive. It was something to do, he figured—better than talking to a make-believe four-year-old. More productive than dwelling on problems for which he had no solution.
Better this than going mad.
******
Ortego Reconstruction Outpost
January 18, 2351
Framling Coil twenty-three was finally up and running—the first piece of the final set of installs surrounding the Ortego site. If Mei’s calculations were correct, and she wasn’t sure they were, this would bring the radiation levels down enough for her team to get in there and find the source.
Whatever that entailed.
Mei and her people had driven to within a few hundred meters of the Ortego facility. They waited, geared and ready for the flippies to finish installing the final coil. John and Bart stood beside Mei, while Zoe remotely operated Dee and Dum from the back of the Dirt Cab. “How’s it coming?” called Mei.
Zoe poked her head over the side of the cab. “Any second. Hold on.”
“Think this’ll work?” asked John, glancing at Bart.
“You questioning my craftsmanship?”
John held his hands up. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good,” said Bart with half a grin.
“Remember, when the coil goes live, don’t rush in,” said Mei. “Let the flippies run their scan. We need to make sure—”
“Don’t worry, Doc. We’ll do this by the book,” said Bart.
“There’s a book for this kind of thing?” asked John.
Bart cocked his brow. “I’ll send you an autographed copy when I’m done writing it.”
“No accidents,” reiterated Mei.
Bart nodded.
“Okay,” said Zoe. “A few seconds and...we’re good! Fever Killer twenty-three is up and running!”
“Do a radiation test as soon as you can,” ordered Mei.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Zoe. “This will only take a minute or two.”
Mei took the time to recheck the seals on her suit, then John’s. He didn’t argue. No more accidents, she told herself.
After ten minutes passed, Zoe called for the others to gather at the rear of the vehicle. “So there’s a few things.”
“Is this a good news and bad news kind of situation?” asked John.
“Sure,” she said. “First, the radiation levels are low enough for us to re-enter the area. The only problem is they’re fluctuating.”
“Is that the bad news?” asked John.
“Depends,” said Zoe. “I don’t know what it actually means.”
“It means it’s not stable,” said Mei.
“Maybe, but it could be nothing,” suggested Bart.
“We’re not taking the risk unless we’re certain. Zoe, continue monitoring the radiation levels. Give it a few hours. If they stay within an acceptable range, we’ll move in.”
Zoe didn’t argue.
It killed Mei to wait. She wanted nothing more than to get back to work—her real work—but she’d do it the right way. The safe way.
She was done taking risks.
******
They waited three and a half hours before Mei was satisfied with the readings. They stood in the afternoon sun, baking in their suits. She gave the go-ahead to enter the Ortego site, but ordered everyone to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Zoe would stay with the Dirt Cab, monitoring the rad levels in case there was a change. The rest of them would work, and they would do it quickly.
<
br /> The primary mission for now was to determine where the source of the radiation was coming from. She and Bart had used the Framling Coils to triangulate the flow of radiation. They finally believed it to be somewhere in the basement level of the destroyed facility. They’d have to go there themselves to investigate, since the coils on the surface couldn’t read anything underground.
Bart had to craft a more efficient sensor using some spare Fever Killer parts. These new scanners would allow Mei and her team to detect local radiation levels. They could also indicate which direction the flow was coming from. Handy little machines, to say the least.
Zoe also worked at outfitting the rad suits with night vision and infrared. John had suggested using parts from military-grade goggles as her foundation, which turned out to be a good idea. The suit’s visor now displayed the different visual choices. Like the goggles, switching between the different sights required the use of a physical switch. This made the suits look a little awkward, but Mei would take functionality over aesthetics any day of the week.
Zoe soon activated as many flippies as possible, including Mortimer and Stanley. She stationed them throughout the grounds in an attempt to track the radiation levels. It was difficult, because the flippies weren’t built to perform precision scans. They wouldn’t do the whole job, but they could still detect any major spikes, should they occur. Mei hoped to use some of the flippies to continue excavating the site while her team worked on their current task, but she couldn’t afford the risk. Until she had a better handle on this situation, safety would remain her top concern.
John tied the end of an extendable ladder to a spike, which he nailed into the ground. He checked its stability with his own body weight, then waved the others to him. “Ready when you are,” he said.
“Let’s go,” said Mei, and grabbed hold of one of the ladder’s metal bars. She took the lead and descended into the cavernous basement of the Ortego facility. It had been several years since she and John had been inside these walls. A lifetime ago. Yesterday. Talk about déjà vu.
The others followed shortly afterwards, climbing one at a time to ensure the ladder held. When everyone was on the floor and ready, Mei and Bart retrieved their scanners.
John insisted the trio stay together through the mission. This place was a tomb, filled with the dead and ready for more. There were so many things that could go wrong in a place like this. The radiation levels might spike at any moment. The walls could collapse and bury them alive. “Sticking together means there’s less of a risk we’ll run into trouble,” he had said. “Progress might be slow, but it’s safer this way.”
The scanners detected the flow of the radiation through the corridors. They indicated the general direction of the source, but the range was severely limited. While the coils outside could handle roughly fifty to sixty meters, a handheld scanner couldn’t detect more than a few dozen meters. It gave them an idea of which direction to go, but not which hallway to use. This caused a lot of backtracking as they discovered several collapsed or blocked passages.
Throughout the afternoon, Zoe radioed Mei with updates on the radiation levels. There had been a few spikes, but nothing to worry about. Not yet.
“This way,” called Bart from inside one of the rooms. Mei followed, checking her own device as she moved. The flow of radiation was definitely coming from this direction, growing marginally stronger.
This room was yet another server farm. The flippies had scavenged part of it before things got out of control. Roughly a third of the basement levels were filled with places like this—ancient data hubs filled with a litany of potential secrets.
On the other side of the servers, a set of double doors stood waiting. The left side had taken some damage, cracked and unhinged. Bart opened the right door, swinging it wide and holding it for the others.
The next section appeared to be an office, roughly one thousand square meters. The ceiling was lower than the server room, but higher still than others. If not for the massive cluster of cubicles and supplies sitting in the center of the room, crushed together like a massive ball of metal and plastic, Mei might have thought nothing of the place.
“What the hell is this?” asked John. “All the furniture’s been moved. Did the flippies do this?”
“I don’t think so,” muttered Bart. He looked at Mei, as though he doubted himself. Perhaps he hoped he was wrong.
She shook her head. “They haven’t touched this one yet.”
“What’s the scanner say?” asked John.
Bart held the machine, taking a moment to analyze the readings. “Hold on a second…”
“What is it?” asked John.
Mei looked at her own scanner. The radiation in this room was higher than anywhere else. It was barely within safety parameters. “Crap,” she said.
“Crap is right,” said Bart. “If there’s even a slight spike, we’re toast. These suits can’t take anything higher.”
“What do we do?” asked John.
Mei approached the debris in the center of the room. As she did, the sensor’s warning light beeped. She quickly backed away. “This is it.”
“You’re sure?” asked John.
She nodded. “I think this is where the radiation is coming from.” She walked along the outer area of the room, keeping her distance until she was on the opposite side. Once there, she stepped a few steps toward the center. The sensor beeped. “See? This is definitely the spot.”
“We should get out of here,” muttered Bart. “We can come back when we have a plan. It’s too dangerous to stick around talking.”
“Right,” said Mei. She rejoined them on the other side and together they walked swiftly through the server room. “Bart, as soon as we’re home, I want you to work on building another coil.”
“Another?” asked Bart as they reached the hall. “What for?”
“We’ll place it there,” she said, pointing behind them. “Not too close, but enough to make a difference so it’s safe.”
“Not sure if you remember, Doc, but your typical coil is too tall for a room like that. They also drill themselves into the ground for stability. How do you expect to put one here?”
“All you have to do is make a few modifications, like you did with these scanners.”
“Yeah, Bart, don’t be so dramatic,” said John, grinning.
“I guess I could put something together,” he said. “But I’ll need some time. A few days, maybe.”
“You’ve got one!” snapped John, raising his finger.
“Take all the time you need, Bart,” said Mei. “I’ve got my own work to do.”
Chapter 14
Ortego Outpost File Logs
Play Audio File 419
Recorded: January 18, 2351
CURIE: Doctor Tremaine, this is Mei Curie calling with a status update.
TREMAINE: What do you have for me today?
CURIE: We managed to locate the origin point of the radiation. It’s coming from underneath the Ortego ruins in one of the sub-basements. We’re working on a way to contain it.
TREMAINE: Sounds like good news for everyone. When will you be able to shut it down?
CURIE: Bartholomew Higgs, one of my engineers, is working on a solution using several Framling Coils. The rest of my team and I are working on a more permanent solution.
TREMAINE: And what exactly is the source?
CURIE: My best guess is an Ortego experiment. It may have been dormant until recently.
TREMAINE: I see. Do you have any idea how long this will take you?
CURIE: A few weeks. I’ll have more information soon.
TREMAINE: Sounds good, honey dear. So long as you keep me updated, we shouldn’t have a problem.
CURIE: A problem?
TREMAINE: Don’t worry about it. You’re fine. Keep up the good work.
CURIE: Yes, Doctor.
End Audio File
Ortego Reconstruction Outpost
January 18, 2351
Mei wasn’t a fan of half-truths and keeping secrets, but she didn’t see much choice in the matter. Doctor Tremaine had asked if Mei had a plan to stop the radiation and she’d told her boss part of the truth. But she wanted to do more than shut the problem down. She wanted to understand it.
Of course, if Tremaine found out, she might try to stop her and call them all home. Mei couldn’t risk that. For now the plan stayed a secret, locked inside her brain where no one else could see. When the time was right, she’d tell her team the truth but not yet—not when Tremaine could still find out and stop her.
Mei ordered her team to assist Bartholomew with his work, but he declined, saying he worked better on his own.
She didn’t argue.
While she waited, Mei and Zoe returned to the Ortego site. Together they had the flippies retrieve as many Ortego Disks as possible. They unloaded several floors’ worth of server farms and offices, scavenging hundreds of disks in the process. Most of them were broken or trashed, but a few still functioned well enough. If nothing else came from all this, at least she’d have something to show for it.
Mei also took the time to visit and analyze the irradiated pile of trash in the basement. She couldn’t get close to the source without risking injury, so most of her progress remained theoretical. She came up with a myriad of ideas for what could be causing the radiation—even a few potential solutions—but she couldn’t test them. Not without Bart’s machines in place to impede the radiation.
But for now, she imagined the possible scenarios and how they might unfold. What could possibly force the furniture in that room to crash together and stick? Why was it emitting such large amounts of radiation? Why this location and not somewhere else, like a lab or some other place where a dangerous experiment might take place? Why an office?
These questions lingered in her mind for hours, and she tried coming up with one solution after the next, but nothing fit. It was infuriating. She lay awake for hours, contemplating possibilities.
Her thoughts brought her back to the place where it all began. She remembered the journey here, the path through the city towards the Ortego headquarters. The image of the void, trapped behind the glass cylinder, circled in her mind, clawing at her thoughts. She pictured herself standing outside the facility with John, watching the implosion…seeing Terry die.