The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  Troy laughed, scratching his head. “A bit longer than I wanted.”

  “Wuss,” Gavin taunted.

  Troy nodded slowly. It seemed that the hologram was the latest model. As strange as it was, Troy was glad Bio-Tech had been able to gather enough DNA and other samples in order to facilitate the use of the hologram. He wondered if Gavin’s mother had been back to the cemetery since. Judging by the overflow of flowers surrounding the memorial, it was safe to say someone had been regularly visiting. Hell, he was surprised the woman hadn’t just moved in and made camp. Things like the holograms were meant to ease the pain of a passing loved one, but Troy often felt they were a little too real. It almost made it worse. And as he looked at the swirling caramel color of Gavin’s irises, Troy couldn’t decide yet whether or not he liked the thing.

  ‘What if it were Aria?’ Troy’s mind darted to the thought of visiting Aria’s grave. He quickly dismissed the idea.

  “So, how are things?” Gavin asked. “You look like hell.”

  Troy glanced around at the colorful trees decorating the land. “Aw, you know…still fighting monsters.”

  “You still haven’t defeated those things? What have you been doing this whole time?” Gavin asked with a sarcastic edge.

  “Hey! It’s tough, man! Those things are...” Troy paused, “bastards. They’re goddamn bastards.”

  “And what of that weird guy? What was his name again? Do-do?” A confused look crossed his face. Casually, he waved a hand through the air. “Ya know…the magician guy.”

  Troy pursed his lips together, giving a snort. “Do-do? You mean Dovian?”

  Gavin snapped his fingers, smiling. “Ha! Yeah! That guy. He still helping you out?”

  Troy’s smile faltered. “Uh, I’m not really sure.”

  “Naw! Forget him! How ‘bout that blonde chick?” The pilot eagerly leaned forward, his hands resting on the tombstone. “She is somethin’ else, isn't she?” He whistled.

  “Yeah, she was,” the other man nodded.

  “What do you mean was? Did you scare her off like you did all the others?!” The hologram gave Troy a playful look. Then Gavin slapped his forehead. “Oh, dude…you didn’t wear the bikini chainmail armor in front of her, did you?”

  Troy cringed at the memory. “Stop bringing that up! You’re never going to let me live that one down!” He laughed, covering his face. “That was the worst day of my life.”

  Gavin guffawed. “Best bet I ever won and best use of an entire paycheck ever! It was worth the cost to see you train the new recruits in it all day!”

  Troy and Gavin’s laughter slowly faded into a couple of snickers and sighs. After a while, the two stood silently, the only sound being the wind brushing against the leaves of the surrounding trees. Gavin waited to hear more, but Troy did not continue. Acting a little anxious, the replica folded his arms. “You aren’t all that talkative today. What’s that all about?”

  Troy shook his head. “I’m sorry. This is hard, man. You’re just…” he rubbed his bloodshot eyes, “…you’re just too much like him.”

  The pilot looked down at himself. “Well, that’s kinda the point, ain’t it?”

  “I know.” Troy glanced to the sky, slowly blowing out the air in his lungs. “I really wish you were here. Things have gotten so crazy. I feel like I’m losing my mind!”

  “I am here!” He held out his arms. “Well…kinda.”

  Troy gaped at the hologram. How much of this image was just an image? Bio-Tech was capable of cloning. Was there any chance that the DNA used to maintain likeness and memories was cloned so much to the point that the hologram was a new and different form of Gavin? The thought was a little unsettling.

  “Go ahead and ask all your heebie-jeebie questions. I know you got ‘em.” The pilot twirled the cigarette between his fingers.

  “How much of you is really…you?” Troy asked.

  Gavin laughed. “How in the hell should I know?”

  “You told me to ask you!”

  “I’m not some scientist!”

  Troy gave his friend an annoyed look.

  “Alright, fine. I’ve got the typical amount of DNA locked up inside this device.” He tapped the back edge of the tombstone. “Anything happens to this baby, and I’m gone. They say the DNA exposes my memories and mannerisms. Other than that, I can’t really tell you much. For as splattered as I was, it’s amazing they had enough of me scraped up to put into that box.”

  “Hey! You watch what you say!” Troy growled, pointing at the hologram.

  Gavin held up his hands. “Hey, asshat! I can say what I want; that’s my body under there. And you know just as well as I do…hologram or not, I woulda said that.”

  Troy’s anger eased. He stared at the image, his nose crinkling. “Fuck, man! Why?” He crouched in front of the stone, finding it hard to look at his friend. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, Troy fought back his tears. “I need you with me. I can’t do this shit all alone! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to win this war? How am I supposed to keep her safe?”

  Gavin was silent.

  Troy finally let go, two heavy tears falling to the ground. “I’m so useless! She almost died! You told me to keep her safe, and I died on her…twice!” He lifted his head, his eyes widening. “Shit, man! I died twice! Why couldn’t you have gotten a second chance?”

  Gavin stared forward, his expression unreadable. “Just wasn’t my day. You can’t dwell on me. You need to worry about keeping yourself safe.”

  “I’m sorry, Gavin! I didn’t even try to save you! I couldn’t do anything about it! That bastard!” Troy snarled, fighting to hold back his emotions.

  Gavin shrugged. “Wasn’t anything you could do. You can’t control assholes. The black-haired freak was out for the kill.” There was a pause for a second. “At least I got him, right?”

  Troy grimaced.

  “Aw, please tell me I at least got that bastard!” Gavin groaned, covering his face.

  What should he say? Gavin was just a hologram, but Troy still didn’t want to hurt his…or its feelings. He didn’t want Gavin to feel like his death was utterly meaningless. But then again, Gavin could always tell when Troy was lying, and he at least deserved the truth.

  Letting out a harsh sigh, the soldier stood and shoved his hands into his pockets once again. “You would have gotten him if it weren't for his teleporting capabilities. Apparently, he escaped right before…impact.”

  “Jesus tits!” Gavin shouted. “I fail! I failed at dying! I couldn’t even get…GAH!”

  Troy couldn’t help but smirk.

  “Freakin’ worthless...” the pilot grumbled.

  “You’re not worthless. Don’t ever think that,” Troy quickly said.

  “Ah, well. Seeing as you are still alive, that means I at least posed as a distraction.” Gavin tugged on the front of his leather jacket, giving a proud grin.

  “You definitely ruined Euclid’s day, and you did save our asses. Thanks, Gavin.” Troy frowned. Would talking to this hologram even mean a thing?

  “Eh, don’t get all mushy on me.” Gavin scratched his head. “So is that Euclid guy still runnin’ around?”

  Troy gave a small laugh. “Naw. Dovian blasted his head into a million pieces.”

  “Brutal!” Gavin hooted, clapping his hands. “Wish I coulda seen that!”

  “It was pretty gross,” Troy chuckled. “Had a nice blast radius.”

  “Didn’t get ketchup on your shirt, did ya?” Gavin raised a brow.

  “Heh, maybe even a bit of meat and potatoes.” The soldier mockingly wiped his hands down the front of his coat.

  Gavin gave a loud, drawn-out laugh. “HA---A! Ghastly.”

  “Nightmarish, for sure,” Troy agreed.

  “Well, I’m glad someone was able to take him out. So if he’s out of the picture, then why are you still dealing with monsters?” Gavin questioned.

  Troy halted, replaying all the events. Gavin had died so soon in their missi
on. He had no idea about Sapphire or anything that occurred after their first trip to Ives.

  “Long story?” the hologram asked.

  “Very long. Scan?” Troy raised his wrist.

  Gavin eyed Troy’s wrist. He gave a guilty smile. “Why the hell not?” For a second, Gavin’s demeanor changed, reminding Troy that he was merely a hologram and not the real thing. Blue lines darted from Gavin’s eyes to Troy’s wrist. With a flash, all of Troy’s collected data was copied from his wrist and into the tombstone’s memory device. There was a pause after everything had loaded, and Gavin’s face lit up with amusement once again. “That was interesting.”

  “You know the story now?” Troy asked.

  “I get the gist. That little girl is creeptastic to the highest.” He shuddered.

  “You’re telling me.”

  “I see you’re using my best pupil.” Once again, Gavin stood tall and proud.

  “Oh, Aren?” Troy asked. “Yeah. He’s a good guy. He’s really pulled through and has proven to be quite the skilled pilot. You taught him well.”

  “Good replacement.” Gavin nodded firmly.

  Troy’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing will ever replace you, man.”

  The pilot staggered slightly, eyeing himself once again. “Guess an imitation ain’t much either, huh?”

  “You’re fine! You’re…great…I…how the hell do I respond to that?” he asked, exasperated.

  “Just messin’ with your head is all!” Gavin teased.

  “Don’t make me feel bad. I already feel like shit,” Troy muttered.

  “So what’s your plan?”

  Troy cocked his head to the side. “Plan?”

  “Yeah! You’ve got a psycho child out there killing people, and you’re in here talking to me? Where’s Aria?” At the mentioning of Aria’s name, there was a fleeting glitch. Gavin’s body wavered, his face becoming emotionless. It happened so fast; Troy had nearly missed it. “Aria,” Gavin stated again.

  “Home. She’s at home. We’re meeting up today to plan our final attack against Sapphire and her army. We’ll be bringing the battle to us. All we got to do is figure out when.”

  “You left her alone?” Gavin asked.

  Troy was taken aback by Gavin’s question. “Uh, she’s got Team Phoenix with her.”

  “You go straight back to her once you’re done talking with me. I don’t want you doing your mopey shit. Stay away from the bar,” Gavin lectured.

  “Okay, okay! Sheesh…” Troy grumbled.

  “I’m not around anymore to take care of her.” Gavin’s voice faded out. Troy looked at the projection curiously. “That’s rough to deal with, but it’s your job now. I know you’re the best man for it. Always have been.”

  Troy rubbed the back of his neck, his expression twisting. “I’ll try my best. Believe me; I’d always risk my life for hers.”

  “Don’t be so eager to. Just take care of you both, ya know what I mean?” Gavin looked upward toward the sky.

  Troy nodded in understanding. “We’re fighting this war together. We’re going to survive. We have to. I just wish I had all the answers, you know?”

  Gavin grinned, his eyes still plastered to the sky. “Aw, you know me. Anytime I needed answers, I always looked to the sky.”

  Troy lifted his gaze, the harsh sunlight blistering against his eyes. He held a palm over his brow, peering at the clouds that momentarily blocked out the glowing white orb. “The sky, huh?”

  Gavin’s form fluctuated once more, a vibration disrupting the feed. Troy caught the disturbance again as the cloud moved away from the sun. The militant’s mouth dropped, his eyes widening. There had been a lot of electrical disturbances lately.

  In Saray, right after they had barely won the battle, Troy was sitting at the bar watching a football game on the vid screen. Before that, however, the channel had been set at a science conference.

  “I do believe that the solar flares are the cause of the recent electric bursts that have plagued our satellites as of late. After years of study, I have concluded that the sun’s magnetic reconnection is increasing exponentially. The solar arcades are ever-increasing within the areas of closely contained loops of magnetic lines of force, creating an enormous helix of magnetic field that is unconnected with the others. The quicker the loops, the more the helix grows, sending out multiple coronal mass ejections. But as it grows larger and larger, the loops are growing faster and closer together, but the flares are slowing down. This is causing a massive amount of energy buildup. I predict that a truly enormous ejection is about to occur in the upcoming month. At any time, it could explode, leaving us with the largest flare in nearly 20,000 years and potentially annihilating not only our satellites, but obstructing all energies on Earth.”

  “When do you predict the massive ejection will occur?”

  “Judging by the rate and speed…around the end of December. Possibly the twenty-fifth if my calculations are correct.”

  Troy pulled back his coat sleeve, pulling up his DNAIS. The date was the twenty-third of December.

  “Holy shit,” he gasped. He looked back up to the sun and then over to the hologram of his friend. “Gavin, you’re a genius.”

  Giving a swift nod, the pilot replied, “I know.”

  “No, seriously. You’re a freaking genius!” Troy exclaimed. “I’ve got to get to Aria!”

  “Go my valiant white knight!” Gavin saluted.

  Troy saluted the image. His face fell into a sad smile. “Thanks, friend…for all the memories, all the good times, all the drinks, and all the arguments. Nobody will ever replace you. I’m glad to call you my best friend and wish you all the luck and happiness,” his smile faltered, “wherever you are.”

  Gavin folded his arms, looking around him at nothing in particular. “It ain’t so bad, truthfully. I’ll be waiting patiently to meet up with you and Aria again.” At this time, the pilot looked at the cigarette; he scoffed and handed the item out for Troy to take.

  “We’ll visit...often,” Troy spouted, apprehensively taking back the cig.

  Gavin shook his head. “No, not here.” He tapped the tombstone and then looked over his shoulder. “Naw, I’ll have a big party waiting for you guys.” He brought his attention back to Troy and winked. “But I don’t plan on having that party for many more years!”

  Troy stared at the projection in silent amazement.

  “Go! You have important business to attend to!” Gavin shooed Troy away, his hands limply flopping up and down. Next, he stood at attention and gave a final salute. After giving a charming smile, the hologram faded away line-by-line back into the tombstone.

  “Till next time,” Troy whispered. He read the name on the tombstone one last time and spun around, running back toward his car.

  If the scientist was correct, then he and Aria only had tomorrow to prepare for the final fight against Sapphire. If the mass coronal ejection were to occur on the estimated day, then the militaries would have a pretty good chance at possibly defeating Sapphire’s army. It would put their own equipment at risk, but the frequency disruptions caused by the solar flares could disrupt the energy fields that each monster was equipped with and potentially render her robotic armies inoperable. It was a risky bet. The date wasn’t set in stone. The massive flare could occur at any minute, but Troy had faith; he felt it deep within his gut. Finally, things were going to be in their favor. And what better way to feed into Sapphire’s desire than to have the last battle on Christmas day? It would be an offer she couldn’t refuse.

  “Visitation”

  Chapter 18

  Gunfire erupted; a tumultuous thundering of warfare crackled and boomed, threatening to burst the eardrums of the surrounding soldiers. Spoofy crouched behind a wrecked vehicle, the flames making it difficult to see her target. Aiming her weapon, the camera at the tip of the barrel produced an image of the shops lining the streets. Chester’s Bar and Grille was set aflame. Half the building had been reduced to rubble by a rogue missile.
The woman eyed the broken glass from her optical viewer, her sight traveling across the road. Electric bursts sizzled and snapped from the magnetic rails embedded in the street, the energy causing her neck and arm hair to stand on end.

  “Come on, you bastard. Where are you?” she murmured in a raspy voice.

  A howl sounded, and a massive shadow blurred past one of the side alleys. Spoofy’s eyes narrowed. She held her fingers behind her ear.

  “Caught sight of one in-between the dress shops,” she warned the rest of her team.

  “Heading to that area, now,” Zombie responded.

  From above, Aria watched her teammates on the lower level. She looked to her right at Nerd as he worked some data into one of his comp pads.

  “How’s the big guy coming? Can you get him in there?” she asked.

  Nerd gnashed his teeth; his brow knitted together. “Tryin', but this damn thing is bein' a bitch.”

  Aria folded her arms, looking out the window. She could see Spoofy moving down the street, pausing at each obstacle that blocked her path. Zombie was running down the alley to the right of her, reloading his weapon. Monkey was on a rooftop not too far away, sniping at targets further down the road. Kaino waited patiently to be called upon at the rendezvous point.

  “Zombie’s gaining on its marker. We need to get it up,” Aria said, her voice on edge.

  “Damn it, I’m tryin'!” Nerd growled.

  Aren sidestepped, looking over Nerd’s shoulder. He gave a smirk and reached over the other man, pushing against the screen.

  “Oi!” Nerd looked up at the younger man. A moment later, a loud snarl sounded, echoing throughout the streets. “How’d you do that?” he asked.

  Aren sat in a chair beside Nerd, a smug look on his face. “You didn’t designate the location.”

  “I did!” Nerd disagreed.

  “Nope,” Aren argued.

  “I pushed it, right here…on the map!” Nerd poked the device in his hand.

  “Did you confirm it?” Aren swiveled in a slow circle.

  “Of course I….” Nerd scrutinized the screen.