“Where’s Vanya and Edan? I thought they’d be with you?”
He pointed to the two people in his group that I didn’t know. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize them. After all, you signed off on allowing them into the game.”
I looked closer at the two humans on stage. Finally, it hit me who they were. I’d been expecting their avatars and not something resembling their human form which was why I didn’t pay much attention to them the first time. Vanya appeared just as Opal had before she’d entered the game. The platinum bob streaked with lavender and deep blue eyes should have clued me in to who she was. Edan on the other hand didn’t appear exactly as he had before. While his chestnut hair was still shaved on the sides and in long neat braids on top, his eyes and facial features were very different.
“Why do his eyes look so strange?”
“He’s had some upgrades and now appears in here just as he does outside the game.”
Wes was shocked. “That’s Edan?”
I nodded. “Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe you’ve given him some implants that integrate with the second-generation sheath. I didn’t realize they were that far along in the development process.”
“That is correct. Much has changed in the past month while you’ve been gone.”
I turned my attention back to them to examine their prosthetic parts. Both of them had the same mechanical replacements for their arms and legs, but only Edan had the changes to his eyes and face. His irises were glassy and multicolored with a faint rosy glow. Their upgrades were smooth and functioned just as their limbs would but had some special features. In addition to functioning in an ordinary way, they could be configured to a number of different weapons, utility items, or be used to control a myriad of mechanical devices.
Edan stepped forward. “Dr. Sothy and I have been able to analyze the powder referred to as mantus. Dr. Sothy believes there’s a substance required for the mantus to take hold and continue to function properly, and the destruction of this substance is step one to neutralizing this threat.”
Dr. Atlas nodded and added his assessment of the situation. “We must protect the other players from exposure to this substance as well as eradicating the Oroans from Zerkola. Do I have volunteers for planetary patrol?”
Wes, Vanya, Mica, Amber and Crispin all raised their hands.
“Good, I’ll have my Enforcers assist. There’s a short training course before you will be allowed to pilot the patrol crafts. It will begin once you are inside the craft.” He waved his hand and the black clad guards marched out of the meeting hall with half our group in tow. “Those who remain will break into teams to manage the neutralization phase.”
Dr Sothy’s honey flecked pale gray eyes were filled with determination. “There’s several pockets of poudretteite in multiple locations across the globe. Each of you can take a pod to the area and spray a foam across the crystalline structures to dissolve them.”
Ariocha’s anger toward her brother was obvious. “I’ll stay here to make sure nothing enters the Crypt that shouldn’t.”
He shook his head. “You’ll soon learn your place. Do as you please now, for this will be the last time you will experience this freedom.”
Phineas spoke to Dr. Sothy about a concern we all still had. “Do we know how to neutralize the mantus?”
“Unfortunately, I’m still working on that. I’ve got some in my lab, and thanks to Crispin taking a sample of the poudretteite I was able to see its effect on the mantus. It grew rapidly and exuded some clear liquid when the crystal was nearby and then immediately went dormant when the crystal was removed.”
“What’s the clear liquid for?”
“Again, there’s no clear answer to that now. What I need is someone to hack into the system of the Eydis and figure out what we need to stop this threat. Only then will I be able to synthesize the necessary items to defeat them.”
Phineas nodded. “I’m the one you’ll need for that.”
Wes rose his hand. “I can hack too.”
“Great, both of you hack into what you can and get as much information as possible. Everyone will need to take one of these.” She handed us each a weapons mod that turned our blasters into foam dispensers containing the necessary chemicals. “We’ll contact you when we know what’s next.”
We exited the Crypt and got back into the transport pods to take us to the correct locations. As soon as we were inside our own individual pods, the display lit up with blinking indicators of where the poudretteite pockets were. I chose the region that I’d been to with Crispin. I knew exactly what I’d find and where to go once I got inside.
I selected the display to claim the desired location. “I’ll take this one.”
Wes chimed in over the communicators. “I’ll get this one. It closer to the area where they had their ship and it might have what I’m looking for.”
Phineas was next. “I’ll go here.” Another location marker switched from green to blue.
Iolite was the final one to choose a location. “You guys are all pretty close. I’ll go to the one that’s the furthest from the Crypt.”
I punched the controls to set the pod in motion. The modification device clicked easily into place on my gun and I sat back for the ride. The sable earth below my pod was a blur as I thought about the implications for the other members of the Delphian Sect. I knew that we were part of something important, but our individual party was so much more advanced than the rest of the players. We had people working with powerful Excisionists, doctors who were responsible for more than just the physical alterations of the players, and children who would help us make the transformation to an advanced civilization.
I imagined the people who lived in other countries on their knees begging for entry into our compounds and protection from our elite soldiers after we’d conquered their homelands. We could build living quarters around the world and shift everyone to an elevated status of living. There would be no hunger, poverty, or physical limitations in our new society. Even those who would be incompatible with our united world could still be part of society once they’d been implanted with an Omega Wave Interceptor Device. It was such a perfect plan and I was proud to be a part of it.
My thoughts shifted from overarching benevolence to petty self-gratification. I knew I’d be rewarded for my participation in the game and would have the opportunity to transfer into a second-generation sheath at a minimum. I was excited for Elio and Ariocha to finally be together as a family and for his transition to a permanent sheath which would allow him to control troops like never before. I hoped that by offering myself as a participant in the game, I’d be given priority for selection as one of the troop leaders who would travel to the Sky Outpost and be able to win the hearts of my party in a way that would allow them to trust me completely and follow my orders with exactness.
A beeping sound brought me back to my in-game reality. The pod was signaling the proximity to the crystals and had come to a complete stop. I hopped out and entered the billowing clouds. Once I found the staircase again, I descended without a second thought. When I neared the bottom, I suddenly realized that I was being followed. I spun around and came face to face with a female Oroan. She was larger than the males I’d seen before and had a bluish tint to the whiteness in her skin. I blasted her with my foam weapon, and in the process tripped and fell down the stairs. The foam did nothing and she stabbed at me and hit my leg with the forked spike on her tail as I tried to get away.
I screamed out with pain and watched my health drop nearly to zero. Her strike caused more damage than that from a male and I felt afraid. I pulled a second unmodified gun and shot her several times. She avoided most of the blasts by hopping and clinging to the cave walls. I rolled to my side to blast an outcropping of rose-colored crystals with foam. The beast cried out when the crystals dissolved, and she lunged for me again. With a single swipe of her clawed hand, my vision went black and I respawned back inside my pod. I jumped out and ran back to the f
issure hidden in the clouds but was met by the glowing yellow eyes of the Oroan. She’d been waiting for me to return. Once again, I respawned inside my pod after searing pain racked my body. This time, I could see the demon outside my pod before I even exited it. She swiped and stabbed at the clear pod, but it withstood her attack. Suddenly, I realized that her hits could have cracked my suit. I checked my sheath for damage and was relieved to see it was still intact.
I tapped my temple. “Cygnet, how do I kill this thing?”
The familiar feminine voice responded immediately. “The Oroans are susceptible to cold. A weapons modification device can turn your blaster into an ice generator.”
“Where do I get one of those?”
The display blinked to life and lit up a small region that was quite far from my present location. “What’s the cost?”
“Due to the increased demand for this type of weapon modifier, players are charged one bismuth, three coins, and ten red crystals for the ice generator.”
I checked our pooled items along with my own personal stash. We still had enough of these items for three of us to get the mods. I didn’t want to be left without this upgrade especially since my character race was so weak in comparison to the others. I turned off my tracker and sped away to the closest vendor hoping no one would miss me. When I arrived, I could see the wooden shack’s entrance had been left open. I parked the pod as close to the entry as I could and ran inside. I’d assembled the items I had and depleted the bismuth and coins from the combined cache. Because of my status in the game I didn’t have to ask for permission like the others did which made it easier for me to keep my actions hidden.
The NPC was frustratingly slow to get me the upgrade and wanted to chat about the changing environment and broken ClokWorx Tower. I minimized the interaction as much as possible but still had to participate more conversation than I wanted to. I’d definitely be requesting a reduction in interactions with NPCs when the game reboot and upgrade was accomplished. It almost made me wish I’d waited for round two of the game before I’d offered to participate, but at the same time didn’t want to give up my shot at living in the first colony orbiting Earth and meeting Phineas.
As soon as I got back in my pod I pointed it back in the direction of my assigned location. I was watching closely for those creepy glowing eyes as I approached the billows of fog but didn’t see them. I stepped out of the pod and carefully examined my surroundings. A noise off to my left startled me and I reacted by shooting in that direction without seeing what it was first. I’d hit a rock that had been split in two and bits of it were still dropping off which was what had caused the noise. I chuckled to myself and tried to relax. When I got to the fissure, those glowing eyes were still not visible. I crept down the staircase and pointed my gun in all directions in anticipation of an attack. It wasn’t until I’d reached the bottom and targeted a group of crystals that the attack came from behind. The foam gun was knocked from my hand, but I’d managed to hold on to the ice generator.
“Take this!” I blasted the female Oroan repeatedly and watched with satisfaction as pieces of her body shattered after it was flash frozen.
It took nearly ten hits before she dropped into the water and the glowing eyes lost their light. I shot the water for good measure freezing it solid in an instant which I hadn’t expected. The alien fog generator sputtered and stopped when I hit it with a ray of freezing light. I retrieved my foam gun and walked around to each of the rosy splintered crystals. The crystal pockets dissolved quickly, and the air had been chilled enough that I could see my breath. The final task I wanted to complete was to see what the gun mods would do to the thumping pump deep inside the cavern. I kept my ice blaster up as I moved toward my target in case another Oroan was hiding somewhere. Thankfully, no others were anywhere to be seen.
I scanned the pump again and tried to determine how to remove the protective orb. I shot it with everything I had but nothing worked. I got on my knees and examined the rock around the shield. It was solid and didn’t budge when I chiseled it or blasted it with what I had. I knew this pump had to be destroyed and it was maddening that I didn’t have the answer. I gave up and jogged up the stairs to get back into my pod. I examined the mat and found another area close by that contained the pale pink crystals. I selected the area and my pod zoomed to the next spot. This time, instead of a crack in the rock with a staircase, there was a large cave opening that couldn’t be missed. I flew my pod inside to check it out in case there was another female Oroan protecting this location. There wasn’t any water here which meant there wouldn’t be a second pump.
After determining that there wasn’t anything that was a threat to me, I hopped out and destroyed the crystals in minutes. The foam clung to the crystals and bubbled as it ate away the splintered structures with ease. I was somewhat disappointed that something so beautiful had to be destroyed, but again, I wasn’t one of the game designers. I knew that Genesis’s wife was enamored with jewels and crystals which was what motivated some of the choices that were made for the game atmosphere. When I hopped back into the pod, I started to think about what I could do to influence the game reboot even more by getting Crispin to do what I asked when we were out. I imagined him saluting me and marching off to redesign the game that would be used at Sky Outpost. I’d be decorated with dozens of medals across my chest and hailed as the most respected and intelligent Saltigue that had ever existed. I thought of my name and picture being displayed in history lessons for generations to come. They would all know my name.
The beeping of the pod ended my fantasy again, so I hopped out to find the crystals. This location was very different from the other two. A large boulder sat where the crystals were supposed to be. It took several minutes before I finally climbed to the top of the boulder because I couldn’t find any way in. When I stood at the top, I could see a small transport pad. When I stood on its center, it activated and took me deep underground. I stepped off the pad and examined the area around me. It was a futuristic laboratory like I’d never seen before and the design was incredible. It had been lined with a metallic substance that responded to my touch. I walked around to the different rooms and found humanoid scientists working away at their benches. Some were manipulating dishes of fluid that formed shapes in response to the prodding, and others used small chunks of the pink crystals to feed to yawning hungry mouths of winged snakelike creatures the color of baked sand.
I thought I’d disturb them when I entered the room, but they were all so engrossed in their work that not a single one of them looked up. I watched closely as they manipulated their projects while I continued to look for something that might help us destroy the mantus. I walked through room after room with no success, but when I reached the furthest one from my entry point, I struck gold. There were boxes containing grains of mantus and it didn’t glow like the droplets I’d seen floating in the crystal-clear fluid or floating on the air. Off to one corner was a towering cylinder of the liquid I’d seen being pumped into the water supply. I tapped on the screen until I found something that looked like a dispense button. I located a few small containers and collected both the fluid and the grains. On my way out, I blasted it with freezing rays that coated the entire room in ice. Although it didn’t destroy anything, I knew it would make it difficult for anyone to access it.
I left quietly without disturbing anything else and went straight back to the transport pad. It lifted me quickly back to the top of the boulder and I carefully climbed back down the rock. When I entered my pod, I selected the controls that would take me back to the Crypt. I knew I had exactly what we needed for Dr. Sothy to figure out what we needed to do to finish off this game. Once again, my vivid imagination came into play as I relaxed for the trip back. This time I was the honored guest at an important banquet. The key players in our society would all stand and clap after giving raving reviews about my performance. I’d be consulted in all aspects of our evolving society as we worked to make the scientists the heads of
all of the important departments including those for psychological aspects of our society. After all, psychology wasn’t a hard science and, in my mind, was a lesser field. My thoughts turned to being admired by many important men and thought of the proposals I’d be offered when they realized just how amazing I was.
Beeping from my craft ruined another beautiful vision and I suddenly realized just how critical my delivery was. I had to keep my distractions to a minimum from now on. I grabbed the containers and hurried into the decontamination chamber but then had to wait a while for the cascading shower of chemicals to stop and the drying process to end. I excitedly hurried to Dr. Sothy’s lab. When I got there, she was talking to Phineas and reviewing electronic records of information he’d uncovered. I plopped the containers on to the countertop and waited for her to notice. After several minutes passed without the recognition I sought, I interrupted their conversation.
The Excisionists: Book 1 Page 29