by Kae Bell
As Flyer settled in, the animals shifted nervously in Aglaje’s presence, one of them at the back of the vast stall screeching in protest. Wishing to avoid alerting a caretaker who might not be interested in her story, Aglaje stepped outside and rolled the heavy metal door closed. It had not been locked when she arrived, so she left it as it was.
Outside the stall, in the faint light cast by her neck lantern, Aglaje looked around. The area was mostly wasteland, just bluish scrubby brush and grey rock. The Wayeer was a hard place, with ruthless winds post moon-phase. Aglaje knew she needed to get inside before full night if she were to survive. If she found the door and they did not let her in, she would take shelter with the animals and be on her way.
The darkness was eerie. She had always loved darkness, especially traveling by starlight. But of that, there was none tonight. She had only a faint glow from her compass to steer by.
Aglaje had bought the Wayeer coordinates from a Trader named Gost who she’d met on her travels. The existence of the Wayeer was known to only a few, its location known to fewer still. How Gost had come by the information was a mystery still to Aglaje.
She’d bartered hard with him - she carried Liquid for such purposes. But Gost had not wanted Liquid. They were both hard Traders who knew what they wanted and aimed to get it. After he’d taken a good long look at her, Gost had promised her the coordinates and named his price. In the end, they had both enjoyed the night. Aglaje wasn’t ever one to look backward. She’d gotten hold of the information she wanted. That was all that mattered.
Now, she followed the compass down a faint path in the dirt. The brush on each side of her was dry and unforgiving, filled with bramble and nasty prickers. She walked forward, careful to stick to the path.
After a long time - time always passed more slowly in the dark - Aglaje noticed the terrain was changing. Flat scrubby plans had given way first to gentle hills, then more steeply sloping stone. Now, high walls of shale rock swept up around the slim path.
Aglaje stopped walking. She was tired and she could hear the winds coming.
She shone her light in a slow circle, looking for any sign. Surely she was close.
Her light caught on something. There. A door marked with a half moon circle.
She knew they moved each night and that this was the mark of the current residence. News of the Time Fiend’s deeds had traveled widely. Helpfully, Time Fiends could not see writing.
She knocked and heard the sound echo inside the deep metal tunnel, the sound reaching into the depths of the barren planet. A moment later, the door opened and she stepped into the welcoming darkness.
Chapter 11
The guard Koe hurried to the Confine. He could hear distant music, the Dark Spectrum singing to itself. The breathy female voice filled the Confine.
“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Mr. President, Happy Birthday to you…”
Over and over it sang this. Koe found the repetition irritating but it was not his place to express opinions. He doubted that would be well received.
The singing stopped. The Dark Spectrum wove toward the viewing platform, where he stood.
Koe cleared his throat and began his report.
“Sir, two intruders have been detected. They have entered as sound waves.”
He sensed the Dark Spectrum slowly circle within the Confine, rising and falling, its spectral darkness leaving a tunnel-like impression in the material as it passed through it.
Koe was relieved to have good news. He could feel his pulse racing.
A long monotone sound came from the confine. It continued for fifteen seconds and stretched to thirty. Then it stopped.
The Dark Spectrum continued, “This has been a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. In the case of a real emergency, this would be followed by instructions from your local police station...”
Koe had not heard this one before. Odd, he thought. He was sure he’d listened to all the tapes. He waited, uncertain of the meaning. The Dark Spectrum would continue. It liked an audience.
“Oh well uh well uh, unh. Tell me more, tell me more, didja get very far, tell me more, tell me more, like does he have a car, uh huh…”
Back on familiar ground, Koe replied, “A male and female, based on their Amplitudes.”
The Dark Spectrum slowed down, as if thinking. A very different tune filled the Confine.
“Move yourself. You always live your life. Never thinking of the future. Prove yourself. You are the move you make. Take your chances win or loser.
See yourself. You are the steps you take. You and you - and that's the only way.
Shake - shake yourself. You're every move you make. So the story goes.”
Confused, Koe shook his head. His hands were sweating and he felt a chill. This was not going as he expected.
He stuttered. “S…Sir, I’m sorry, if, I’m not certain exactly…please I don’t understand what you are asking.”
The Dark Spectrum slowed to a lazy wave, rubbing up against the barrier that separated the massive Confine from the viewing platform. Koe thought he could almost see a vast mouth amidst the seething dark mass.
Growing larger in amplitude, occupying the entire Confine, every curve and corner of the space, the Dark Spectrum screamed:
“Like the latest fashion
Like a spreading disease
The kids are strappin' on their way to the classroom
Getting weapons with the greatest of ease
Hey man you talkin' back to me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated
Hey man you disrespecting me?
Take him out
You gotta keep 'em separated”
Koe braced himself against the thick metal rebar that served to hold the Nothing together.
“Sir, please, I’m not sure…”
The Dark Spectrum began again, the single voice now soaring in a question.
“Can anybody…find meeeeee...somebody to love?”
Other voices joined in, the repetitive sound filling Koe’s head, the words reverberating through him, coming at him from all sides.
“Find me somebody to love, find me somebody to love…”
Koe stepped back on the platform, understanding spreading across his glistening pale face. He retched once, wiped his mouth, and spoke.
“Yes, sir, at once. I will see it done.”
He scurried away, trying not to be sick again.
The Dark Spectrum wound itself to the Confine’s highest height and circled down to the deepest corners. It shot back up. It repeated this. Up, up as high as it could go, then releasing itself to the depths.
A woman. It had been a long time.
The Dark Spectrum began a slow tune, one of the first it had intercepted and one of its favorites.
The voice carried well beyond the Confine.
“I am just a new boy,
Stranger in this town.
Where are all the good times?
Who's gonna show this stranger around?
Ooooh, I need a dirty woman.
Ooooh, I need a dirty girl.
Will some cold woman in this desert land
Make me feel like a real man?
Take this rock and roll refugee
Oooh, baby set me free.
Ooooh, I need a dirty woman.
Ooooh, I need a dirty girl…”
Chapter 12
Aglaje stepped into the dark tunnel, reminding herself that she had no weapon. She had left her gun with Flyer in the stables. They would have taken it from her anyway, out of caution, and its mere possession would have sent the wrong signal, one of menace rather than peace. That would have started things off on the wrong foot.
The door closed behind her and there was the sound of well-oiled metal bolts sliding into place, securing the unit. Just in time, too, as Aglaje could hear the winds pick up beyond the door. She hoped Flyer was ok.
She step
ped forward, taking slow steps. The floor seemed to be polished metal and the walls, which she could touch on either side of her, were cut stone.
She’d walked forward about ten paces in the dark when a loud voice screamed her, “Do not move further!”
Halting, she peered ahead and glanced behind but did not see anyone, notr even the silhouette of a person.
The voice spoke again.
"Place your hand on the light." A square panel had lit up on the wall next to her.
Aglaje did as she was told, placing her palm flat on the screen. She held it there for 15 seconds. The screen blinked white, then the color changed to a blue then a green. When it went dark, Aglaje removed her hand, rubbing her palm, which felt tingly and warm from the light. The reading had been quick, faster than the Readers at the Plume Way Stations.
The next tests started immediately. Aglaje braced herself. She’d known they would test her but she thought perhaps they would speak with her first. Apparently, they needed to know what she was.
Bright light filled the hallway. The brightness increased in intensity until all she could see was a wall of white. Momentarily blinded, Aglaje leaned against the wall. She knew there was non-visible light as well, passing through her.
As quickly as it had lit up, the tunnel fell again into darkness. Aglaje could feel her heart pounding against her thin ribs. She had to make it through this.
The heavy sound blasted through her on all sides, starting low then rapidly increasing pitch and volume until it was deafening. Aglaje resisted putting her hands over her ears. They were watching her from somewhere, as well as taking readings. She needed to resist showing weakness. It would end soon. She hoped.
When the sound ended, the voice spoke again, as if none of this had happened.
“Please state your reason for this unscheduled visit.”
Aglaje inhaled. Here goes. “My sister has entered the Nothing through a Night Prism. She is with a Star Wrangler and I believe they are going to confront the Dark Spectrum.”
There was a long pause before a reply came back. When the voice spoke, it sounded neutral but Aglaje felt she could hear a shift in tone, a strain to hide a level of increased interest and disbelief. She had expected this.
“That is impossible. There are no Night Prisms available for usage. They were all collected.”
“One was released not too long ago in the Liquid Mine and my sister found it.”
Again, a long pause.
“We are unable to help you.” There was silence for a good minute. Aglaje knew they were reviewing the readings they had taken from her palm.
“However, you are heavily depleted,” the voice said. “You would not survive your journey. We will supply you but then you must leave.”
Aglaje sighed. She did feel tired. “I've been on the road a long while, “ she said, more to herself than the voice.
The voice interrupted her thought, as it continued.
“The rest of your report is being completed.”
Aglaje furrowed her brow. The rest of her report? What did that mean? The Readers measured Liquid percentage. She had light and sound checks before, though none quite so intense as that. She tried to remember her last one, probably fifteen years ago, when she started out as a Trader.
“Please step forward.”
A door at the end of the tunnel slid open, about fifty yards ahead. Aglaje walked toward the light and stepped into the small room.
The room was square with blue walls with framed pictures of the Star Plume on the walls. Aglaje saw several sections she recognized and a few she did not.
The single chair waited in the corner. There were no windows and recessed lighting provided dim light.
“Someone will be with you in a moment.” With that, the voice system disconnected. Aglaje heard a short burst of static and then silence.
She sat down. She considered their refusal. Given what she’d told them, they would know the risks involved. After all, they were the experts. Were they bluffing? Were they frightened by her presence? Would they treat her as they had said or was she herself in danger? They would, of course, also wonder if she had been followed or worse yet, if she was merely a diversion for some larger threat.
Aglaje looked up at the sound of metal sliding against stone. A door on the far side of the wall opened. A tall woman stepped in, dressed in a long yellow robe. Her face was deeply lined and her short white hair was done in sharp spikes atop her head. She held a silver tray in her right hand. As the door behind her slid closed, the woman approached toward Aglaje, taking a roundabout path across the room, as if circling prey.
“I’m Nin. I’ll be treating you. How do you feel?” Nin asked, watching Aglaje. Aglaje could feel Nin assessing the color of her skin, the circles under her eyes, her drooping eyelids.
Aglaje stared back. Nin’s eyes were the color of spring leaves.
“Tired,” Aglaje replied.
Nin patted her hand. “You’re lucky to have made it this far. You are nearly out. Dangerous to push so hard. Now. How many do you have?” Nin asked.
“Three,” Aglaje replied
Nin pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.
“Regulation is four for Traders,” Nin said, gingerly lifting a white ampule from the tray.
“I’m smaller than most Traders.” Aglaje said.
Nin ignored this defensiveness. “And where are they located?”
“Both feet and my left hand.”
Nin nodded and took hold of Aglaje’s left hand, turning it over to reveal her palm. She probed the meaty flesh at the base of Aglage’s thumb, feeling for something. She pursed her lips to one side in concentration.
“It’s really in there.” Her fingers pushed hard again below the thumb. A thick rectangular piece of flesh the size of a stamp popped up below Aglaje’s thumb. It folded over on itself, revealing an ampule tucked in the flesh, similar to that in Nin’s hand, only blue.
Nin deftly pulled out the blue ampule and placed the white ampule in its place. “There we go.” She placed the skin back in place, pressing lightly.
“That’s one.” She repeated the process with each of Aglaje’s feet, pushing against the ball of each foot.
Finished, she stood and stared at Aglaje.
“You took quite a risk coming here. You've been tracked since you landed. There was some disagreement about what to do with you. Normally intruders are warned. If that doesn’t discourage them, more severe measures are taken. Permanent measures.”
Aglaje nodded. She was not surprised. Of course, they needed to protect themselves. “Why was I allowed to pass?”
“One of us is a Baser. He sensed something about you that indicated you should pass through. Our tests confirmed it. Combined with what you have told us, we thought it was best to let you in.”
“What did he sense?”
Nin smiled at her, her wrinkles scrunched about her eyes. “You do not need to pretend with me.”
“I’m sorry?” Aglaje was confused. ”I’m not pretending.”
The smile left Nin’s face and her eyes darkened. “You do not know?”
Aglaje shrugged. “Know what, exactly?”
Nin leaned in. Her eyes were filled with compassion. “You are a Hybrid. You are 20% light.”
Chapter 13
Having returned to the now empty Station, Koe walked to the back and flipped a switch on the far wall. The blank wall lit up, revealing a 10’ x 10’ digital map of the Nothing, shades of grey depicting the various densities and layers. The borders of the Nothing were like Cilia, thick finger-like tendrils constantly moving and waving, beating away space debris that might cross the Breach.
Koe’s eyes scanned the screen for movement.
There in the lower right corner, he saw them. Two colored waves, the up and down movements showing a circuitous progress toward the center of the Nothing, the Confine.
He watched the oscillations. The tall wave, blue on screen, led the way while the flatter
yellow wave followed close behind. Koe saw the blue wave speed up and then slow down abruptly when the yellow wave fell behind. Occasionally, the front and backs of the two waves would overlap on the screen, their convergence green, and then they would separate again.
It made him a little queasy. Still, he had a job to do.
Koe waited until the blue wave gained a wide lead on the yellow wave. He quickly pushed three vertical black buttons on the panel to the right of the large screen. A dim light flicked on by each one, blinking then holding steady and bright.
As the attenuator loaded, Koe watched the wavy lines. When the blue wave pulled ahead again, Koe pushed the last button in the row, holding it down as he watched the result on screen, as a pulse of anti-waves projected toward the blue line.
The anti-sound pulse traveled through the dense material, honing in on the intruders. Once a wave was attenuated, there was no way out.
*******
Wrangler felt the pulse hit just behind him. He stretched himself as high as he could go, increasing his amplitude.
“Cressida, get higher!” he yelled. She was behind him or had been only a moment ago. But he could not hear her. He yelled again.
“Get louder!” No reply.
A second shot of the attenuator pulse hit Wrangler’s tail end. He felt his wave end diminish, growing flatter, as the peaks and valleys lost height with each passing moment. The weakness crawled forward, flattening him slowly but surely. Wrangler pushed forward but he could feel the weakness moving along him. It had flattened a third of his wave already.
With every ounce of energy left in his system, Wrangler turned a sharp left and propelled himself forward and up as high as he could go. He felt himself pick up speed. He’d hit a patch of gaseous metal. This was the least dense area of the Nothing. He needed to stay in this seam to conserve energy. He picked up speed again and he felt his wave propagate all the way back to his end.
He hoped Cressida was right behind him. But he didn’t dare stop.
*******
She hadn’t meant to do it. Well, not really. She had hardly known what she was doing. Mostly, she just wanted to escape. To go home once and for all. And going farther forward in the Nothing wasn’t helping.