by Ben Johnston
“Look at that.” Christopher pointed down to the wet metal streets below their feet. “The gutters are flowing the water. See.” The rainwater slid off the street surfaces into the side gutters, creating surging little whitewater rivers that dove down into storm drains. “This two million year old city’s drainage systems are still intact after being geologically engulfed for at least ten million years. That’s marvelous engineering.”
The auditor reached into her side bag, pulled out a small object, and phased it into a large, clear umbrella. She looked up through the transparent material of her umbrella at the massive cylindrical hole to the circle of blue above with a frown. “Marvelous engineering, huh?” She looked down at Christopher. “Then why is the city buried a mile underground?”
Christopher scratched his head, then looked at the auditor, giving her umbrella a double take. He turned to one of his specialists. “What do you think?”
The specialist answered. “In most cases a city found deep underground was either not designed with geostable principles.” The specialist huffed. “Unlikely.” He looked around with a grin, saw that no one else understood his joke, then continued. “Or, more likely, the city’s geostatics failed.”
The auditor made a few quick notes on her transparency. “And why would the city's geo stabilizing devices fail?”
The specialist shrugged. “Everything fails, eventually.”
“Alright everybody, flashlights out.” Holding torches, Christopher led them through the dim, red metal streets and the underground waterfall-rain. Approaching the nearest building, they walked up the wide stairs to an entrance with towering doors. He gazed up at the massive entry.
“This is gonna take a lightmaker.”
The auditor raised her eyebrows. “You have a lightmaker assigned to this excursion!”
Christopher pointed a quick smile at the auditor before turning to one of his specialists. “Katie, come up here and see if you can open this door.”
A petite young girl with curly red hair stepped forward. “Sure thing, Doc.” Placing her finger into a groove on one of the sigils that were carved into the door, she began to move her finger, following the patterns. As she traced-out the interconnected spirals and filigrees, her finger left behind trails of illumination, like a paintbrush painting light.
Her eyes wide, they focused on the patterns she was tracing and retracing. Sweat began to bead on her forehead. “Suns! This is a sophisticated entry system! But I think I just about…”
The two towering doors vanished. She spun around standing in front of the big opening, showing her big white teeth in a wide grin. “Got it!”
Christopher turned to the party. “Alright, then. The doors are open, so everyone. Let’s go inside!”
They entered into a big dark space. Christopher looked up and around at the blackness. “Lights please!”
The technicians phased-in several powerful lights, revealing a great rectangular room with high arched ceilings. All around stood dozens of greatly varied sculptures, some abstract, some realist, all of them made of the same red metal as the room.
Christopher huffed. “This civilization’s tastes were sophisticated, but monochrome.” He turned for a few obligatory laughs. “Anybody got a technical analysis?”
A big dark-skinned man presented a transparency to Christopher. “Here you go, Doctor. The analysis I ran shows that this room, aside from being a concentration of high art, is also a concentration of power conduits.”
Christopher nodded, reading the transparency. “Sure enough.” He looked up towards the far end of the hall. “And all of the power conduits seem to converge on that stage at the end. Seems like that’s where we’re going to find our sunstone.”
The party began to move forward through the hall, between the bright flood of the lights, towards the far end and the stage. Standing in the center of that stage, about chest height, was a single pillar. The auditor, following everyone, stopped and looked back, noticing that Christopher was not moving forward with the rest of them. The archeologist remained by the entrance, staring down into his hand.
After staring at his hand for a few moments, he then turned and walked to the side wall. The auditor ignored this, and returned to join back with the rest of the party who were all walking the other direction.
When the group reached the end of the room, they all unphased and opened various pieces of scanning and analysis equipment. Rays and surfaces of light and texture began to sweep across the raised stage. The stage was empty except for a single podium in its center with an empty circular slot in its surface about the size of a walnut.
They all scratched their heads, turning to one another confused about their scanning devices’ negative results. Finally the lead tech looked around for Christopher. Seeing that he not with them, but was away on the far side of the hall, he shouted. “Doctor Cernon! There’s nothing here!”
The group was silent, waiting for Christopher's reply. Far on the other side of the room, the archaeologist just stood there staring at a blank wall.
Again, the lead tech shouted across the hall to Christopher. “Doctor! I need you to come talk to these auditors and explain what this means and why this stuff costs so much!”
Christopher leaned forward looking at what appeared to be a blank wall. He turned to the party, far away at the other end, then held out his hand towards them and pulled it back in a scooping motion, gesturing for the party to come to him.
Quickly the party all phased-down their equipment and left the empty stage to shuffle back past the looming metal sculptures over to Christopher, who was rubbing his chin.
When they arrived, Christopher stood tall, looking over the tops of their heads. “Katie, are you there?”
A small voice came from somewhere within the group. “I’m here, Doctor Cernon.”
“Well, come here. I need you to tell me if you see can anything with your lightmaker eyes.”
The petite Katie emerged from out of the group of scholars and technicians and walked over to look at the section of wall by Christopher. “Wow. There is something here.” She squinted. “Is this invisible light?” She nodded with a satisfied smile. “Yup. It’s invisible light.” She squinted again and leaned-in for a closer inspection. “I can barely see these, Doctor. How did you find this?”
Christopher smiled, placing a small copper device into his pocket. “Call it, intuition.” He raised his chin at the wall. “So, tell us, what do you see?”
“It’s a set of interconnected sigils arranged in a set of concentric circles. I think it’s another lock.” She turned to look at Christopher with wide eyes. “Doctor, is this a secret door?”
“Well, let’s see. Try to open it.”
“Alrighty then.” She turned her attention back to the wall. “Let’s do this.” Loosely shaking her hands in front of her, she narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw.
“OK, I think I’m supposed to start...” She held her finger out in front of her. “Right here.”
She moved the tip of her finger forward to touch the wall. Patterns of light immediately glowed-out from where she touched. She began, slowly at first, to move her finger along the concentric light patterns, tracing out big, easy curves in a continuous circular motion. Quickly the pattern grew to become more detailed, with sharper and harder angles requiring the tracing-out of occasional gridlike patterns.
Katie’s brow again became covered in sweat. “This is harder than the front door. I’m giving this all my focus, but I don’t think I can… Oh suns! This one might be above my paygrade, Doctor Cernon.”
Christopher smirked at Katie. “Above your paygrade? You’re an intern.”
Suddenly a doorway opened-up in the wall in front of Katie while at the same instant a square panel of floor beneath Katie’s feet vanished. With a shriek, Katie threw up her arms as she began to fall into a dark pit.
In the blink of an eye, Christopher reached out and grabbed her hand, and in one swift motion, turned and pulled
the petite redhead up and away from the square hole in the floor, setting her down onto the firm ground next to him.
“Katie,are you OK?”
With an exasperated sigh, she glanced past Christopher at the hole in the floor. “Yeah.” She looked up to him. “Uh. I think so.”
Christopher nodded. “Good. Now, can you close that hole? Close that trapdoor?”
Katie nodded nervously, looking at the opening in the ground. She stood there frozen. Christopher reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked at her hand then up to Christopher. He smiled at her. “I’ll hold your hand, you close the trap. I got you.”
With wide eyes, she nodded, then glanced at the hole in the floor. She scooted a few steps towards it, then looked away from the hole, up to the newly opened doorway. “I see where I have to trace the pattern. It’s inside the doorway, on the wall of the corridor.”
Christopher nodded. “OK, Katie. I got your hand. You just lean out and reach through the door and around the side. I’ve got you.”
Katie held her breath and gripped Christopher’s hand, her skinny knuckles sharp and white as she leaned out over the square pit and reached in through the open doorway. She blinked rapidly, took in a breath, and placing her finger against the inside wall, began to nervously trace-out a few quick light patterns.
The pit vanished as the floor panel reappeared.
Katie let out an almost explosive sigh. Christopher grinned giving her a pat on the back. “Nicely done, Katie.” He turned to the relieved party. “OK everyone, lets get inside.” He turned and ducked straight in through the doorway.
One by one, the rest of the party followed, filing-in through the doorway, nervously glancing at the floor panel, testing it with a tap of the tip of thier shoes as they quickly proceeded through.
The corridor was, thankfully, very short, and led into a small room that just barely held them all. In this room there was a misty yellow glow. One of the technicians held out a small square silver box with a blue light on it. “Look people. This is an allight field!”
“Astounding!” Christopher approached the stand in the center, atop which was the hilt of a sword. He shook his head with a smile. “A sword. Classic.” He turned to his technician. “Phillip, can you test this sword?”
Phillip stepped forward. “Yes Doctor Cernon, I can test.” He took out a small tripod and set it in front of the sword. He waited. The tripod glowed green. He looked at Christopher with wide eyes and a wide smile. “Doc, it’s a sunstone!”
The party was a mix of excitement and disbelief.
“No way.”
“Look at the detector!”
“Blinding suns, it is! I can’t believe we found it!”
Then the auditor spoke. “So, do we just pull it out?” They all got quiet and looked at Christopher.
Christopher held his hands out to the auditor. “Be my guest.” He gestured towards the sword.
The auditor eyed the sword nervously. “Well, this is your project. I’m just here to..”
Christopher tossed his hand at her. “Just here to see how much it costs.”
He stepped past the auditor up to the golden sword. Getting down on one knee, he placed a small pedal device by his foot. Standing, he then placed another small device by the sword. Christopher then grasped the sword’s hilt with both hands and without hesitation pulled it straight out. He pressed his foot down on the small pedal device at the same time and a copy of the sword materialized in place of the real sword which Christopher now held in his hands.
Then there was a percussive, single, low, loud sound, like the massive beat of a drum.
Then, silence.
The group stood motionless. Christopher held the sword, with his eyes wide, sweat starting to bead on his brow. After a moment, nothing happened. Everyone in the room began to breathe and talk.
“Flawless!” Christopher beamed, staring at the sword in his hands. “No alarms.”
Christopher and party took the platforms back to the surface and once at the top, were greeted by dozens of spacecraft hovering around their company, their weapons pointed at the group below. The entire School team by the crater was holding their hands in the air, as a man dressed in a worn, blue bomber jacket and slightly frayed khaki pants walked up to Christopher. The man was flanked by several guards wearing patchwork armor.
Christopher sighed. “Great. Scavengers.”
“We’re not scavengers, we’re collectors! We’re in the import export business, and right now we’re importing what you just exported.” The collector grinned, then tilted his head at Christopher. “Seriously, you don’t know who I am? I’m the King of the Ruin.” He held out his hands, his guards chuckling. “Well, I know who you are, anyway. You’re famous Republic archaeologist, Doctor Cernon.” He reached out and took the sword from Christopher.
Pressing on the hilt, the sunstone popped out. “This will make a fine addition to my collection.” Holding the sunstone, he tossed the sword to the ground where it fell beneath the tall grass as though engulfed by water. “I’m very sorry to leave you here without any of your own Spacecraft.” As he said this, a brilliant flash issued from the valley edge, and a few seconds later, a deep rumble reached them. “But I did evacuate your people from your base on the ridge before I destroyed it. I’m respectful and that allows me to remain respectable. That’s how I remain able to sell what I… find. And this.” He held the sunstone aloft. “I will be able to sell this find for quite a profit!”
The scavenger leader looked at Christopher. “Enjoy your time.” He turned, walked away and got back onto his ship.
The surrounding scavenger spacecraft floating around the big hole in the ground were turning to leave when there was the deep boom of the drum, and Christopher told everyone to run.
The Scavenger ships wobbled in the air, their engines glowing brightly, but seeming unable to move. The largest and most advanced ship, the one the scavenger leader, the self-named King of the Ruin, had gotten into, burst out a huge pulse of lavender light, before it shot up and away, but the rest of the scavenger ships remained fixed in place, shaking and shuddering, starting to drift down to the ground. Suddenly there was a powerful quake, and Christopher and the entire company scattered, running for the slopes on the sides of the valley.
Waves of a shadowy light passed by them, causing the ships’ engines above to go out. Then the waves of dark light stopped and the entire city, separated from its walls and erupted from the ground.
As the city rose up, gigantic chunks of the valley floor were hefted into the air, hitting and shoving the helpless scavenger spacecraft aside, sending them tumbling through the air to crash into the ground.
The city rose, trailing a cloud-thick twisting contrail behind it. Then, upon reaching altitude, it sat there in the sky.
Christopher, far down on the ground in the valley below was running for his life. He reached the edge of the meadow by a steep hill and took cover under a rock overhang with a dozen other of his company. Mountains of boulders, dirt, and debris fell from the uprooted, flying city and spacecraft came crashing down around them. The ground shook and the air blustered like a hurricane.
Christopher looked up at the massive floating city in the sky full of falling debris. He then looked down and noticed that the auditor was with them, hiding in this outcropping. “I know this is going to look bad on your report. Expensive, lots of missing items.” A spacecraft smashed into the ground nearby. The technicians around him shielded their eyes. Christopher met the auditor’s terrified gaze, noticing that her hair was now almost completely undone. “But don’t worry.” He gave her a reassuring smile as flaming debris arced over them. “I’ve had worse.”
The auditor placed her shaking hand on Christopher’s arm. “I’ll think I’ll have that cake now.”
Chapter 14
She walked out through her softly-lit tree tunnel. Her garden’s mist hung in wavy sheets as she carried her dark, lifeless floatboard through the early morning fog.
Behind her, the tunnel slowly faded as the opening closed.
Insubstantial as a beam of light, silent as a glimmer, Spirit zipped-off Anniya’s shoulder, and without disturbing a particle of mist flitted, an invisible flash, through the moist air to the treehouse high above.
Anniya lifted her head to look up past the massive braided tree trunks. The first red of Namoon’s rising sun shone pale rays in the fog way up in the branches.
Anniya’s eyelids fell and her eyebrows creased. She crouched.
In a canary outburst she shot up after the fox, dry leaves pulled twirling into the air in the sudden windy updraft.
Her front door phased open. Cool air breezed-out drawing Anniya in from the humid outside. Throwing her dead board on the ground and basically collapsing into her dark house, she dragged herself into the kitchen.
The readout on the kitchen wall flashed a single red bar. Nostrils flared, she frowned at the weakly blinking indicator. Eyelids heavy, she phased open the wall pantry: empty. She grimaced.
Leaning heavily against her kitchen cooler, she phased the door open and withdrew some fruit, then heaved herself across the room to get some jerky from the main cabinet. Anniya dropped herself down on her living room couch, then, using only her legs, pushed and slid herself over the long couch to her floor-to-ceiling window. She leaned over the cushion’s edge, and reaching to a complicated glassy-copper device on the ground, began to delicately tinker, adjusting sigil projectors and tweaking light fields. She grinned when two lines of sigils on green metal rods began to move back and forth, twisting a circular signet between them. The device whirred to life.
Spirit laid down on the couch by her feet, closing his eyes as she aimed the receiver device out her big window to a blinking star visible in the daytime. The light show beamed to life on the floor.
It was a Vectan announcement.