The Rise of Onyx

by Angelina Singer

  After what feels like forever, Griffin steps back, and wipes the sweat off of his face that had mingled with the grime leftover from his welding mask. He takes off his very sweaty shirt, as the rubbery Upperworld garments are many things, but breathable is not one of them. Griffin finds a nearby towel that he must have left on his chair earlier, and towel dries himself until he can get home to his pod for a proper shower later.

  Once he refocuses on his task at hand, he smiles to himself, taking in his stellar accomplishment - the outer frame of the time machine, and all its visible outer components, are complete. Even the wearable bracelet for the brave time traveler has been completed - so that they can zap themselves back to the Upperworld whenever they are finished. It’s far from finished, of course, but getting closer. He sighs to himself in relief.

  Well, I’ve done my part. It’s time for Evander to take over now. I sure hope he knows how to use that uranium, because I sure don’t.

  ✷✷✷

  Evander brings the uranium back to his pod so he can lock it in the little safe he installed under the table of his kitchenette. He fishes the key out of the small flower pot where he always hides it, and inserts the key into the lock, turning until it opens. The little door gives way to his gentle tugging, until he is met with the mostly empty inside of the blue velvet furnished safe. He sees the top-secret envelopes holding his various other personal effects, such as his personal formulas and unprotected blueprints. Evander reaches into the zippered pocket of his jumpsuit and retrieves the collection container holding the vaguely green-glow of the uranium sample. Holding the tube momentarily in his hand, he can feel the energy flowing through the piece of the radioactive rock that he broke off of the larger batch in the Earth lab. Smiling to himself, he places it gingerly next to the neatly-piled blueprints and personal effects, noticing that the sample appears even brighter in the darker confines of the safe. The green glow of the uranium mixes with the blue sheen of the velvet, creating a rather swampy aqua sort of color. He closes the door of the safe and swiftly locks it tightly again, feeling fairly confident that the all-important sample will be left untouched.

  After replacing the tablecloth on the table, Evander makes his way over to his couch. he grabs his tablet off of his side table to catch up on the latest in Upperworld news, as well as some Earth current events. It’s always good to be informed about the state of affairs in the world of the lives they touch, he always thinks to himself.

  Shortly after finishing his typical rounds on the technological news scape, Evander remembers his conversation with Griffin about doing some research about the whole situation Onyx is in and what would happen if they are unsuccessful in their time machine endeavor. He shivers, as he knows that they must find out one way or another, but this sort of information is usually hard to find and even harder to swallow. He takes a sip of water from his nearby glass and shakes off any apprehension he feels about it in the name of necessity and scientific exploration.

  He begins by using his tablet to log into the archives of the Upperworld, with his unique PIN number and passcode. Then he begins searching for the more esoteric information surrounding the throne and how the energy current flows through it. More specifically, Evander hopes to find information about how the one seated on the throne is affected by the current over time and if there are any side effects or issues that they may have overlooked in their feverish search for a replacement.

  After flipping through some articles and records, he sees what appears to be one of the first photographs of Zephyr taken when he was on the throne. Evander shrugs and keeps flipping through the other records, until it hits him - Zephyr looks a lot more human-like than he did in the centuries when Evander was around to see him. His skin had a lot more color in it, his hair sat more naturally on his head, and his eyes didn’t glow at all - and neither did his hair.

  Evander’s eyes widen, and he drops his glass of water on the floor as the realization hits him. He doesn’t bother to clean up the shards of glass - instead, he runs out of his pod, carrying his tablet in his hands. He has to speak to Luna, and fast.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Luna? Luna! I have to speak with you immediately. Where are you?” Evander hits the door notification button on the outside wall of her pod repeatedly, but she doesn’t seem to be home.

  This is bad, this is really, really bad. How am I going to explain this to her? I don’t want to worry her, but she has a right to know. Where could she possibly be?

  Evander decides to walk around a bit and look for her or someone who would know where she is. The tepid air of the Upperworld makes him sweat in his feverish state as he paces around the radius of her pod. Luna, where are you?

  He is about to give up his manual search and just call her on her embedded device, until he remembers that she lost hers on Earth a while ago and it hasn’t yet been replaced, at least to his knowledge, anyway. Evander is about to launch into full-out panic mode, that is, until he sees a flash of bright fuchsia hair pass by near him.

  “Vidia? Vidia!” She turns immediately upon hearing her name, her typical smile turning into a concerned frown.

  “Evander, is everything all right? What is going on?”

  He struggles to catch his breath after having rushed around in pursuit of Luna. “I’m looking for Luna, but I haven’t seen her anywhere. Do you know where I can find her? It is of utmost importance.”

  “I haven’t seen her too recently, but I know that a while ago, she ran right out of the Grand Hall crying. I have no idea about what, and I was a bit concerned too but she ran right past me. I never even got the chance to check on her.”

  Evander nods disappointedly. “Okay, well if you happen to see her, do tell her to come find me.”

  “Why didn’t you just call her on her device?”

  “I don’t think she ever had it replaced after it was expelled on Earth.”

  Vidia nods and sighs. “Well, I’ll let someone know about that and have it looked into. It should have been replaced ages ago.” She makes a quick note on the tablet she carries around with her just about everywhere. “I’ll have to let the medical department know and maybe have the procedure scheduled for her.”

  “That’s not really priority right now, Vidia, trust me when I say there are much more pressing matters at hand.”

  Vidia places a manicured hand on her hip. “Do you seriously mean to tell me that an untracked, unreachable sorter is not priority? She needs to be able to be reached at all times, to prevent issues like this,” she motions toward Evander, “from occurring.”

  Evander manages to steady his breathing long enough to find Luna. “I don’t have the time or the patience to question you right now, Vidia, so I’m just going to continue on my way. Please do tell her to find me as soon as she can. Thanks!”

  Vidia mumbles something under her breath but Evander is too far away to hear it. He continues looking for Luna, until he sees her sitting at the base of the fountain in the middle of the socialization area of the Upperworld. No one seems to notice her there, as most sorters and record keepers are completely unaware of emotions and their effects on humanoids. Evander had to educate himself on it to even somewhat understand - and he knows that he never fully will. She has her knees drawn up to her chest, and appears to be watching the other beings go about their business while she cries. Evander sighs, knowing that the news he has is not going to make her feel any better, but decides that it is likely best she knows sooner versus later.

  “Hello there, Luna.” She pauses sobbing just long enough to meet Evander’s kind gaze from under her disheveled, dark black hair.

  “Hi Evander.”

  He swallows a bit before continuing, as he knows that the truth is going to hit her hard - and it looks like something else already did.

  “So, are you all right, Luna? What is the matter?”

  She sniffles and then looks down at her feet. “It’s Onyx. I just visited him and he… he yelled at me. He’s never been upset with
me before. It really hurt.” Evander sighs, and then squats down to pat her on the back awkwardly. He quickly decides that whatever she is feeling might as well be handled before he drops this hard truth onto her.

  “Oh really? What were you talking about that upset him?” Luna starts sobbing again, and starts to lean more heavily on Evander’s shoulder.

  “I wanted to make sure he was doing okay with everything, despite the unfortunate circumstances. And it turns out… he was lying to me the whole time. He’s not doing okay at all!”

  Evander freezes. “What exactly do you mean?”

  Luna tries to catch her breath between cries, and Evander gently brushes a few unruly strands of her hair out of her face. He’s gotten a bit better at comforting her, but Onyx is really the only one who can completely make her feel better - because he understands what emotions can do to a person better than anyone else.

  “That chair is hurting him. He said his hair is burning him, he cannot see well, and his body hurts from sitting for as long as he has. And there’s nothing I can do to help him at all!” Luna continues crying almost uncontrollably, and Evander is scared nearly motionless. It appears that Luna is noticing exactly what he was afraid of - that the chair is changing Onyx, and not for the better.

  “Luna, I don’t want to scare you any further, but I found some things that could explain why that is happening.”

  She stops sobbing only long enough to lock eyes with Evander, and then to chance a glance at the tablet he holds in his hand.

  “I found some things about Zephyr that seem to be the reason for this. Take a look at this very old picture of Zephyr.”

  Her eyes widen as she notices Zephyr looking a lot different than she would expect. “That was really him?” Evander nods.

  “Yes, that was Zephyr during his earlier days on the throne. Before… the current truly took hold of him.”

  “And after?”

  Evander flips forward to a different image, one that was taken of Zephyr much later. “Indeed - this is how I was used to seeing him, and I honestly thought he always looked like this. Unfortunately, I was very, very wrong.”

  Luna pauses, still wiping tears from her face on the back of her sleeve. “So this means…” She has trouble getting the words out of her mouth, so Evander takes the liberty of saying them for her.

  “Onyx will start to degrade as well, just like this. In fact, it seems he already started.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Griffin sits back admiring his work with the machine, just as the door beeps to signal a visitor is waiting. He gets up to let them in, and opens the door to be met with Evander’s worried face.

  “Hello Evander. I made some great progress with the machine - the entire outer casing has been finished, now we just have to get the inside to work. Oh, is something wrong?” He reacts immediately to Evander’s obvious discomfort.

  “Well, you see, there is indeed something that we seem to have overlooked. And it is something quite important.”

  Griffin raises a concerned eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”

  “Well, it turns out that Onyx is degenerating from the presence of the current coursing through him. We have proof that the same thing happened to Zephyr over eons.”

  Griffin scratches his head. “Well that’s just it - you said it happened to Zephyr over eons. The way you’re talking, it sounds as if it’s happening a lot faster with Onyx.”

  Evander nods. “Exactly. And I wish I had a definite answer as to why, but I honestly have no idea. I guess it is possible that since Onyx is part humanoid, perhaps the current will affect him at a different rate. There really is no way to know for sure though.”

  The two stand in silence for a moment, pondering the conundrum they seemingly have gotten themselves into. Neither one of them wants any permanent damage to happen to Onyx. But right now, they are nearly fresh out of ideas.

  “Well, it seems that the only option we really have, is to just go about our business as planned and hope it works.”

  Griffin moves toward the time machine that he’s been working on. Evander follows, interested in seeing his progress with it so far.

  “This is very impressive! The form feels very strong, and I am pleased with the way it’s been welded together. I appreciate your efforts, Griffin. Excellent work.”

  “Thank you. Now, this is where my expertise ends. I have no idea how to implement the use of uranium.”

  Evander pauses, and pats him on the shoulder. “I understand that maybe you are unfamiliar with the process, but I myself only know a little bit about it. So, I will be needing your assistance throughout the binding process.”

  “Really? You want my help?”

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Well, I often just don’t feel… intelligent enough. I’ve worked hard to learn all that I can, both through research, and from you. But I still doubt myself, quite often.”

  Evander pats him reassuringly on the back. “But your intelligence comes from the fact that you are willing to learn. Ability to adapt to any given circumstance is the true measure of knowledge - and you have already shown yourself to be quite flexible in various different situations. Trust your inner voice, and your natural instinctual propensities. You have what it takes, Griffin. And you are quite gifted, truly.”

  He smiles at his younger protégé. “I’ll get the uranium sample from my pod, and then… let’s finish this time machine.”

  ✷✷✷

  Luna continues to cry until all her tears run out, and then she begins the walk back to her pod to take a nap. She walks through the hazy purple fog, feeling numb, as the dull sting in the pit of her stomach begins to subside only because it is constant and her body begins to block it out. She makes it almost there until Vidia catches up with her.

  “Luna! There you are!”

  Luna stops in her tracks, her tear-stained face turning around to meet Vidia’s nonchalant gaze.

  “Hi Vidia. Look, I really need to get back to my pod to get some sleep…”

  “But Luna, you have to understand, this is important.” She places her hand on her hip. “I had heard from Evander that it seems you’re still missing your device?”

  Luna nods. “Yes, but I don’t miss it. Everyone knows where to find me, either in my pod or in the Sorting Room.”

  “Unfortunately, that is no longer enough. Evander was looking for you, and couldn’t find you.”

  “But he did find me, I was near the water fountain.”

  “That’s not good enough, Luna. I have made arrangements for you at the medical office to get another device implanted in your wrist.”

  “Thank you, but I really don’t need it.”

  “Luna, you know that it is Upperworld policy for everyone to be tracked at all times. It is how we run things so smoothly here.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize. I thought I would be an exception, given the circumstances.”

  Vidia shakes her head. “No, unfortunately not. Please do come with me.”

  Luna reluctantly follows her. “Will it… hurt?”

  Vidia shakes her head. No, not at all. The area will be put under localized anesthetic. You won’t feel a thing. It’s a less common procedure, as there aren’t too many sorters who have lost their implant on Earth, but it does happen occasionally. We usually try to replace it as soon as they return, although I think we really dropped the ball on this one. For that, I apologize.”

  Luna nods politely, not truly sure how to respond to that. She follows Vidia toward the medical office calmly, even though the idea of the surgery terrifies her.

  “Right this way, Luna.” Vidia points to a medical aid who stands at the front desk with a tablet.

  “Hello Sage, I have Luna here for her implant replacement.”

  The medical office aid taps on her tablet and then nods. “Yes, perfect. She can take a seat, I’ll have a doctor see her momentarily.”

  Vidia nods her thanks. “Alright Luna, I have things to do, so you’ll have t
ake it from here. You’ll be fine, Doctor Amaranthus is one of the best we have. Don’t worry!” Vidia smiles at her, and then breezes out through the front door.

  Luna sighs, clearly not wanting to be here doing this, but she doesn’t see any real way around it.

  “Hello, Luna? I’m Doctor Amaranthus. I’ve heard so much about you. Come along, let’s get you prepped.”

  She looks up to see a kindly looking older being, with medium brown hair and bright eyes.

  “Hello.” She shifts uncomfortable in her seat surrounded by the very basic and sterile furnishings of the medical office.

  “There’s no need to worry, come with me.”

  She reluctantly gets up to follow the doctor, who leads her into an operating room.

  “Please lay down and I will apply the anesthetic.”

  Luna does as she is told, while trying to content herself by looking up at the very bland ceiling.

  “I’m going to inject your wrist with the anesthetic so you won’t feel a thing, and then I’ll make a slight incision to deposit your implant. There have been upgrades, since you’ve been gone. The new ones have wireless internet now, isn’t that nice?” The doctor’s attempt to lighten the mood go unnoticed, as Luna only has enough energy to look at him with a very dead stare. “I don’t blame you one bit, actually. This whole thing is kind of unnecessary. But, rules are rules, of course. And I hate to scar your lovely, healthy skin, but I suppose is must be done.”

  The doctor pauses before picking up his scalpel. “I’d suggest you look away now. I promise you won’t feel any pain.”

  Luna turns her head slightly away, but still braces herself for the pain of the cut, even though it never comes. A bit of pressure on her wrist is all it is, and then it’s over as quickly as it began.

  CHAPTER 13

  “You’re sure you know what you’re doing with that?” Griffin looks quizzically at Evander as he holds the uranium sample in his bare hands.