Al Moreno And the Crystal of Gosia

by Mason J Schneider

  “You mean the crystal’s been in that thing this whole time?” Marcie looked at Alfred in surprise.

  “Since when have you had an A.I. though, Moreno?” Flux asked, looking confused.

  “Since I stole Henry from the cruise I was laying low on after I got out of that maze on Zuptraph.” Al explained.

  “Nice man! Most of the time I just take the little shampoo bottles and the pens from hotels, but the hyper-intelligent A.I. you got was a good choice too!” Aaron seemed genuinely impressed.

  “Alright well it was nice seeing you and all Aaron, but I’m visiting Gosia and getting this over with. Stay here with Marcie until I get back, it shouldn’t be long.”

  Marcie stood up, “Make sure you get Hemphion a new sun Alfred. Please.”

  Aaron’s eyes grew wide and his mouth opened a little. He looked at Alfred who was dismantling Henry and removing the crystal from his circuit board.

  “So you- you’re from Hemphion then, I’m um assuming?” Aaron asked Marcie, not looking at her.

  “Yes.” Marcie replied.

  Aaron was beginning to realize why Alfred had shut off the monitor earlier, but being the idiot that he was he announced the following:

  “Haha! Al, remember a few months ago when we had that Rift meeting and everyone got hammered and that news broadcast came on talking about Hemphion getting destroyed so you started making a bunch of explosion noises an-” Alfred tried to cut him off but Aaron didn’t notice and continued, “and you were saying hey look everybody guess who I am? Boom! BakOOOM! Bwaaahh! I’m Hemphion gettin’ my shit blown up! And then everyone laughed and cheered haha, good times.”

  Alfred turned and looked at Marcie, who was shaking with anger in her seat. Alfred walked up towards Flux who had begun to continue his story:

  “And then you were like Oh no! My sun, my sun! Oh my crust is melting oo-”

  BAM!

  Alfred swung a right fisted uppercut and landed it under Aaron’s chin. Flux fell to the floor, clearly knocked out.

  “Look Marcie I’m so-” Al began.

  “If you want to show me that you’re really sorry you’ll do whatever you can to try and get my planet a new sun.” Marcie interrupted and turned away from Alfred with tears in her eyes.

  “I will, I promise.” he looked at her, filled with guilt and anger at himself for saying such terrible things. He hadn’t meant them, not in the slightest. It’s just that he had gotten really drunk and everyone was saying ridiculous things to entertain each other. Still, he had learned a valuable lesson- don’t let Marty from the Society mix your gin and tonics.

  Al Moreno pulled his Rift Blade once again from his belt and disattached the clamps that connected Henry to Gosia’s Crystal. He put Henry back in his jacket pocket and the egg let out a long sigh of relief now that the crystal had been removed. Henry was glad that he had been given the rare opportunity to be one of the few A.I.’s who were genuinely alive, and he decided he would stick by Al Moreno’s side to thank him for his eternal gift. Alfred placed the Crystal of Gosia on a lab table and raised his Rift Blade high above his head. He looked over at Marcie once more.

  Rift Blades are rare universal tools that have been used by Rift Resolvers for eons. Each one is crafted from different rare materials, and an individual who trains in the Society receives his Blade and its powers when he graduates the program. The Rift Blade can slice through space and time- creating a split (or rift) in the Universe itself. However, a Resolver can only open a rift to a location he has been to before. Even then, the rift will only become a successful portal if it is the true will of the Universe, hence this is why these individuals are truly considered the acolytes of the Universe in all its infinite entirety. The Rift Resolvers use these blades to travel to the necessary places in space and time in order to change certain courses of events that if left to play out themselves would lead to more harm and unnecessary destruction. Some say that Rift Society members are people who take on the role of gods or the Universe themselves. However, the Society always regards these complaints with the same mantra:

  The Universe is all-knowing and therefore no wrong can truly ever be done. Every event in history has long been known and scripted by the All-Knowing. Thus, when a Resolver is able to open a Rift in space and/or time, it was truly already the will of the One for it to be opened. And the actions taken by Society members that prevent events from happening follow the same principle- if the attempt by a Resolver is successful it was meant to be. Likewise, if the event occurs regardless of a Resolvers attempt to stop it- the occurrence must have certainly been the choice of the Universe itself. Thus is why every member of the Society endures years of training- in order to adapt their moral compass and life energy to follow the One’s will.

  In order to be used properly, a Rift Resolver must use the skills they perfected over many years of training to force their own inner energy into the blade of the knife at just the right moment- in order to travel to their point of interest. This is part of the reason why some Rift Resolvers are so famous around the Universe regardless of what time and location they go to.

  Alfred closed one eye and concentrated on the center of the crystal with his other. He focused his inner energy and allowed it to combine with the Divine Energy- what Resolvers call the energy of the Universe. Then he slammed his blade down into the dead center of Gosia’s Crystal. All the while he focused on three things.

  Gosia. Marcie. Getting a new sun for Hemphion.

  6 “What a trip!”

  For a split-second Alfred felt incredible. It was as if the crystal was lending him its power. Then there was nothing but darkness and he wondered if he had died. Flux wasn’t the brightest after all, and he might have gotten the procedure wrong. But then Al finally felt like he could lift his eyelids, and when he did what he saw blew his mind.

  He was moving forward through a tunnel which was made of swirling colors. As if someone had taken every color of paint and thrown a bucket of it into a swirling wall that remained ever changing. More alarmingly, Alfred could see himself running through the tunnel of liquid colors. But this did not concern him, for he felt absolutely amazing. It was as if every sensor in his brain, every nerve throughout his entire body was told, “Hey relax. Feel good.”

  If it were possible to be concerned about anything while in this state, for Alfred Moreno it would probably be wondering why there was a gigantic wolf, with a pelt of shimmering gold, running alongside his own body he was watching. For the longest time, he just stared at the wolf and thought about how damn cool it was. Then he decided to ask some questions.

  “Hey wolf, what uh, what’s going on here- am I going to see Gosia?”

  “Well of course you are sir!” the Wolf turned and looked at Alfred running beside him.

  “Henry, is that you?” Al was in disbelief, but the voice, it must be.

  “Yes sir! Oh my, I hope I haven’t frightened you with my appearance. You see sir, this is how I see myself most of the time. And this place we are in, this is where I always am, in some form or another- ever since you put Gosia’s Crystal in me. Now both of us are essentially within the crystal, but at no particular place in time. And since Gosia is a god and gods are in all things, I believe we can now meet with him.”

  “I gotta say Henry I really only understood maybe a third of what you just said- but you are a lot cooler as a wolf. Although I really think you should change your voice to something a little more intimidating.”

  The wolf looked Alfred up and down, and then in what sounded like the voice of a champion gladiator announced, “How about THIS ?”

  If Alfred thought he had eyes right now and wasn’t in some sort of strange out of body metaphysical state, he probably would’ve wiped a tear. He’d never dreamed Henry could be so cool. Up ahead it looked like the path continued both straight and to the left. A loud and commanding voice could be heard coming from the path that was quickly approaching on the left side.

  “Yes! China for the win
in table tennis! HA HA HA, fifty more years Gardtrof! HAHA!” the voice boomed.

  “Climb on my back Alfred, whatever is ahead we will face it together. I have quite an array of powers in this dimension.” Henry announced, still in gladiator voice.

  Alfred watched as his body seemed to automatically follow Henry’s instructions, and climbed to sit on the wolf. Suddenly Alfred snapped back into his own body and was aware of all of his senses. Henry changed his steps so that they veered to the path on the left.

  “There is very little data on this subject Alfred, however from what I’ve found in the records of the Rift Society it seems that a human cannot pass through the gateway to the realm of a god in a physical state. Your spirit is allowed to flow, and it is theorized you can see and communicate through your third eye- that’s likely what you were experiencing before. However, even though I am alive, I am not human. I can exist in this place both physically and spiritually. When you climbed onto my back, we became as one- and so long as we are in contact here you will be the same as you would be anywhere else. I think once we pass through the portal you should be fine. So just stay on my back for now.”

  Alfred did nothing, but instead nodded and patted his hand on Henry’s side. For once he was truly thankful beyond words for the A.I. He had been priceless on this journey since escaping the cruise, and Al was starting to think of him more as a friend than just a computer program. He was alive, after all.

  Suddenly the colors stopped splashing all around them and they slowed down as a room took shape. Walls came out of the colors, they were white but lit up by blue and red lights in the ceiling. In one corner there was a very extravagant piano. In the middle of the room was a bright yellow futon. On it sat a larger than normal raven, who they soon discovered to be the owner of the booming voice. On a lime green lazy chair next to the futon sat an owl, with four eyes on its head. Two sets of two- each with a different pair of glasses on.

  The owl spoke up, not paying any attention to the visitors, “Whatever Dorsen. Double or nothing on javelin!”

  “HAHA! So be it, you’ll end up owing me a hundred years of your knowledge next!” the raven, Dorsen, announced in an intimidating voice.

  “Are you guys betting on the Olympics?” Alfred spoke up out of the blue.

  “Yes. Care to get in on the action? What do you have to offer? That wolf is quite intriguing.” the Raven interrogated.

  “What year is that? Is that Rome, 1960?” Alfred said, looking at the large television screen they were all watching with keen interest.

  The owl fumbled around and lifted the remote up somehow with its wing. Then, lowering its beak, it pecked at a button. The guide on the television broadcast showed up, clarifying that it was in fact the 1960 Rome Olympics.

  “Yes, that is correct.” the owl, who spoke in a low soft voice answered. He then returned the monitor back to the video.

  “Well I’m not really interested in betting my awesome golden wolf with incredible powers here on a simple game like javelin.” Alfred complained.

  “Oh is that so? You’d rather bet on a different Summer Olympic event? Take your pick stranger, and announce the terms.”

  “Canoeing. If my pick wins you tell me how to get to Gosia. I’m a friend of his, but I’ve never met him in his own realm- only in the dimension I call home. If your pick wins, you get to take my wolf forever.”

  Henry spoke up in his masculine voice, “Sir, are you sure about this?”

  “Don’t worry Henry, I’m a very lucky guy.”

  Henry whimpered a bit but the Owl, known as Gardtrof, spoke up, “Wow, impressive voice. But what else makes this wolf a worthy trade? You mentioned powers?”

  “Uh yeah, Henry show them your um- your powers.”

  “Of course sir.”

  The wolf turned, Al still on his back, and looked directly at the elegant piano in the corner. He opened his mouth, exposing lines of golden fanged teeth. Then he made a very strange noise and blasted a beam of golden light at the piano. It immediately transformed into Gardtrof, and to Alfred and everyone else’s amazement, the piano was now awkwardly placed in the lazy chair that the owl had been sitting in.

  “Woah what a trip! We need this wolf Dorsen.”

  “Okay, the wolf is cool enough. You have a deal.” Dorsen announced, doing something to the remote which made it fast forward in time to the canoeing event.

  “We’ll pick first.” the owl announced.

  The birds shuffled over close to one another and spoke in hushed tones. Then Dorsen looked at Alfred and announced, “We pick USA.”

  “I was actually going to pick Russia, so this works out. Let’s watch boys.” Alfred responded, directing Henry to walk over and get a better view of the television.

  “Russia?” the owl said, confused.

  “You said he’d want to pick USA, you fool! You’re supposed to be smart!” Dorsen boomed at the owl.

  “Well...well...I um…” the owl was backing up away from Dorsen, blinking all four of his eyes very quickly out of panic.

  “Hey now, no take backs. You guys wouldn’t try to cheat a mere human, when you two are such powerful entities would ya? Be sad if you had to cheat just to beat me.” Alfred spoke thoughtfully.

  “No. We do not need to cheat to win this bet. Let us watch.” Dorsen had calmed down, and went to sit on the couch. Gardtrof sat down a little further away from him.

  Everyone watched the black and white screen and listened closely to the commentator as the event began.

  “What an extraordinary day we have here for the canoeing finals. The race is off and everyone seems to be sticking close together. Germany is ahead by just one length.” the commentator spoke in Italian, but Al realized he could understand him perfectly.

  The race went on for a bit and towards the end both USA and Russia had pulled ahead from the other teams. The finish line was fast approaching. There were no rapids and the water followed a path straight ahead.

  “And it looks like USA is going to win this one! They’ve just got the final stretch to go. Russia looks worn out, I’m not sure they have any chance of getting back in the lead.”

  “HAHA suckers, go ahead and get off our wolf.” Dorsen hollered.

  “Wait.” Al smiled and pointed at the screen, which Dorsen turned back to face and watched.

  It certainly looked like USA was about to win, they just had a few more lengths to go and Russia was about two canoe-lengths behind them. Then the oddest thing happened, the USA team’s canoe suddenly rolled over- spilling all of the passengers into the water. It looked like there was a flash of light underwater for a moment as well. Al listened as the announcer came on:

  “OH! USA has tipped their canoe, and there goes Russia! THERE THEY GO! AND IT’S RUSSIA FOR THE WIN!”

  “Oh my…” said Gardtrof quietly.

  Surprisingly, the raven did not appear angry or worked up. If anything at all it seemed impressed that a human had managed to defeat him- a spiritual being. When he finally spoke, he looked Alfred in the eyes with a new respect.

  “You are wise Alfred Moreno. And it seems luck does indeed follow you. Although I know it was not luck that won you this game. I saw the flash of light, you must’ve had a Rift Society mission some time ago that took you to that very event. And you changed the outcome of that race long ago in protection of something in the Universe. In turn it helped you out today. How interesting.” Dorsen seemed to get lost in thought for a moment.

  “That’s why I was confident in any bet I placed after I confirmed it was the 1960 Olympics. I had an assignment to go there and make it so that Russia won more medals. By doing so we strengthened national morale, and helped keep the Cold War at bay during those years. It was me who flipped that canoe.” Alfred explained.

  “There is something about you. You have great destinies to fulfill. I will of course hold up my end of the bet, but if you don’t mind I’d like to see if I couldn’t help you out a little more.”

  Alfred loo
ked at the raven curiously as he answered, “Sure! I’ll take all the help I can get.”

  “Gardtrof, come here.” Dorsen called to his companion who flew over beside them. “What gifts of knowledge can you provide this Resolver with?”

  Gardtrof seemed to think for a moment, then answered, “My gift to you is this: I shall reveal to you the one thing you need to know the most. Other than how to get to Gosia, because Dorsen has already agreed to tell you that. In addition to this, you and your wolf are always welcome in my library.”

  “Wow, thank you Gardtrof.” Al bowed his head to the owl, then asked, “What library is that?”

  Gardtrof looked surprised that the human didn’t know, but he answered back in a kind tone.

  “Why the Great Library of Alexandria of course. Few can go there anymore, but if you ever find yourself requiring knowledge, you are welcome.”

  “Thank you. So what is it that I need to know the most?”

  The owl looked at Al, studying him for a moment.

  “The Crystal of Gosia. Although it has many powers, the one which you must be made aware of is its power of duplication.”

  “But why would I need to know that?” Al looked confused. He was about to return the crystal to Gosia as soon as they told him where he was.

  “That is unclear for now. Only the One knows all the answers. Not even Dorsen, Gosia, or I know everything. Now- off to see the god you go!”

  Alfred looked to Dorsen who was picking up the t.v. remote. He clicked something on it that made the channel change to an incredibly clear image of a long dirt path leading to a cottage by the sea. The only way one could tell it wasn’t a still picture was by the trees moving just slightly in a gentle breeze.