Stories : July 2007 Website Contest
Sci-Fi, Dandy, Haunted Hero, Diamond, Grandfather Clock, Blindness, Blood, Tomb, and Escape.
The Tesseract
Dominique Gerald Cimafranca - Winner
Like an eternal monument, the ancient grandfather clock stood unmoving, its hands forever fixed at a half past one. The brass pendulum hung a few degrees off apogee, but neither rose nor fell. Remnants of the glass window, smeared with blood, were as jagged teeth of the broken case. From one of the jutting splinters a fresh crimson dollop threatened to fall, yet clung stubbornly to the wood.
Desmond regarded the unmoving scene, bemused by the irony. Time was all he had now. Well, time and his own sardonic self. Nothing more to do, then, but dwell on the sins that had brought him thus.
Even now, Desmond's thoughts flew back to the diamond. Yes, the diamond, that which called out to him with its irresistible siren song, seducing him with its window to infinity.
That the diamond was of alien origin, there was no doubt. By the scientists' estimations, it was immeasurably old. These were the quaint oddities that had piqued his curiosity that night he attended the function at the Singh-Meyer Space Institute. Little did he know that it would become his deadly obsession.
He recalled that he had not even wanted to go. Nigel, being one of Institute's investment angels, had insisted on his company for the exhibit's premier. "I'm delighted you'll turn another billion, Nigel, love," he had said, "but must I tag along? Scientists and explorers, phooey! I'll simply be bored to tears."
In the end, Desmond found himself at the Institute that evening. It had been just his thing, too, an affair with coattails and fancy dress. That night belonged less to the scientists and explorers than to the venture capitalists who had funded Meyer's Europa expedition.
His head was simply swimming with possibilities!
Desmond kept up his charming demeanor, though he groaned inwardly, when the time inevitably came for Hank Meyer's presentation. The guests filed into the auditorium, the lights dimmed, and the spotlight fell on the gigantic figure at the podium.
The great space conqueror! sneered Desmond to himself. While Meyer had led the expedition to Site 21 at Europa, he looked every bit uncomfortable up on the stage. But he was the man of the hour. That was the only reason he and not Singh was doing the presentation tonight.
Meyer was soon lost in his team's account of the Site 21 expedition, much to the chagrin of Desmond and the rest of the non-technical audience. Desmond rolled his eyes as Meyer droned on about landings and quarries and excavators and carbon dating.
Just when Desmond was about to nod off at the rolling monotone, Meyer came to the point that everyone had been waiting for.
"As you know, the reason Site 21 has been of great interest to us is because of the unusual Hawking radiation emanating from the area.
Simply put: there was a mass anomaly that clearly did not belong to the Europan landscape," Meyer droned.
"And for some time we have been receiving curious non-random signals on the lower band carrier frequencies that simply cannot be attributed to background space radiation. In other words, ladies and gentlemen: the strong possibility that there may be intelligence behind these signals.
"This is what we found."
The screen transitioned to show, embedded in the rock face, a metallic rectangular plate with indecipherable hieroglyphics. There was a collective gasp from the audience, Desmond included. Meyer flashed more pictures: octagonal canisters, recessed discs, lattice networks, and finally, what looked to be machines with mazes of tubes running through them.
An eager hand shot up from the audience, and impatiently, its owner's voice followed suit: "Have you determined any usable technology from these artifacts?"
"We're still in the early stages," Meyer cautioned, "and, of course, there's still much that we don't understand."
"This is the find of the millennium, man!" said another voice, Nigel's. "Show us something for our money!" The room erupted in an uproar of assent. "Yes, show us!"
Meyer scanned the room, eyes wide with bewilderment. Excited investors had risen from their seats, forgetting all decorum (but not Desmond, who watched the entire proceeding with detached bemusement.) Rajiv Singh finally came to Meyer's rescue.
"If you please, ladies and gentlemen," Singh intoned pleasantly but irresistibly, "Hank will have something to be showing you soon enough. Hank?" Singh signalled to someone offstage, and two attendants rolled in a tall cylinder.
Meyer looked darkly at the unflappable Singh, and then finally relented.
"We're studying the artifacts in their original environment," Meyer said. "Except for this one."
He pressed a button. The cylinder split lengthwise. A spotlight illuminated the display, probing its contents, but it seemed to suck in all the light. Not for a while did everyone finally realize that the case was open, and even then the darkness within persisted.
Inside was the diamond, but it was a fact perceived rather than seen. One felt it when one was not looking at it directly. And though one could not see it, one knew it came in the shape of a diamond.
No, not a diamond, Desmond thought, rising finally from his seat. The Diamond. Its blackness captivated him. A pleasant buzz hummed in his ears. He felt a tear roll down his cheek.
"Do you hear that?" Desmond whispered to Nigel. He did not take his eyes off the diamond.
"Hear what?" Nigel said. Desmond ignored him.
"This is Specimen Alpha," Meyer said. "We found it in one of the inner chambers of Site 21. It was encased in rock. The only reason we found it was because it was the source of the non-random signal. The encasing rock itself was carbon-dated three point four million years."
"But what does it do?" someone demanded.
"We're not one hundred percent sure," Meyer said, "but it seems to be the central power generator of the Site 21 complex. It magnifies applied force in an exponential vector. So far we've produced 3.2 gigawatts in a controlled laboratory environment. That's as high as our instrumentation goes."
A buzz of excitement filled the room. Desmond was annoyed. It interfered with the song playing in his head.
"Can we touch it?" Desmond asked above the murmurs.
"No!" Meyer said emphatically, startling the entire room.
"Touch it and it shows you...images. Of what, we don't actually know. It's a jumble, really. It's so...alien....
"We...I...lost two people to this. It doesn't have that great an effect on most people. But to folks ranking high on the Sheldrake psionic scale, it's particularly strong," Meyer said. His voice was quaking. "Those two of my crew are still in a coma."
A visibly irritated Rajiv Singh wrested the podium from Meyer and restored order with assurances of the proper safeguards, the potential of unlimited energy, and most importantly, a guarantee of wealth. That put the audience back at ease, and soon Meyer's outburst was forgotten.
The gathering retired for cocktails. Desmond watched achingly as the attendants closed the cylinder and rolled it away. But the song still played in his ears. For his ears alone, he thought proudly.
From the corner of his eye, Desmond followed Meyer, saw him brush past two distinguished gentlemen who had questions for him, and make a beeline for a young but plain looking woman. The women patted Meyer's forehead with a handkerchief, and for the first time that night, Desmond finally saw Meyer at ease. Only then did he submit to the inquisition of his investors.
Desmond licked his lips, brushed back his long locks, and put on his most charming smile as he closed in on the woman, now standing alone. This was going to be easier than he thought.
The grandfather clock struck the midnight hour. To the cadence of the dulcet tones Desmond followed the arc of the brass pendulum. The clock was very old, dating back to the late 19th century, and it was very expensive. Desmond admired it for its elegant antiquity, just like the many other ornaments in the Meyer estate. He wondered that Meyer was capable of appreciating them at all.
"She's not here," a low, level voice said from behind him. Desmond stiffened, then caught himself.
"Mr. Meyer, an unexpected pleasure," Desmond said, flashing Meyer a confident smile. He extended a hand, one that Meyer resolutely ignored.
"She's not here," Meyer repeated. He was scowling, and his breath carried the smell of whiskey. In his left hand, clutched tight, was his whiskey glass. "Keep away from her, damn you," Meyer hissed.
"Rosalie and I are in love," Desmond said defiantly. "Surely you must see that."
Meyer threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Love? Let's drop the charade, you insufferable fop," Meyer said. "It's not Rosalie you're after, is it? It's the diamond!"
Desmond thought to deny it. But for the past six months he had been meticulously laying down the cards, and now they were stacked in his favor. He had bribed, inveigled, influenced, and seduced. There was nothing that poor, straightforward Meyer could do.
"So..." Desmond said ambivalently, smiling.
"You fool! You have no idea, no idea at all, what you're playing with." Meyer staggered with rage.
"I only know that I must," Desmond said, pacing slowly around Meyer to stay out of his reach.
"It's the music, isn't it? That infernal music."
"So, you hear it, too?" Desmond was surprised.
"Just one of the side effects. Prolonged exposure, you see. But I saw you -- I remember you -- that night at the exhibit. Saw the effect it had on you."
"Yes?"
"My God, man! Don't you even care what it could do to you?"
"What is it, Meyer? Tell me! What is the secret? What is the diamond? Why do I desire it so much? Why does it call me?"
"It's a stable micro-black hole, that much we knew from early on. But don't you see? It takes tremendous energy to sustain it under stable conditions. We don't know how, but we suspect it's a fourth-dimensional construct projected by a psionic field. It's preposterous but it has to come from within the micro-black hole itself."
"And the music?"
"Psychic resonance. I've already made my own inquiries, Desmond. You must be congratulated on your Sheldrake scores."
"So what happens to me, Meyer, if -- when! -- I possess the diamond?"
"Do you really want it that badly, Desmond? Perhaps I should just give it to you. But no, no. Psionic imbalance, leading to collapse
of the field. Strong possibility. Nearly happened twice with my crew."
"But I must have it! And I will!"
Meyer laughed. "I'm not a complete idiot, you know. I've taken my own precautions." Then his face contorted in anger. "But I can't forgive you for taking Rosalie from me."
Meyer flung the wine glass at Desmond. Desmond ducked, and the glass shattered against the wall.
Meyer staggered forward. A blow aimed at Desmond flew wild, glanced the grandfather clock, wobbling it on its axis. Desmond sidestepped Meyer with a dancer's grace, and tripped up the bigger man. Meyer howled with rage.
"You won't get the diamond, Desmond! I promise you that! You can't! I'll kill you first!"
Desmond bolted out the door, ran for his waiting car. The encounter with Meyer showed him how close his plans had come to unravelling. But no, not all was lost. He had a few more cards left to play. Now he knew he had to play them quickly and masterfully.
Behind him, he could hear Meyer charging out of the house.
The grandfather clock's hands read five minutes to half past one. The brass pendulum swung steadily, marking the passing of the seconds. The minute hand moved one tick forward.
Rosalie Meyer lay on the floor unmoving, her bloodied head having been smashed against the pendulum case. Remnants of the glass window were as jagged teeth. From one of the jutting splinters a fresh crimson dollop fell.
Desmond stood over Rosalie's body, heart beating wildly. This was another murder to add to his record tonight, that is, if he had succeeded in killing Hank Meyer when he forced Meyer's car off the road. The music in his head followed the tempo.
He brushed back the sticky lock that had fallen across Rosalie's forehead.
"Poor girl," he cooed, "I'm sorry it had to end this way. If only you hadn't had a change of heart. But you can take heart that if it hadn't been for me you never really would have lived."
He bent forward to kiss her.
Outside, he could hear a car crashing through the estate's gates. He heard the car stop, heard the door flung open angrily. Then an angry bestial roar. Meyer had survived after all.
With trembling hands he pried the canister loose from Rosalie's grip. A thrill coursed through his entire body. The music had never been as strong as it was now.
Any moment, Meyer would come crashing through the door. And then it would be all over. He had crossed the point of no return. But it didn't matter. To hold the diamond, to hold the diamond, that was all he wanted.
He fumbled for the code on the container's side. Six digits, each press taking an eternity to complete. At last, the canister split open. The darkness within beckoned to him.
The drawing room's doors shuddered once, twice. Another roar from Meyer. The bar splintered, and Meyer came crashing through, uncontrollably consumed with blood lust.
"Kill yo-oooooou!" Meyer screamed.
Desmond took no heed. He thrust his hands onto the blackness of the diamond. The music throbbed in his ears, white hot. His face registered pure ecstasy.
At his touch, the containment field fell. In a flash, the black hole exploded outwards, momentarily filling the room with an unearthly light. The field enveloped Desmond, Meyer, the room as the event horizon expanded, then collapsed again.
The music came to an abrupt stop. In his hands, he felt...nothing. Nothing at all.
There was no more music. There was no sound at all. The silence was maddening.
Where had the music gone?
He wanted to cry. No tears would fall.
Only Desmond's consciousness retained its internal movement. He was inside the black hole, all light stood frozen. All time came to a halt.
At the last moment, his attention had been drawn to that dollop of Rosalie's blood, just about to fall from the splinter from which it hung. In what had been his field of vision was the ancient grandfather clock, standing unmoving, its hands forever fixed at a half past one, the brass pendulum hung a few degrees off apogee, but neither rising nor falling.
Fate-01
Charise Loraine Rivera
The Hades Penal Colony was not a tourists’ destination spot, to be sure. Located midway between the Earth’s crust and its mantle, made of reinforced titanium alloy, and constantly surrounded by hot, molten rock and metal, it was the last place anyone in their right minds would want to go. Add to its hostile location its permanent residents of some five hundred inmates with criminal records longer than they were tall, and HPC becomes hell on earth, literally and figuratively.
Captain Edwin Frost scanned the contents of the data cube quickly, its information fed directly to lens cameras in his eye. Aside from the soft whirring sound of the data cube, the only other sound came from the ensign standing a little ways behind him who seemed to have trouble keeping still.
Captain Frost made a small, irritated noise at the back of his throat. He hated it when they assigned junior officers to him, because he almost always gets one who had never seen a Manipulator like him before.
Now what was his name? Oh yes, Ensign Jake Cadger. “Cadger,” Captain Frost said in a slight reprimanding tone, “stop fidgeting before you bore a hole in the floor, and then I shall have to find another assistant for the remainder of this mission.”
“Y-yes sir. I’m sorry sir.” The ensign immediately stopped moving, keeping very still.
There was a few moments of silence. “You can still breathe, you know.” Captain Frost turned back to see the ensign flush and look quite flustered, although he was not fidgeting as much as before.
The elevator took them directly to the MC-06 shuttle port. By the time the doors slid open, Captain Frost already had the data cube tucked away under his dark blue coat. Two sentry guards accosted them when they arrived.
“Identification?” This guard took one look at Ensign Cadger, dismissed him as a no-threat, and turned his flat stare at Captain Frost.
Frost held up one empty hand. The guard watched open-mouthed as a silver card materialized slowly in his hand, complete with digital image, thumbprint scan, DNA sequence, and rank.
“Captain Edwin Frost of the United Nations Forces, Air Division, Squad A. And obviously a Manipulator,” he added dryly. The card floated in his hand. He gave it to the sentry. “I’m here on a confidential mission.”
One of the other sentry guards produced a portable scanner. He slipped Frost’s ID into the scanner and waited for confirmation. The captain’s image popped up on the screen. It also showed other information, including those the card could produce effortlessly on its own: all ID cards had their own holographic image projector and a small nuclear battery pack, among other things.
Captain Frost noticed the nervous glances both sentry guards threw in his direction, and it took a great amount of willpower not to roll his eyes and make a comment. Manipulators were not generally welcome in society; unlike normal humans, they had the ability to alter any electronic device with sheer thought. Scientists have hypothesized that this was a step up in human evolution. Most people think they were only freaks of nature.
Not many children are born Manipulators, and of every ten that are born, only three will live past the age of fifteen, and only one of those three will live on to become adults. Manipulators were almost always born with frail physical bodies. Some turned insane.
It was the military who had come to see Manipulators as something else. Their unique abilities made them perfect reconnaissance soldiers and weapons. In a worldwide project, the UN Forces collected every Manipulator they could and sent them to a secret training facility, where they could be educated while their abilities were studied and honed. Not everyone survived; most of the other Manipulator children he had known in the facility died because of sickness.
When he graduated, there was only one course of action he could take: sign up in the military. It had taken him years to earn their respect, and Frost was sure he could not expect another promotion anytime soon. Although the military as a whole recognized Manipulators as a great asset, soldiers were only human.
And human instinct dictated that anything one cannot understand must be considered dangerous.
After a few minutes the sentries handed him back his ID, their faces as cool and collected as his, although a thin line of sweat covered their foreheads. “Captain, the shuttle is ready for departure.” They saluted and made way for him to pass.
Captain Frost made a noncommittal sound and nodded. He walked past the guards and onto the ramp that would take him to the Hades shuttle. Ensign Cadger walked quickly to catch up. The young officer looked up and whistled. “That’s one mighty impressive shuttle, captain.”
Frost looked up and silently agreed. The Hades shuttle was unique, in that it is the only shuttle that was made to travel underground. Its entire body was made of the same material used to build the Hades colony, with an engine that would rival that of the best star ships under his command. It could withstand thousands of pounds of pressure and intense heat, and it was driven entirely by remote from the UN Forces headquarters.
Which was why it surprised him to find someone on the bridge waiting for them.
While he settled down on his seat in the passenger area, Captain Frost instructed Ensign Cadger to enter the mission codes into the shuttle’s computer to confirm their flight path. A few seconds later Ensign Cadger had come up to him, running.
“Captain,” he gasped through breaths. “There is someone on the bridge!”
Frost narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“I saw a man in the bridge, Captain! He was wearing the uniform of the Intelligence Division, but I didn’t see his face. He was looking at the shuttle’s controls.”
Frost considered for a moment. “Very well. You stay here.” With a thought he materialized a laser hand gun much the same as the one in Ensign Cadger’s holster, but his had a lower power output. If they had an unwanted passenger on board, he would want to capture him alive for questioning.
For a moment he thought that someone had leaked information about his mission. But that was impossible; only the commander and the seven division chiefs knew about his job at Hades.
Captain Frost set the gun on silent and walked slowly towards the bridge. While he walked he planned out his next move. The shuttle had only one exit, and that was in the passenger area. He had studied the shuttle’s blueprints before he came here. If worse came to worse, he could Manipulate the doors to make them into a solid wall of metal and override the shuttle’s controls so whoever it was could not escape.
When he opened the doors, though, he was surprised to see a familiar face.
Brown eyes and a handsome smiling face greeted him with a warm smile. “It’s been a while, Edwin.”
Captain Frost lowered the gun and let it return to its original form: a small electronic notebook. He pocketed it and narrowed his eyes at the man languidly sitting across the pilot’s chair with his legs over one arm. “What are you doing here, Captain Knightly?”
Captain William Knightly unhooked his knees over the chair and laughed. “Still as stiff as a board, aren’t you?” He leaned back against the chair, beaming. “Aren’t I allowed to drop by and say ‘hello’?”
“Not when I’m in the middle of something.” Captain Frost sat down in the nearest chair and looked straight at Knightly. “What are you doing here?” he asked again.
William Knightly shrugged, a smile still on his face as he tilted his head. “It’s about your mission, Edwin.”
“Who sent you?”
“Ah, let’s just say I came on a voluntary basis, so orders weren’t really necessary.”
Frost’s eyes narrowed. “You came here without permission?”
“I have every right to come to port MC-06,” Knightly corrected. “I am not, however, allowed to go to Hades. Strict regulations, and all that,” he added with a charming smile that had no effect whatsoever on the other captain.
“And this shuttle?”
Knightly gave a condescending grin. “I may not be a Manipulator, Edwin, but I know enough about being a soldier to slip pass two sentries and a few paltry sensors.”
Frost did not know how to reply to this, so he stayed silent and waited.
“You know, Edwin, you might be a great captain, but you have the social skills of an Infantry idiot who only knows how to shoot enemies and impress ladies.”
Frost only stared at him. Knightly shrugged, sighing. “Some conversationalist,” he said wryly, before adding, “I assume your assistant is at the back?”
Captain Frost nodded. “Ensign Cadger will be waiting for me until I call for him.”
“And how can you be sure…?”
“If he is eavesdropping on us, I would know. I created a sensor on the door.”
“Ah.” Captain Knightly nodded. “That’s good. I suppose he has no idea about this mission?”
Frost shook his head. “He does. But only enough to know that I might need back-up when we leave.”
Knightly quirked an eyebrow. “Is he that good?”
“Good enough.”
Knightly nodded, his smile fading. His face turned serious as he regarded Edwin. They had not known each other for long, but they had each saved each other’s lives enough to regard themselves as friends. At least, that was what Knightly thought. “Edwin,” he began, “do you know your target?”
Captain Frost paused for a while before nodding. “A prisoner. Level five, very dangerous.”
Knightly waved the information away as if it did not matter. “I mean, do you know exactly who your prisoner is?”
When Captain Frost did not answer, he continued. “It’s Fate.”
“Come again?”
“Finely Altered Terrestrial Entity. Or, to be more precise, Fate-01. She’s the first, and probably the last.”
Alarm bells went up inside Captain Frost’s head. He regarded Knightly wearily. What would he gain from telling him this?
Knightly continued his explanations. “Fate-01 was a project started almost two decades ago, almost the same time that the military had begun to train Manipulators. They wanted to see if they can gain a thorough knowledge of the genetic make-up of Manipulators, and add a few choice traits of their own.” A twisted smile marred his face. “Hundreds of children died in the course of the project, but they finally succeeded after seven years. A Manipulator child was born with the abilities they had expected to see. And to keep things under control, they kept Fate under close supervision, without influence of the outside world.” He snorted in disgust. “But now they want the project closed down.”
He looked at Captain Frost. “Which is where you come in.”
Frost studied Knightly’s face. “Why are you telling me this?”
For a moment the other captain looked puzzled. “Isn’t it obvious? Good God, Edwin, I knew you were a stiff, but to be this cold-hearted…don’t you realize that they are ordering you to kill a child?”
“You are proposing that I abort this mission?”
Knightly rolled his eyes. “Oh no, Captain, absolutely not. It was a mere thought, you know, a passing sort of thing, like a fancy from my imagination…of course I’m telling you to abort this mission, you cold-faced lump!”
“That would be considered an act of rebellion.”
For a moment, Captain Knightly did not say anything. Then he stood up, shrugging his shoulders. “It is your decision,” he said finally. “I won’t stop you, and even if I did, I might end up dead,” he added without humor. “Think about this, Edwin.” He opened the door and stepped out.
* * *
The cell where Fate was being held was in the lowest level of the Hades colony, and it was made of pure diamond.
All the security cameras had been Manipulated to become blank monitor screens, and the security locks for the cell door had all been disabled. It had taken Captain Frost only a minute. But the back-up system could start any moment, and the armed guards were already hunting him down, albeit without anything electronic.
That gave him five minutes, at most, before the colony became his tomb. His and his ensign’s.
“Captain, is everything alright?” came Ensign Cadger’s voice clearly through the communicator clipped to his left ear. He had ordered Cadger to secure the first door-lock to the bottom level. In the background he heard shooting.
“Yes. There’s no trouble here. And you?”
He heard the ensign grunt. “They’re using old guns with metal bullets; the force field generator you set up might not hold for much longer. “
Captain Frost dashed across the empty hallway leading to the diamond cell. “Give me three minutes.” He studied the prison cell. It was a complete sphere, with no entrances or exits, although the diamond platform he was currently standing on touched the surface. He peered inside. He could see a small figure huddled on the bottom.
With practiced ease he Manipulated his electronic notebook into a compact bomb, activated it, and ran for safety. With a small boom and ten seconds later, the cell was cracked open slightly, but not enough for him to get inside.
He cursed under his breath, and ran back to the main hallway, where he Manipulated one of the security cameras into a laser gun. Turning the dial for maximum power, he ran back to the cell and started burning a hole on the surface.
It was slow work, but he managed to do it. He hid the gun under his coat and slipped inside the diamond sphere.
It was very bright inside. Frost had to squint for a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the light. He looked around and saw a little girl about thirteen years of age, with limp black hair and large blue unseeing eyes. Her skin was very pale, and contrasted sharply with her black dress. There was nothing else inside the cell except a tall, wooden, ornate, antique grandfather clock.
“You are Fate.” Captain Frost walked up to the child and looked at her. She did not even flinch when he took out his gun.
The child nodded. “Are you here to kill me?” she asked in a soft, high voice. Her face did not change.
The captain’s eyes narrowed. “What makes you say that?”
“I heard a gun.” The child did not turn in his direction when he stepped back. “Are you here to kill me?” she asked again.
Captain Frost remained silent. He looked at the clock behind the girl. “Why do you have a clock?”
The girl lowered her eyes. “I wanted to know how long I had to wait before I am dead.”
“Why?”
“Everyone is afraid of me,” the girl replied. “Do you know why my cage is made of diamonds? I am a Manipulator, but I can manipulate anything to anything else, so long as their atomic construct is not stable. Diamond has a near-perfect atomic structure, so it is impossible for me to change it.” She turned around and touched the grandfather clock, ticking softly. “The clock was the only other thing I asked the commander for. The first is death.”
She turned her head in the direction of Captain Frost, although her eyes stared at something to his left. “I was the one who wanted you to kill me, Captain Frost.”
Shock rendered him motionless for a moment before his senses returned. “Why me?” he asked in a tone that was harsher than he intended.
The little girl tilted her head. “Why not? You are a Manipulator, like I am. Surely you understand why I should die. You and I are both different, but unlike you, I am…a monster, in their eyes.” She smiled sadly. “They created me, but they do not feel anything but fear and revulsion. Death would be a far better companion for me.”
Captain Frost shook his head. “I…I can’t?“
“Captain!” came Cadger’s voice through the radio. “The force-field generator is dead. I only barely escaped to the shuttle; it seems their real target is you.”
Captain Frost cursed under his breath again. “I’ll be there.” He looked up at the girl. “Come with me.”
Fate shook her head. “No. You must kill me before they find you.”
“No.”
Fate sighed. Captain Frost was startled when the laser gun in his hands shot out and floated in front of Fate. The gun de-materialized in the air. In its place was an old-fashioned dagger, the electronic components of the gun dropping onto the cold diamond floor. She grabbed the dagger and pressed the point to her neck, enough to draw blood.
Captain Frost watched as the red beads slowly slid down the length of the blade, marring her pale skin. There was something about seeing a little girl pointing a blade across her own neck that stirred something inside him. He walked over to the girl and placed a hand over her arm that held the dagger.
“Can you Manipulate the clock into something smaller, so we can take it out?”
The girl frowned. “Why?”
He took the dagger effortlessly from her tiny, weak hands and threw it away. He took her hand and held it tightly. “You are going to need it.”
“What for?”
Captain Frost smiled for the first time since the start of the mission, even though Fate could not see. “Don’t you think it would be better if you used the clock to mark all the time in the world you have to do absolutely anything you wanted?”
Fate was silent for a moment. Captain Frost could already hear the sound of boots echoing in the platform outside. But he held on to the girl’s hand, and waited.
After a moment, Fate nodded slowly. She smiled. “Yes, I would like that better, I think.”
Search for Kelly
Mark Alvin Poa
"Skree!"
He turned quickly at the sound.? His whip lashed out and hit the vampire bat.? The bat's form blinked twice, flickered and transformed into a diamond, dropping to the ground.
Carson rewound the whip and picked up the diamond.? The gem was flawless and crystal clear, though artificially cut.? He recognized it as a Perfect Diamond, perfect for a quick heal if he needed it.? He placed it inside his Inventory.
The bats were no longer a problem.? He could dispose of them now with one hit.? The golems and bosses would still be a problem, but he would deal with them when he needed to.? Carson surveyed his surroundings.? It was the twelfth floor of the tower, if he remembered correctly.? On the wall to his left, he saw the ever-present grandfather clock that marked the time within the game world.? He had been immersed in this virtual reality game for five hours now.? There was only an hour left before his brain started to accept the virtual as real and he would be trapped within... as his brother had.
Kelly programmed this game, Carson reminded himself.? It had been Kelly's dream to create this fully-immersive world based on his favorite horror stories.? Kelly had asked him to try it out with him?-test out and play the game as a team-?but Carson had refused.? And now, Kelly was inside this place somewhere.?
This was Carson's third attempt to find his brother.? In the real world, both his and Kelly's bodies were immersed in liquid inside virtual reality tubes of Kelly's own design.? The technology was highly experimental and, it turned out, dangerous.? Kelly had been so immersed by the experience that he forgot the time limit and was now trapped within the game world.? Forcing him out would cause a shock to his consciousness; he needed to be found within the game and woken up with a predetermined keyword.? The problem of finding Kelly was confounded by the fact that the game's logic transformed the floor layouts every time he logged in.? So he had to start from scratch each time.?
Finding Kelly was one thing.? Carson remembered his other problem:? finding out what the keyword is.?
Carson looked at the grandfather clock again.? It was the only constant within the changing floors.? He saw that only a few minutes had passed, but he should log off soon.? He shook his head at the clock's archaic design.? Kelly had been a stickler for details and modeled the ingame features as close to the antique items as he could.? No one even owned a clock that wasn't digital and Kelly had to look for old paper textbooks to find pictures for reference.
Carson wondered how long it would take to find his brother.? Did he have to reach the final floor?? How tall was the tower?? Did Kelly ever finish programming the game?? Did Kelly ever mention the keyword?
Carson shook his head.? He didn't know anything.? He should have listened to his brother.? Maybe if he had joined him in the experiment, he could have kept this from happening.? Maybe...
Carson leaned on the grandfather clock.? He didn't need to rest, but he wanted to listen to the clock's tick-tock as he thought and planned his next moves.? Halfway through deciding to log off, he noticed something strange:? a light was seeping out of the clock's base.
Curious, Carson pushed at the clock's side.? The clock slid across the floor, revealing a narrow hallway behind it. One of the hallway's walls was lined with small torches; their flickering light casted eerily dancing shapes on the opposite wall.? A secret passage!? Where could this lead, Carson wondered.? He decided to follow the hallway, taking one of the small torches with him for light.
As he walked along the hall, he encountered small groups of rats which attacked at intervals.? Carson took care of them easily, keeping his progress along the hallway steady and fast.? The narrow hallway eventually ended into a large room.? Four statues adorned the four corners of the room, each a representation of Kelly's four favorite monsters: a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy, and a zombie.? In the middle of the room was a simple? wooden coffin. Carson walked along the perimeter of the room, past each of the statues, and admired each in turn.? He finally approached the coffin and set his torch down beside it.? It was a plain one, unadorned and nothing spectacular.? "I should check what's inside," Carson reasoned.? "It's probably game logic."? He lifted the lid and was both shocked and ecstatic to see who was inside the coffin.
His brother laid inside the coffin, unmoving.? Kelly was dressed in an archaic medieval nobleman costume with a blindfold over his eyes.? A blindfold?? Was it the game's way of saying that his brother was no longer seeing reality?
He accessed his Inventory and brought out the Perfect Diamond he found earlier.? He placed it on his brother's forehead.? In the game, this process had cured him of any wounds and restored health.? Could it help his brother?
No reaction from Kelly.? Carson cursed and placed the diamond back into his Inventory.
A flapping sound alerted him, but he was too late to attack.? A bat had attached himself to his arm and he shouted out in surprise.? The bat fought to keep its grip, but Carson finally managed to grab it and toss it to the floor.? The bat's form fizzled and was replaced by a man dressed in the same medieval garb as Kelly.? He wore Kelly's face as well, which Carson found disconcerting.? The man with Kelly's face grinned and showed off a set of wicked-looking teeth and sharp fangs.
"Ah, you have found my treasure, oui?" the vampire asked.? A French-speaking metrosexual vampire with Kelly's face, Carson mused. What was his brother thinking when he programmed this?? He stood at the ready with his whip already in hand.
The vampire held both hands up, "Calm yourself.? I do not wish to fight.? Your current level is so pitiful that it is beneath me.? I shan't sully my best regalia to engage you in a fight."
Carson raised an eyebrow, but did not relax.
The vampire floated a few feet above the ground while speaking. "I do bring you a message from the Creator, a riddle for that which you seek:? 'Spent away, I never to return.? Flowing like a river, I am never dammed nor caught, but always measured.? I wait for no man.'"
A riddle!? Was it for the keyword?? Carson repeated it mentally to himself to remember and blurted, "What does it mean?"
Instead of answering, the vampire laughed and gestured as if dispersing a stray fly from his clothes.? "That is for you to think about.? I bid you adieu!"? He floated higher and towards the vampire statue on one of the corners.?? The vampire phased through the wall and out of sight.
Shaken by the experience, Carson grabbed his arm and was surprised by what he felt.? He brought up his hands to confirm it and saw that it was indeed blood.
He had stayed too long inside the game!? Getting attacked in the game didn't normally leave any marks or wounds, but his mind was starting to accept the reality and it was adding more realistic touches to make the scenario fit.? The blood was only the first step.?
Was that the keyword?
"Blood!" he shouted at his brother.? No reaction.
"Awake!"? Still no reaction.
"Vampire, werewolf, zombie, mummy..." Carson tried word after word--every word he could think of that related to his brother or the game--hoping desperately for a reaction.? He was feeling himself sweat now, another bad sign.? He needed to find the word fast or he might not be able to find his brother on his next attempt.? The changing floors may mean that the hallway would not exist when he returned, even if the grandfather clocks would still exist in every floor.? There was little time left!
Wait... That may be it!
Never returning, flowing like a river, never caught but always measured and waits for no man.? It could be--
"Time!" he shouted and the blindfold over his brother's eyes disappeared.
"Yes!" he shouted and logged the two of them off the game.
Carson opened his eyes and saw the inside of the virtual reality tube.? He pushed the cover off the tube and climbed out.? Without wasting any more time, he ran towards the other tube and helped his brother out.? Kelly tried to stand, but weakly fell on his behind; the lack of exercise had rendered his legs useless for the time being.? Carson brought his arm around his shoulders and supported him to his bedroom.
"How long was I out?" Kelly whispered.
"Four days," Carson replied.? He laid his brother on the bed and sat down near him, arranging the pillows to make him more comfortable.
"God!" Kelly said weakly.
"Yeah..." Carson stood up.? "Look, take a rest.? I'll keep an eye on you."
"Thank you," his brother replied, drifting off to sleep.? "For everything, Carson."
"Just rest," Carson said, heading out of the door.? He turned for one last look of his brother.? As he closed the door behind him, he heard his brother whisper, "bonsoir."
His blood ran cold.? He realized that he was holding something all of this time inside his clenched fist.? He opened his fist and saw the item in his palm.
It was a Perfect Diamond.
Sir Alexander Pendragon had everything a being in the universe could ever ask for.
As the only son of wealthy, influential parents who owned one of the most successful corporations in the entire galaxy, he was undoubtedly rich. Filthy rich.
He is also known as one of the most sought after bachelors in this side of the milky way. Women from countless planets just loved the way this suave young man carried himself with absolute confidence & would swoon over his devilish good looks if they weren't too busy dreaming of the wealth he possessed.
Knowing the effect he had on the opposite gender (And probably quite a number from the same gender as well), he became quite vain with his appearance, going to great lengths to maintain his own good looks.
But with the vanity came the desire to surround himself with all things beautiful. To this self professed connoisseur of beauty, fame & fortune simply weren't enough for him.
So he started "acquiring" rare & valuable objects from around the universe to add to his collection. Arthur himself went with these 'expeditions' to try & buy the said objects but in the end, it didn't matter to him if the said object was a family heirloom, part of a irreplaceable collection or simply belonged to someone else. He would get it irregardless of the cost or the manner it had been procured.
So naturally, when he heard of the infamous Crimson Diamond of Mars which was rumored to have been formed by the blood of the Red Planet's ancient civilization, he of course, made plans to "retrieve" the reputedly cursed gem from it's resting place within the catacombs of Mars even though it has been said that any expedition that goes to the said catacombs does not return.
Sir Alexander Pendragon spared no expense. He hired the best guide available to lead him inside the catacombs, sophisticated equipment & sharp minds to assist him with whatever mysteries or puzzles that laid inside, and of course, the finest bodyguards money could buy to protect him from any dangers he may encounter.
Thus prepared, the expedition for the Crimson Diamond began. But from the very beginning, inexplicable accidents began to happen.
At first, it seemed harmless. Minor breakdowns in equipment, forgotten route maps & some spoilage of provisions. Nothing more then a mild annoyance or a minor hindrance.
But as the mission progressed, things became more serious. Unexplained engine troubles which had set back their time table for at least a day, AWOL by a few essential personnel who took with them most of the supplies which led to a shortage of food & water.
But still the party pressed on. Mostly due to the fact that Alexander Pendragon promised them wealth beyond imagination.
It didn't take long till the expedition suffered it's first death.
A scientist was found dead in his post one morning. The apparent cause was sheer exhaustion & hunger.
One after another, the rest of the party died due to various causes & accidents until there was only Alexander Pendragon left. But he managed to get to the very end where the Crimson Diamond laid inside the ancient Martian civilization's tomb.
Successfully deciphering & disarming the various traps & locks around the precious stone, Alexander Pendragon claims what would possibly be the greatest treasure of the red planet's history as his own.
As soon as he touches the jewel though, his vision starts to blur. But that was the least of his worries for the moment he took the diamond off it's resting place, the entire cavern starts to collapse. He manages to enter the protection of his subterranean vehicle before the rocks buried it & from within, sent out a distress signal.
His signal was heard by authorities & rescuers unearthed his subterranean vehicle 3 days later where Alexander Pendragon was found unconscious inside, relatively unharmed & still clutching the Crimson Diamond.
He woke up 24 hours later in a medical facility but knew right then & there that something was wrong. He was now blind.
Doctors had found a previously unknown virus in Alexander Pendragon's system which was perceived to be the cause of his blindness. Investigating further, they also found out that the Crimson Diamond was the source of the virus.
Upon further analysis, the gem was indeed crystallized from blood and from what limited information they could gather from the collapsed walls of the tomb which contained ancient scripts, there had been a plague thousands of years ago which had rendered many people from the ancient Martian civilization blind. They had managed to isolate the virus and had crystallized it into a diamond-like gem & had buried it deep within the planet so as to prevent it from doing any more harm.
But now, Arthur Pendragon's physical contact with the diamond had rendered the brash young scion blind & if the ancient writings were correct, a cure has yet to be found for the virus.
Yes there were other ways of regaining his eyesight. But all of it involved cybernetic implants which could possibly disfigure him for life. A state which he could not bear.
Alexander Pendragon then became a recluse. The once charming & outgoing young man refused to see people, even that of his own parents. He despaired over his condition & would sit alone in his chambers with nothing but his family's old grandfather clock to keep him company.
Listening to the chimes of his family's old heirloom, he pondered about his life long & hard before the truth hits him.
He had been so concerned about the superficial aspects in life that he had forgotten to stop & appreciate what was truly important & had paid for it. Wealth, fame & beauty would all come & go but the memories you made during this life would last forever. And it is because the human life was so short that it was important to make good use of each & every minute of it to make a difference & a legacy which will not be easily forgotten.
Thus renewed, Alexander Pendragon began his journey back into the spotlight. But this time he intended to show people that he was not just some rich brat but rather as a person who fought to overcome his disabilities & succeed.
And succeed he did. Inheriting his family's business, he went on to expand their business empire. He also became an inspiration to people all over the galaxy for his courageous stand in life despite his disability & encouraged other people to do the same.
Through all this, he never forgot the lessons of that fateful expedition to retrieve the Crimson Diamond as well as the inspiration of his old grandfather clock. Things which he will carry with him to his grave.
Untitled
Lakan David Inocencio
Ah, but you gather around once more my children for a story. Terrifying may have been my story of the sister that was not there, and laughable may have been the tale of Pfeiffer, but here then is something different. Something, to make you think. Something, to make you wonder what could be, if things went slightly different. Brace thyself then sweet listener, for I shall begin the song of the Tripartite M.
Ah, but the fetters of faith do furl the sails,
The baying, and breaking, and biting at nails.
Howling to the hunger of want for escape,
A death, a dream, to escape doom fate.
Thoughts of the past, too far behind,
Of wishes and wants and days unkind.
Wafers and wines, body and blood,
Dreams of glory dashed to the mud.
Final of the fold, the closing of the cloth,
Fallen to fury, saddled to sloth.
Abbey monk of absinthian demise,
Pondering of thoughts, the lost deep eyes.
The tick tock tocking is a tintinnabulation doom,
The bong bong bonging is a fog to the room.
Lowered head from Pernod Fils lifts,
Eyes clouding with the moon’s dark shift.
Green Fairy dances to the cloudy mind,
Eyes too drunk are left too blind.
Ano domini, the trebled em,
Last of the fathers, our final anthem.
Smashed works that could have done,
The task to bring a glory won,
But Ludditian fervor did win the day,
And Cro Magnonic beatings became the stay.
“Begone thou beast of hallucinogenic fire,”
Cried the dribbling lips of the sick gaunt friar.
Holy, holy, holy the Seraphim cries,
And laughing, laughing, laughing the Fairy flies.
“What thoughts of doom have bled thy brain,
In dreams of Pernod Fils in vain?
Green Fairy summons you declare,
With each sip and gulp of thy drink fair.”
“In nomine Patris”, the Father’s name,
“et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.” The closing chain.
“Begone the first I do declare,
The damnation in you that I do dare.”
Green Fairy replies with but a smile,
“Nay Father, I shall stay a while.
While in Pernod Fils dreams you die,
The world burns and flames go higher.”
Conflagrate coals do kill the heart,
That break and bend the beastly dark.
“In nomine Patris” the mumbled oath,
Warding off the dark, the numbing growth.
But eyes are blind, they cannot see,
Blind by absintine drink, Green Fairy.
Yet they can see through time and space,
See to the world and it’s full disgrace.
Last of the cloth the abbot mopes,
Thoughts of knives, thoughts of ropes.
Grandfather clock ticks in the dark,
Keeping time, keeping mark.
“Why do you dally, you of the late,
When it was your word that did take,
The path that lived, that path we free,
Were you all drunk, silken Pernod Fils?”
“We were not drunk, the book we saw,
To follow the Words, before the fall.
But what am I now? I speak alone,
To Green Fairy dreams, my sins to atone.”
Fallen, spinning, the brain a whirl,
As Green Fairy dances gaily a’twirl.
But would that enough this was,
A second speaker happens does.
The burning pits of perditionous fire,
The fallen Seraph’s endless pyre.
Flaming lakes of tortured pain,
Sulfurous blasts, of hurting pain.
Quoth the Seraph of the fallen wing,
“Why do mope? Why not sing?
You’re the last of your kind my fatty friend,
And so close, so close, so close is the end.”
“I will not give to calls of the knife,
Nor the rope to end mine strife.”
To the books he turns but faint the soul,
Too weak the heart, a mind too old.
Green Fairy and Devil now dance in the mind,
Of lost words and dreams unkind.
The pressure of pain of centuries dead,
The final priest’s pains upon his head.
Would that time differently had gone,
And fallen had they, broken as dawn.
But nay, fervor and feeling was too strong,
And Copernican belief was quartered and drawn.
Flat the Earth and unsplit the rainbow,
Mystical the rain, magic the snow.
Steam engines unheard of, heretical lies,
Atoms smashing, filthy demise.
But by God! By God! By God the Verse!
Why oh why had things turned worse?
A world of faith, a world of good,
Why then was black the sight of the hood?
Green Fairy laughs and mocks the man,
Who had he been less, long would have ran.
“You’re dying old man, the Days are up,
Give in to sleep, the final cup.
“Denmark prince that path you take,
And sleep now, perchance nary to wake.”
But Diabolic edict rings tolls irony at last,
And stays friar’s hand, holding it fast.
“Fool you are if you cannot see,
Beyond the grip of Pernod Fils.
Green Fairy lies of thirst to slake,
A body yet fresh, unspoiled unraped.”
He shakes his head and gives in to dark,
Drawing sweet slim steel, so soft so stark.
Last of the past, he cannot wait,
To see the end, to see his fate.
Green Fairy laughs a beautiful sound,
“Take your life, be unbound!”
But Demon growls and stays his knife,
“Fool you are to take your life.”
He gropes for the bottle of diamond sheen,
And pours the Green Fairy into cup unseen.
Liquid falls to table flat,
Lost more absinthian love black.
Tears a tripping down a tattered face,
Unsure, unknowing his final place.
But what can he do the final one,
When a grave is wrong, but escape none?
Ano Domini, the trebled em,
Want for wrong red requiem.
A slash a scream and he sees them last,
Green Fairy smiling, and Demon aghast.
Weeping the welts of ruined eyes,
But still he sees her, still she flies.
Clad but scantily she lures him on,
Delicate entrancing, the wounded fawn.
Green Fairy dances a temptation alluring,
While Demon fearful, anger a burning.
Pathways he stands, a choice of where,
Green Fairy or Demon, does he dare?
A grandfather clock chimes.
Glass shatters.
“You cannot kill me!”
He awoke with a start, panting and sweating. The dream?or was it a nightmare??had been occurring frequently these days. What was it about? Why was he dreaming this? His hand wiping off the sweat from his brow rested momentarily on his left eye, which forever will know only darkness. When did this happen? He had no idea. Some memories of his past had been erased, or at least, that was what it felt like to him. No matter how many times he tried to jar his memories, nothing would come. And the more questions he asked, the more the answers eluded him.
Chronos, his name was. Nobody knew his real name. He was one of the elite guards of Mellon, a world where time held no importance and where society had advanced to a level where no discontent can reside. Everyone thought that Mellon was the perfect idyllic world.
However, an unknown force cast its shadow upon Mellon, and reduced Mellon to a battleground. Destruction, hate, greed?everything what the world was before resurrected itself. Mellon the perfect idyllic world was no more.
Something in the young Chronos (for he was younger than he was now when the chaos started) stirred him to volunteer for the Council’s project. A group of elders, known as the Council, believed that there was a high probability that this unknown force did not originate from their world. And so the project called “Eisodos” and whose sole purpose was to discover and destroy this so-called exoforce, was born. Men and women, with no knowledge of what they were to become, volunteered, but only a few were selected. These few came to be known as E.L.M., the Elite League of Mellon.
The E.L.M. consisted of ten men and women genetically modified to allow them to pass through time and space. Their real names were cast aside; their pasts, a jumble of experiences. Known only to themselves and to the world by the code given them by the Council, the ten set out on their journey. And this was where it all began for Chronos.
Unable to sleep after waking up from that particular dream, Chronos stood up, washed his face and laid out his findings thus far. He had chosen to investigate on his own, not out of a desire to reap sole recognition if he were successful but more because he felt it was his duty to do so. Ever since he joined the project, he felt a weight upon his shoulders?a weight which seemed to become heavier as years went by. Five years had passed and neither he nor the others had found any solid proof of the existence of the exoforce or where it had come from. That is, until…
“Aha! This is it! A pattern!” Chronos cried out. He had traveled several timespaces and finally, an answer seemed to be beckoning. “In every world, there is only destruction and chaos now, but not so in their respective pasts. When did it all start then?” He stared at the diagram he had created, which mapped out the worlds he had gone to. He went over his notes which appeared before him like a hologram, murmuring, “this one after… and this too after…” After some time, he said, “this…can it be?”
He sat deep in thought. “Is it possible that this exoforce is actually a…human being. A human being capable of traveling through time and space. But only Mellon possesses the technology for time-space travel. Still…” He stared once more at the diagram. “This is the only logical conclusion.”
Following his train of thought, Chronos set out once more to analyze his data with the premise that a human being gifted with spatiotemporal powers entered each world. The task was now to find where this human being was and to prevent him or her from further destroying other worlds.
“I have found him!” And Chronos disappeared from where he was.
***
In a different timespace, a young man no older than twenty had just had a visitor appear right before his eyes and a few minutes later disappear in the same manner as he had come. With this extraordinary experience taking its time to sink in, he fumbled as he sat down on a chair.
“This is just too remarkable!” he exclaimed as he looked at the pen-like object he held in his hands. “Nobody will ever believe me. I’m not sure I believe it myself.” And then he slapped his face hard and felt the pain was all too real. “Johann, you are not dreaming.”
Even as a boy, Johann had lived a comfortable life. He had in his possession wealth and prestige. A very popular boy, he was often admired by women for his good looks (‘He is so beautiful’ as they were wont to say for indeed ‘beautiful’ was the only term befitting to describe his face.) He valued beauty in all its forms and was once heard to have said that he would rather die than have his eyes set upon an ugly sight.
He stood up and held the “pen” in a slashing motion. The space that traced the movement of the “pen” opened up like glass cut by diamond.
Johann stepped in and the opening closed behind him.
***
Chronos arrived at his destination. Books lined the walls in the room. Tables held displays that only a true collector would love and treasure. A grandfather clock stood magnificently in the corner. He could hear laughter in the other room. Some sort of party, he deduced.
As he went through the room, he could not but feel a sense of familiarity with this place. He looked at the books neatly arranged on the shelf. All pertained to studies on time travel, multiple universes, and others with similar themes. One of the books caught his attention. “What is this book doing here?” He flipped through the pages of the book he knew so well. It was a book from Mellon?the one that formed the basis for the Eisodos project.
So absorbed was Chronos in his thoughts that he didn’t notice a young man enter the room. The other room was now silent; presumably, the guests had had their fun and left.
“We meet again.”
Chronos spun around and dropped the book he was holding. He stared at the young man with a beautiful face. Johann. He was holding a glass of liquor in his hand.
“Again? I have never met you.”
“But we have met, Chronos.” Chronos was slightly taken aback at hearing his name. “A few years ago. To you, perhaps, a timespace ago.” Johann smiled benevolently at his visitor.
Chronos’ face drew a blank, but he knew, like that sense of familiarity when he arrived in this room, that what Johann said was true.
“Let me refresh your memory, then,” Johann began. “Two years ago, a scraggly-looking stranger appeared from out of nowhere in this very room. He told me that time was of the essence. Worlds were being destroyed; time was warping. He gave me this”?he held out the ‘pen’?“and told me that I alone can restore everything to its rightful state. He said that his investigation?”
“?led him… to… this timespace,” Chronos continued. “The point from which all the futures originate.” For it was true that the different worlds he had been to were all versions of a future emanating from a single timespace?the present. He was beginning to remember.
“That is correct. And truth be told, I did not expect to see you again.” Johann sipped from the glass and laid?the glass?down on an empty table.
“I gave you that device because I believed that you were the one who could accomplish what I could not do?find the exoforce before it starts wreaking havoc and thus, preserve the future. What have you done?”
“Don’t you mean, ‘What have we done?’ You gave me power that no ordinary human being possesses. I was curious. I went to different worlds and saw beauty unrivalled by any I have ever seen. I opened portal after portal after portal. In each of my visit, I took something from that world. That’s how that book from Mellon ended with me. I now understood everything. Several versions of me must exist in these futures. I had to find out.”
“The exoforce then is the result of your presence in the different timespaces?of you meeting another you.” Chronos felt the weight upon his shoulders more heavily now than in the past. “I had created the exoforce. And now I must destroy you.”
Chronos whipped out his weapon from his cloak. It looked and had the flexibility of a cable, but was made of a thin alloy. It cleanly slices any object it hits in two. Johann was able to dodge the attack quickly.
“You still don’t know who I truly am, don’t you?” Johann stared intently at Chronos. He inched closer to one of the display tables and discreetly opened a drawer. “I will make you remember.” And he struck Chronos with a similar weapon. The whip-like weapon missed Chronos’ face by inches, and hit the grandfather clock.
Bong! Bong! Bong! It chimed. Its face shattered upon impact. The glass flying all over the place.
“YOU CANNOT KILL ME!” Johann shouted. “FOR YOU WILL CEASE TO EXIST.”
Chronos screamed in pain. His left eye was hurting. He turned to face Johann and what he saw brought everything back to him. Johann was covering his left eye; blood running down the left side of his face. A shard of glass had embedded itself into the eye.
This wasn’t the first time Chronos had been on this exact timespace.
“Yes, we are one and the same. And you were right, I could not kill you because my existence and all my, no, all our other existences will be no more.” He bent over Johann, who had fallen to his knees and still clutched his left eye.
“Were? Could not?” Johann spoke uncomprehendingly.
“I believed that I could prevent the exoforce if I had known about it earlier. That’s why I sought you and gave you that device. But I was mistaken. When I realized what the exoforce really was, it was too late. I entered this exact timespace to right my wrong. But the shock of knowing that I had been the source of all the chaos, the pain, disoriented me. I could not kill you and so I ran away. You understand now, do you?”
Johann took the “pen” out from?his pocket?“It? is better for me to perish than see the world without beauty”?and slashed himself with it.
As Chronos laid Johann onto the floor, he felt his own body disintegrate. He was finally free. The chains of guilt were no more. “I once dreamed of a beautiful ending to my existence. It is ironic that I would be laid to rest in a tomb of nothingness.” He vanished.
And the universe corrected itself without Johann or Chronos in any alternate future.
Scars of the Past
Lovella Patriarca
High school days are the most enjoyable part of one’s life. It is when you could experience the most unforgettable things of your life. Margot Lieu and Stan Virgil were best friends. They did the same things and were very close to each other. They were classmates in the floating electronic school outer space. They both came from the wealthiest and most powerful descendants in their locality. Both their family sent them to reputable schools abroad. After Margot acquired her degree in medicine in Pluto, and Stan had his law title in Mars Law School, their parents agreed to arrange their wedding.
A large feast for their wedding was prepared in the Sun; everyone was invited for it was a must to see the union of the most powerful family in their society. Different specialties were served by robots. The whole universe witnessed the entire ceremony.
After a year Margot got pregnant, it was twin boys when she underwent microscopic test scanning. She suffered a lot during her pregnancy. During her delivery period at an outer space hospital, everyone was in a panic as they expected the arrival of the new descendant of Lieu and Virgil.
At the hospital she was well attended, everything she needed was provided, the electronic devices were ready, the robots and nursing machine were already available. Finally she give birth to two healthy baby boys, but due to complications she suffered, the doctor declared the one which was delivered first blind after the deficiency detector was placed over him. Margot and Stan never knew the truth about their son. Only their parents knew the truth about their son’s deficiency. Their parents planned to keep that secret to save their reputations. They paid the hospital staff to keep their mouths shut about the incident. The child was sent to one of their workers in the innermost part of the town. The grandparents paid that person to take care of their grandson. The couple (Margot and Stan) was really innocent about the truth. All they knew was that for one twin was a still birth. They named the living twin as Maynard, and the still birth as Stanley. Margot mourned long for the loss of her son. But as years passed by, she learned to accept things as she saw Maynard grow up and explore life’s reality.
Time ran rapidly, Stanley grew up in a remote place, and when their grandparents died, the allowance for him was cut off. He suffered greatly because of his disability, but he strived to be able to live. The person who took care of him, the one he thought was his parent, really loved him. But his foster mother got sick and was bedridden. They didn’t have enough money for the UVR treatment. So, Stanley pursued to earn money for their needs. In spite of being blind, he had different talents, he could sing and make handicrafts, and he was a brilliant child. He tried to handle his responsibility towards his mom as best he can. He suffered discrimination and even physical abuses just to sustain their needs. After a year of his foster mother’s illness, she died and left Stanley alone.
Maynard, on the other hand, was sent to a very reputable space school. He had everything he wanted: a robot car which drove alone, the latest model of mobile phone that wrote everything you dictated, and anything he wished would be available anytime, thanks to a monitor connected to his caregiver. His parents really loved him which turned him into a spoiled brat. He even lost his respect towards his parents, but no one knew his nightmares. He always dreamed of a person who was a reflection of himself. He is always asking him for help on how to escape the odd world he was in. He could not understand that nightmare he had. He never bothered to ask his parents about it.
Being adventurous and happy-go-lucky, Maynard and his group went hiking to a remote part of their town, taking with him his at-home gadget: a mini-chip which could create a home-like image where you can stay in.Unluckily, he encountered a great problem. He got lost in the midst of the forest. He called his companions but he heard no response. He tried to call their phones using his outdoor and mountain phone connector. While he kept searching for his group, he fell off the cliff. He then lost consciousness.
At the bottom of the cliff, Stanley lived alone, trying to survive. When Maynard fell and crashed, he heard the sound of the fall, the scream for help and of fear. He tried to locate where the sound came from. As he continued searching, he found a human body, he tried to examine the condition of Maynard using his other senses and he discovered that there were wounds on the forehead and other parts of the body, where Maynard bled the most. He was almost completely covered with his own blood. Stanley pulled Maynard’s body to his house, and then he gathered medicinal plants for Maynard. He stopped the bleeding and, even in great disability, he tried to take care of Maynard.
After a week, Maynard regained his consciousness. He was very thankful that he survived and was saved by a stranger, but he was really amazed when he saw his savior: a great reflection of himself. He was really thankful for having Stanley in his life. He began to know Stanley, and how lucky he was for having everything in his life. Little by little, he discovered things about Stanley, but he never had the courage to ask Stanley why they are identical.
One night while Stanley was relaxing under the tree, he heard the voice of a lady, calling his name.
“Stanley, come here”
“Who are you?”
“I’m your guardian angel, and I know how great you are. As a reward of your good deeds accept this diamond. You will be the savior of everyone in danger here in this cliff.”
“Thank you, but how can I be?’
He heard no response at all.
The next morning, due to doubts Maynard had, he went home, telling Stanley that he was just going to look for food and relax.After a long hour of waiting, Stanley became worried for Maynard. He wished he could have sight. And suddenly he saw the light, a brilliant one. It was the first time he saw a light, and he was able to see. He tried to look for Maynard, even though he had no idea what Maynard looked alike. He enjoyed gazing at every creature which he had never seen before.
At home Maynard was having some questions and doubts but he remained silent. No one could disturb him due to his time locked door. He was just analyzing things. He wanted secret to be revealed to him. He just relaxed and he never noticed he fell asleep.
He was standing in front of his Grandfather’s clock, and suddenly, the clocks turned to move counter clockwise very fast, and there was a huge screen revealing events in his past.
It was his birth with his twin brother, every detail was shown to him, and how the truth was kept from their parents. Slowly the clock moved to every minute of their life until the most recent event they had. He was so very happy of what he discovered that Stanley was his brother, still alive and also his savior.
When he woke up, he finally realized that everything was a dream, a dream which revealed the secret of their past. He wanted to rush to the forest using his emergency escape gear and locator, which could bring you to the place where you wanted in a glimpse, where he left his twin having a miserable life. Now he understood the nightmares he had, how his twin brother asked him for help to escape what he has suffering.
When he arrived at the forest, he hugged Stanley, not knowing that his twin already had his sight. Stanley was also amazed to see his reflection. They were both happy to know the truth. He asked Stanley to go with him to their automated time locked mansion house but Stanley refused for he had a mission of saving anyone in the cliff who came to danger.Stanley went with Maynard to their mansion for a while, and visited their grandparents’ tomb. They never blame their grandparents for what happened to their life. But Stanley returned to the forest cliff to continue his mission of saving lives. But he kept open communication of his twin brother through imaging UV communicator.
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