Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2021 15:44:20 -0400 From: Rick Heathen Subject: The Journey of Rick Heiden 41-42 The Journey of Rick Heiden - Chapters 41 and 42 I wrote this story for Nifty, a nifty site if there ever was one. Nifty needs your donations to host this work, and some works, no doubt, that are far better. If you enjoy Nifty, please, consider donating at donate.nifty.org/donate.html This work is the sole property of the author and may not be reprinted or reused without his written permission. All Rights Reserved © 2021, Rick Haydn Horst This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Thank you for delving into this work; I hope you enjoy it. Please send questions, comments, or complaints to Rick.Heathen@gmail.com. I would enjoy reading what you have to say. This novel contains 50 CHAPTERS, and every post will have 2 chapters each. ----------------- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE I could breathe again when she strode away, but my insides felt like jelly for a while. Pearce stood speechless, holding his breath, eyes closed, and his palms together near his mouth. It reflected the shock I also felt at that moment. I didn't know what to do about her; she admits she killed Rom, even if he did request it. How would people react to that? What happens when a resident of Jiyu, who has the freedom to kill, actually does it? Did doing as Rom asked of her constitute a crime in a place where they have expectations but no laws? The Master Builder used a four-legged, four-armed tiling bot to lead us to an exterior door on the left side of the building. We climbed a staircase to a long narrow room behind the front portico of the building. Once there, the bot moved a lever, and a small door opened on the back wall. It resembled a priest hole hidden within the wood paneling. Crouching down, I used my wrist lamp to peer into the passage that followed the interior of the round perimeter wall. I realized then at least one reason Aurum had doubled the building's size. The original building had small empty pockets inside the walls designed to lighten their weight, but the designer of the original had not connected them to make a passage. The bot waited as I investigated the door. "This looks like it. Thank you, Master Builder," I said to the bot. "It's a bot," said Pearce, "I doubt it can hear you." The bot turned toward Pearce. It held out one of the arms used to manipulate the tiles and made two rapid snaps of its pincer and promptly left. "Sorry," Pearce said, calling after it. "Amare could never squeeze through this opening." "Aurum couldn't have built it with him in mind," said Pearce. "Perhaps Amare joined the Trust after Aurum had died." "I suppose," I said. "Let's do this." We slipped through the opening to stand on the other side of the curved wall. Along the passage, I saw two metal grates with star-shaped holes that led to the interior of the building. Hidden in plain sight among the niches for statues of lesser gods, they allowed the air pressure in the passage to remain equal to the exterior regardless of how much the sun heated the building; unequal air pressure would damage the walls. We walked a third of the building's circumference when the passage turned into a staircase leading down into the ground. Descending, I saw the point where the base of the building met the granite beneath it. The stairs continued their circular pattern for the length of several flights of stairs. "How deep will we find the entrance to the vault?" I asked. "From here? I couldn't tell you. I must say, Rick, you impressed me with how well you handled yourself with the Master Builder. So, how did you happen to know about the pumice?" "Classic architecture fascinates me. I couldn't say for certain, but I think the ancient Romans did use pumice. Pumice-based concrete does exist, and with all the volcanic activity near Rome, they should have had access to considerable amounts of it. I added the carbon nanotube idea as an afterthought." "I see," he said, "and let me guess, you know this because your father worked in the trades." "Yes, but I don't claim any expertise on the subject. Still, when you admire a building's architecture, if you take the time to understand how they built it, it will add depth to your level of appreciation." "I understand," he said. "I endeavor to do the same thing with the people I meet." The bottom of the stairs ended in a 4-meter by 5-meter room. I discerned our location. Of all its solid granite walls, part of one consisted of stone blocks. I pointed it out to Pearce. "It took two nights, but I think we've made it to the other side of your blocked passage." We saw the pathway on the other side of the room had a turn to the left. Pearce started toward it. "Hold on," I said. I tapped behind my ear, attempting to contact Iris. I tried several times, but I got no answer. "Have we come far enough underground?" he asked. "I think so," I said. He struck a sharp blow on my shoulder with an open palm. "You idiot!" I knew then where we stood with one another. Pearce hadn't lied to me about the Nano Reset. "I'm sorry, it just slipped out!" He laid the box on the floor, and he hugged me. "It hadn't taken long," he said, "but I've grown quite attached to you. I never want to disappoint you, but what you said to me stung. I couldn't tell if you meant it or if you realized I was covering for you." Pearce had grown accustomed to having David nearby, and I presented a connection to him. I had become part of his extended family, his brother-in-law, perhaps if Jiyu had any law. He and I felt the same in that regard; we both required family near us. Teresa was right, Pearce did love David like a brother. "I couldn't tell what you were doing," I said, "so I told you what I would tell you if you had lied. I figured that would at least make it believable. I didn't mean to hurt you. Let's get this done and go home, okay? We're running out of time." After the turn, we had one more blasted staircase, both broad and deep. We stood at the top, gazing into the relative darkness below. "Jeez Louise, how far down do we go?" I asked. We hurried down the steps, but I worried it would take us so deep that the return trip would take more time than we had. I thought I heard something, so I paused on the steps. "What's that noise?" I asked. "Running water, maybe from the rain on the surface," said Pearce. "A tributary may lay close to these stairs." It took another five minutes before we reached the bottom. They had lit the room there well compared to the darkened staircases. On the wall, they had attached a massive round vault door of blackish-grey metal that stretched from the floor almost to the three-meter ceiling. It could have weighed ten tons with ease. I touched the cold metal. My wide-eyed stare of amazement at the immense door held my complete attention; it reminded me of the vaults of the early 20th Century on Earth. Pearce leaned into me. "Yes, rather impressive, don't you think?" "How do we get into it?" I asked. "We don't," he said, watching me, smiling, "but I can see it does a magnificent job." "What do you mean?" "Follow me." The door's monstrous size had attracted too much of my attention to notice the rest of the room. The walls of the 10 meters squared room had sections divided by three sets of side columns for ceiling supports. Each side column had a crest of Aurum, like the one behind Amare's dining table, at face height recessed into the surface. Pearce strode to one of the gold circles on the far wall. They all looked identical, new, and shined in the light. One, however, was the vault's seal. It remained untouched and intact from the time of Aurum. Pearce took the key and pressed it into the center of the cup, and the thin metal gave way punching a hole through it. He pushed the key farther inside. "Well, Rick, we did it," said Pearce. He turned it clockwise twice, leaving the key in the lock. A rumbling of stone against stone erupted into the chamber as the center section of the wall slid away, leaving an open doorway a meter in width where light poured through. Inside the voluminous room before us stood a Roman temple, nearly the size of the Pantheon in Greece. We heard running water and bots working in the distance. As we presumed with the unbroken seal, they had worked for the last thousand jears complying with Aurum's directives. He had lined the walls in a four-meter-wide and one-meter-tall stone trough. I dug my hand into it and pulled out a handful of its contents. I held coins minted with Aurum's crest on the front, the word "AURUM" beneath it. The back informed me that I held five troy ounces. "Money?" asked Pearce. "No, this is bullion. David will not like this," I said, shocked by the possibility that trillions of American dollars in gold sat in that room. Pearce held up one of the coins. "I know that Aurum means gold in Latin, but how he used it here-" He shook his head. "Bullion or not, he practically turned his name into a currency, hasn't he? I suspected him of narcissism." I tipped my head toward the temple. "I get the feeling we haven't seen the worst of it." We threw the coins back into the trough. "Let's find this shit and get out of here." The temple before us presented physical testimony to Aurum's grandiosity and self-importance. We didn't have time for me to study it carefully, but I did look at it well enough that my enhanced memory would allow me to analyze it later. The frieze on the pediment depicted seven classically dressed figures, painted and lifelike. Aurum stood in the center wearing a crown holding an orb and scepter. Of the six others, two I didn't recognize, but I could guess their names. To Aurum's right stood Amare, depicted as smaller than Aurum, and standing in Aurum's shadow. He held a balanced scale. I could not see what lay upon its trays. To the right of Amare, Meridia sat in a casual pose facing away from the action behind her. To Meridia's right, Ruby looked almost crawling, reaching up to catch Meridia's attention. Dmitry stood to Aurum's left, depicted as pleading with Aurum. To the left of Dmitry, they placed Gabe sitting upon a stool holding a crown and a gold cloak over his arm. To the left of Gabe, Dai, they crafted in a position of having bent over backward. Pearce and I climbed the steps. We hurried to the gold doors and opened them with a simple push despite their immense size and weight. A statue of Aurum in a benevolent pose, holding the golden cup in his right hand, sat upon a gold throne filling the entire far side of the interior between the columns that held the roof. The floor before him reflected his magnificence on the mirror placed there. "I think I want to throw up," said Pearce. "I may join you. Hey, look there." I noticed an altar at the base of the statue. It held a metal rack hanging with dozens of finger-sized gold vials with suspensions of two enhancements labeled in Latin. "Which one is the Prime Sharer?" asked Pearce. "Here. The label of this one says 'Princeps'," I said. "Does that mean Prime Sharer?" "No, it means leader or ruler," I said to him. "It seems clear Aurum understood its potential." "I don't want the world, Rick, just my son," he said. "I swear to you, on my love for David, when I have him, I will come to you without hesitation, and you can give me a vial of the nano reset." "You know what a terrible lie detector I am," I said. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "I have no other family," he said, "except my son, David, and you. I will come home." I believed him and handed him the vial. "Thank you." He popped the cap on the vial and downed the few milliliters of liquid inside it. He looked at the empty vial for a moment. "I have an idea," he said. He put a dozen vials of the nano reset labeled 'Revertor' in his right shirt pocket and buttoned it. He then took the empty container in his hand and poured the contents of a Revertor vial into it. He recapped it and fastened it into his left pocket. "What should we do with the rest of this?" he asked. "For now, lock it all up again." I looked at my watch. "We have an hour and five minutes to get to the penthouse." We heard a rumbling noise in the vault and hurried from the temple. It seemed that my reputed inordinate quantity of luck had finally run dry. The vault door had closed. Frantic, we raced to it, checking the whole entryway over, but it had no means to open the vault from the inside. "I don't get it," I said. "Why did the door close?" "I left the key in the lock," said Pearce. "Someone may have followed us. What the hell do we do now?" "I take it you don't have any memories about how to get out of here," I said. He held his arms out. "I've got nothing." I took a deep breath. "Well, what about the bots? They can't stay in here forever, can they?" We passed the temple, and behind it lay most of the gold piled into a deep recess up to the ceiling, cascading over the knee wall intended to hold them back. Near that, the bots had dug two holes in the floor, 1-meter in diameter. They had mined the gold from deep underground. A tripod stood over each hole with a strong monofilament line used to bring it to the surface. I concluded a cave with rich veins of gold must exist deep beneath the granite slab. How they knew about the gold remained a mystery. The open tributary emerged from the wall at an angle and curved back into it. The bots ran a pipe through the drain on the surface to pump fresh air into the room, and another to pump any dangerous gasses from the suspected cave out the tributary. We stood at the holes, looking at the mound of gold. "I've never seen so much gold in one location," I said. Pearce gazed down into the holes. "I don't see the bottom." "Do you think someone locked us in here?" I asked. "There's a good chance. Why?" "If that's the case, they have the key, and they have access to all those vials back there in the temple." I looked at Pearce. "Do I think what I think you're thinking?" "Let's dump the rest." We dumped the contents of each vial into the pit, tossing the containers in after it. Pearce had the only ones left in his pockets. Once we had done the deed, we sat on a column base to consider our escape. Pearce gestured to the flowing water. "We can always get out of here that way." "The drain? You have lost your mind," I said. "I'm serious. You can swim, right?" "Is the ability to swim required for floodwaters to whisk you away? Look, I have no desire to imitate a greasy morsel flushed down someone's sink. Besides, that would take us seventy kilometers farther away. We don't have the time, and let's not forget that the drain ends in a waterfall." "Rick, face it," said Pearce, "we only have to wait for the water to recede and we can get out of here through the tributary, but it won't be in time." It displeased me. "You don't know that," I said. "We still have an hour, but in the event we don't and cannot get out on our own, someone will find us." "Aurum designed this place to make people focus on the fake impenetrable vault door," said Pearce. "If someone followed us, locking the door with the key and we don't get out through our ingenuity, the chances of someone finding us in time remains infinitesimal." "If we take your flume of death," I said, "we will either get torn to shreds or drown." Pearce leaned into me, "Your body with the Foundational Enhancement is tougher than you think." "Maybe, but if it won't keep me from drowning, it's not enough." "You know, I agree with Dmitry, you do possess an inordinate amount of luck," he said. "A preposterous notion, given the circumstance, but what makes me lucky?" "Because I would want to get stuck in a vault with me." I had to think about that for a second. "How flattering of you to say." "I didn't mean it like that," he said. "You're looking at a man who broke into the Louvre and got out without setting off the alarm. I can get us out of here." "Didn't you say it took years to develop that plan?" "Negativity gets us nowhere," he said and thought for a moment. "I know, if you refuse the drain, then I will go, and then return with help to release you through the vault door." "Will you stop with the plans that involve suicide-by-drain?" After that, I drove myself into a fit of anxiety, checking my watch repeatedly as the minutes ticked past. I believed a chance existed that if we didn't make the four-hour mark, Dmitry would hold onto his insurance policy because he wanted the Prime Sharer enhancement that badly. But neither Pearce nor I could think of any way quick enough to get us out of the vault in time, and as the last minute of the fourth hour came, the pressure to act caused me to remember a resource that, for some reason, had escaped my memory. "The Attendant," I said. "Someone or something has me followed by an Attendant." "Has Mason had you followed by an Attendant?" "I don't know," I said. "I had that thought initially, but something else happened earlier that I couldn't explain, and I think they're connected. I left the ship outside the Beddo House. Fennec destroyed the Attendant that followed me then, that's how I discovered it. We went through the catacombs, and just as now, no signal could transmit through the rock. I exited the catacombs at the temple, and within a few minutes, I had an Attendant following me again, and the ship was sitting outside. I don't think that's a coincidence." "The ship has an Attendant following you." "Maybe. I think Venn built the ship using an enormous array of technologies from many different scientific innovations, and Venn gave me this watch earlier. It's the one new element in the equation. I thought the Attendant came from Mason because Gabe went to the penthouse, so he would have known my location, but it doesn't explain how the ship got to the temple. So, how can we know for sure?" "I know a way to find out," said Pearce. "Everyone who lives in the house has an Attendant. If Mason has you followed, then Mason would have me followed. Attendant, show yourself to me." We waited to see if an Attendant would de-cloak and hover before Pearce's face, but nothing happened. "Attendant, show yourself to me," I said. A machine the size of a fly decloaked and hovered before my face. "There's your answer," said Pearce. "So, what about the watch?" I took it off, inspecting it. It didn't look unusual in design, just like the typical analog watch with no markings on the back. "It must contain a homing device or a beacon. I thought it seemed strange when Mason told me it came from Venn. If Venn created this, you could bet it has more than one function, and that explanation fits all the facts." "I have an idea," said Pearce. I looked at him. "You're going to use the word 'drain' again." "Yes," he said, "but hear me out. If you told this Attendant to tell your ship to pick us up in the main pipe, would it do that?" "I just thought of that too. I don't know, but I don't think we have another option if we intend to use it. The ship can't come to us here. I don't want to get into the main tunnel though, just the mouth of the tributary at one of the junctions. So, how can we get there without the water dragging us any farther?" Pearce nudged me, gesturing to the holes the bots had dug. "What if we use the line the bots are using to bring up the gold from their mine?" "Oh, I don't know about that," I said, "these bots seem pretty intent on what they're doing. I can't imagine they'll stand by while we take it. And we don't even know the length of that cable. What if it's too short?" "From what I witnessed down that hole," said Pearce, "I think the cable will exceed our needs. However, that doesn't mean we can't use it." Pearce got up to get the attention of one of the sturdier-looking bots. It completely ignored him, no matter what he did. "Okay," he said, "let's see what they do if I rewind it and take it." He cranked the reel for several minutes. They didn't stop him, even when the bucket emerged from the hole, indicating the bottom of the line. Pearce began to detach the spool from the tripod, and for the bots, he had gone too far. They all stopped what they were doing, and every lens had turned toward him and me. "Pearce!" "Oh shit." He quickly reattached it to the tripod, but he had crossed a line, and they turned on both of us. Pearce clicked the line's release switch, grabbed the attached bucket, and ran toward the tributary. "Come on!" He climbed into the tributary and held the line as the flow carried away the water-filled bucket. In reluctance, I followed him once the wrathful bots were bearing down upon me. When the light from the room vanished, the tunnel turned pitch black, and I switched on my wrist lamp. The water had filled one-quarter of the height in the metal lining of the tributary. I had plenty of space in the tunnel if I didn't raise my head much. The slippery metal caused us to slide fast, but I could keep my head above the water with ease, and I did my best to keep the light facing down the tunnel so Pearce could see. "Junction!" he yelled. "Hold your breath!" I did so, and where the two other branches joined at the mouth of the larger tributary, the water deepened. We passed through to the larger tributary, at one-third full, and I had a harder time keeping my head above the water. That lasted no more than 30 meters, where we hit another junction with the same problem. The excess depth had me plunged beneath the surface. I emerged in an even larger tunnel, half full of water, and I struggled in my effort to sit up, because the tributary had the height to do so, but our speed and the water depth kept me off balance. I saw what Pearce was doing ahead of me. He picked the bucket up from the water and dumped it, to use it to slow us down. They made the tributaries round, but unlike the main tunnel, they left the upper half stone. "Hold on! The water is going to get a little deeper." He turned the metal bucket upside down and shoved its bottom into the stone above him. Sparks flew as he slowed down just enough for me to catch up with him. We were sitting at that point, and I came up right behind him. Together, we both pushed on the metal bucket above our heads. We continued our slide, and it did slow us, but the bucket was wearing away. "I see the end!" I tipped my head to see around his, and we were getting there a bit too fast. We both pushed as hard as we could. The bucket was getting hot, and the water at my back deepened. In the light of my lamp, with my hands pushing the bucket, I could see the bottom had worn away. It lost traction, and we couldn't stop in time. Our momentum tossed us out of the tributary into the main tunnel. The water moved swiftly, but we both held onto the bucket. We traveled 10 meters from the junction when the line made a timely jerk to a stop. Either we had reached the end, or the bots stopped it. The bucket no longer had a bottom, and therefore the flow of the water didn't drag us by it, and since the line halted, it pulled us to the side of the tunnel where the water moved with less swiftness. That allowed us to keep our heads above the surface with ease. We hadn't noticed it at first, but we experienced a slight pull upstream on the line. "I think we're moving!" We both started to laugh. It took about three minutes, but the bots dragged us back upstream to the junction, and we made it to a little lichen-covered ledge we could stand on. Once we got there, we couldn't move, standing flat against the wall. Pearce wiped his eyes. "Where's the Attendant?" We spoke loudly to hear one another over the tributary's waterfall next to us. "I don't know," I said. "Attendant, show yourself to me!" It took a few seconds to find it with my lamp, but it kept up with us. I asked it to come closer. When it came eight inches away from my face, I told it to give the ship our location and to come to us. Also, that it could leave through the vent above us, but to use caution because it exited onto the busy Central Avenue. I had no idea if it understood anything that I said to it, so we relied on Venn's ingenuity and prudence. When I told it to do as I asked, I aimed the light at the tunnel with the grating above us. I saw it go. "Will the ship know how to find us?" "I should think so," I said. "We came here two nights ago." "When this is over, and we get some rest," said Pearce. "I'm going to leave to get my son back." "I understand your urgency," I said, "but don't you think you should wait until the Prime Sharer Enhancement takes effect?" "I suppose you're right," he said. "I feel like I'm so close to having him back. I couldn't have done this without you, Rick. Thank you. I will keep my promise to you." "Thank me when we're sitting on the ship." "I believe in you, Rick," he said. "We'll be fine." The rush of water looked less than an arm's length below us, and Pearce could reach out and touched the gushing water from the tributary. Our feet fit the depth of the ledge on which we stood, so we had no margin for error. "We've got a problem," I said. "What problem?" "The water is pouring from the tributary farther into the main channel than where we stand. The ship can't get close enough for us to climb aboard easily without also flooding the cabin. We'll have to jump." "Can you jump?" he asked. "I've not jumped anything in quite a while." I saw the label for junction number (sixteen) across the way, as we clung to the wall. Two nights prior, we made it to junction three in half an hour. The ship must have doubled its speed as it arrived in fifteen minutes. We saw its exterior lighting in the distance. As it closed in, it turned to face the exit and got as close as it could, and I asked it to open the port hatch. It hovered more than a meter away, well beyond stepping distance. Pearce insisted I go first, and with minor difficulty, I made it. I don't know what happened with Pearce. Perhaps by standing closer to the waterfall, the ledge where he stood had grown more slippery, and it transferred to his shoes, making them more slippery. Maybe his legs didn't have the strength mine had. A combination of factors could have caused it, but when he jumped, his shoes didn't grip, and I flailed about in my attempt to grab his arms. He fell backward into the water, striking his head on the ledge where we stood. The deluge from the tributary pushed him into the swifter current, washing him downstream. I yelled. "Attendant, get us in front of him!" The autopilot on the ship maneuvered to get in front of him, and we skimmed the rush of water beneath us, moving only slightly slower downstream than Pearce. As he came to us, I grabbed his arm by the shoulder and his shirt, heaving him into the ship. The door closed immediately, and dry air purged the air moisture from the vessel. Pearce had profuse bleeding from the head; I couldn't tell how badly with all the water. I checked for vital signs. His heart was beating, but his breathing had stopped, so I laid him flat on his back, opened his airway, and blew air into his lungs. He began coughing and gasping. I turned him onto his side. The ship's teacher showed me where to locate the emergency medical kit, and I tried to staunch the bleeding with some gauze. He continued to cough, and I kept him on his left side. The nanos in his system should take care of his wound if I could slow the bleeding with compression. He had a nasty gash on the back of his head, and head wounds always bleed a great deal. I kept the pressure on his wound and leaned close to him. "Can you talk to me? Speak to me, Pearce." He could say nothing, and his disorientation caused his eyes not to focus on me when I checked his vision. I left the ship on autopilot and told the Attendant to get us to the hospital quickly. When we exited the drain minutes later, I contacted them and had them meet us at the emergency entrance and informed them of the situation. Pearce's cough slowed. I didn't know what that meant, either good or bad. On the way, I removed the vials from his shirt, placing them in a cupboard, and held the vial we intended to give Dmitry in my hand. We had made it to the vault and out again, but at what cost? Pearce might not make it; head wounds were tricky. We also had passed the four-hour mark, so if Dmitry followed through with his threat, I would have no misgivings about following through with mine. ---------------------- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO It continued to pour rain upon One City, and we arrived at the covered roundabout at the hospital's emergency entrance. Faye and her team took Pearce into the trauma unit. Several men and women worked over him, performing various medical tasks. Faye told me she would keep me informed so I would leave and get out of their way. I didn't take offense; I couldn't blame her. I borrowed an examination room where I washed my hands of Pearce's blood and contacted Mason to ask about the status there. It seemed that both Dmitry and Maggie had lost consciousness. When he told me about Maggie, I felt like someone had removed the air from the room and reached into my chest to squeeze my heart as hard as they could. Through watery eyes, I looked at the vial of Nano Reset in my hand. Bloody hope, that's all I had. Cure or not, she might require care. I couldn't know when it would take effect, or if it would have any effect at all. I pulled myself together and requested two medical transports to the Penthouse. I left Pearce in the capable hands of the clinicians and departed for home. On the way, I contacted Magnar, requesting he come to the penthouse. In the captain's seat of the Berlioz, my wet and bloody clothes clung to me, and I stunk from the lichen residue ground into my pants and shirt. I landed the ship on the balcony, unable to see into the penthouse, as the rain caused Mason to close the glass door. Four hours up or not, Dmitry should have wanted to keep his insurance if we hadn't returned from the vault. Why hadn't he waited? Maggie was lying on the couch, her face placid and her mind inactive, like those of Amare or Neal. I saw Dmitry on the floor in the same state. "Did you use his device on him?" I asked Mason. "It looks like you had to beat the hell out of him to do it. I'm proud of you." "If you refer to his developing bruises," said Mason, "Maggie made those. Near the end of the four hours, Dmitry used his device on her as she tried to escape his grasp. He told her what he had done, letting her go. He underestimated her reaction. Before she succumbed to its effects, she had the opportunity to, as you say, beat the hell out of him, at which point she used his device on him. She didn't feel well and laid upon on the couch. She's lain there ever since." "How long ago did she lie down?" "Eleven minutes before you contacted me," he said. "Eleven minutes." I knelt before Maggie on the front side of the couch. I popped the cap on the vial I had containing the Nano Reset and poured the few milliliters of liquid into Maggie's mouth. "Come back to me, Maggie," I said. Her eyes stayed closed as if she slept. I would have to wait and see. "Once again, I detect the pungent odor," said Mason. "I assume you went into the drain at some point." "Yes," I said as I stood. "I've given Maggie the Nano Reset." "So, Pearce meant it as a ruse," said Mason. "He didn't lie. Where is he?" "He's in the hospital. He had an accident," I said. "I will ask you to keep the Nano Reset a strict secret." "You can count on me," said Mason. I moved toward Dmitry. I got down on my hands and knees, my face within a few inches of Dmitry's, bloodied and bruised. I held him responsible for much of the havoc that had happened. Not only the attacks against various people, including Maggie, Amare, and Neal. He attempted to retrieve files from Rom, which resulted in Rom's unnecessary death, which resulted in the exodus, which resulted in David leaving before he meant to. I wanted him to watch me sneer at him, but he lay as unresponsive and vacant as the others. When I contacted Magnar, he took my communication and spoke to me like our argument never happened. Even as a hypocrite, Magnar was a good man. Venn delivered him to our building after a few minutes. I stared at Maggie while we waited, searching for any sign she was coming out of it. I still waited when Magnar and the medical personnel reached the top of the staircase to our private rooms. Magnar wore a pair of black pants and a grey pullover. I had never seen him in anything besides his uniform. The medical staff moved both Maggie and Dmitry onto levitating gurneys, and before they left with Maggie, I kissed her on the cheek. I told her I would see her when I could. I looked Magnar in the eye. I had to make my apology to him. "Magnar, I -" "You don't have to apologize," he said, interrupting me. "I accepted that you wouldn't take it well before I said it, and I knew you'd come to your senses given time. It took less than a day for you. It took me ten when I made a similar mistake in my youth. I know that we seem the same age, but we're not. I've made many more laps around the proverbial block than you, and believe me, the view never changes. Stick with David; he'll show you another, more interesting path." He sat upon one of our wingback chairs. "Now, tell me of Dmitry." I sat in the chair opposite and told Magnar everything that had occurred involving Dmitry's treacherous actions, including what it caused the Master Builder to do. I also told him of my vow to kill Dmitry if he harmed Maggie. "I know he's angered you," he said, "and that's understandable given the result of his actions, and I feel the same. But you couldn't honorably kill him in his current state, and I couldn't guarantee you would have the opportunity otherwise. He harmed more than just you, and I happen to know he has broken certain vows he made to the Trust. Besides, as a non-member, you should leave it to us to take care of those things." "I intend to join the Trust when things settle down," I said. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated; reconsidering it, he said what he almost kept to himself. "As one of the members who proclaim a candidate worthy of consideration for a student of the Trust, I urge you to reconsider pursuing that." "Why? I'm trustworthy." "The Trust is for a certain kind of person," he said, "and I agree with you. When it comes to trustworthiness, you are, without a doubt, an ideal candidate, and I'm not just saying that." "So, what's the problem?" I asked. "Have I some flaw that negates my admission? What is it?" "You're not a killer," he said. I just looked at him. "Could you clarify that, please?" "Yes," he said. "What I'm saying is you are perfect for the Trust. You are honest, trustworthy, disciplined, and in every other thing that would make you an ideal member of the Trust, except in the one way that is the most necessary. The Trust exists to kill invaders, and while we often have other duties, it exists for no other reason, and that's not you." "I see," I said. "But...there's something I want you to know," he said, "there is a reason we have only one-third of the population as members of the Trust. It takes a certain kind of person to kill people and get on with their life. Not everyone can do that, and that's perfectly fine. We recognize that here. Could you kill someone if you had to? I'm certain you could, most people can, but we're not talking about one person, and then it's over. Invasions don't work that way." "I guess I never thought of it in that context." I took a deep breath. "What about me makes me not right for the Trust?" "You ruminate and analyze your experiences, and you experience your emotions at great depth," he said. "Now, I'm going to ask you, because you know yourself better than me, am I mistaken?" I sat there a moment. "No, you've pointed out my weaknesses well enough." Magnar tipped his head. "I wouldn't call those weaknesses. I see them as your strengths. I can't think of a worse personal travesty, than for you to join the Trust and become changed by it. You're not flawed if you're different from the people you tend to admire. You're an amazing man, Rick. David is lucky to have you." I didn't know what to say. "I know you well enough to know something has precipitated your desire to enter the Trust," he said. "So, what is it?" "I want to learn to defend myself," I said, "and to help protect Jiyu." He laughed a little and leaned forward in his seat. "Do you not recognize that protecting Jiyu is all you've done since the day you met Amare? You've protected Jiyu more than most any member of the Trust." He took a deep breath and reclined in his seat. "Now, as for learning to defend yourself, that's a worthy pursuit, and there are things you can learn here that will help you. Venn told me you're having the gymnasium installed on the first floor. That's an excellent start, but remember, strength is important, but it's not everything." Magnar stood. "We can discuss these matters later when your eyes aren't red from sleep deprivation." He picked up Dmitry's reprogrammed NP device from the coffee table. "I shall take this for the Nano team." He made for the staircase. "The hospital knows to inform you if any change occurs with Maggie or Pearce. Mason, please ensure he doesn't skip meals." "Of course," said Mason. "Thank you, Magnar," I said as he vanished down the steps. I showered and slept to the second meal the next morning, although Mason awakened my disgruntled self to eat for the first one. I felt better after five hours of sleep. Mason informed me of the news while I ate. "In evidence out the window, the rain has stopped," he said. "I have cleaned your clothes, but you have ruined the seat of your trousers. I cannot imagine how you wore them out in less than two days. As you seem partial to them, I had requested that Svend create several duplicates. He will have them delivered this afternoon. "The Master Builder tells me that your advice to her has proven invaluable and sends her appreciation. Venn informs me that her having done so is an unprecedented event. She also tells me that she will have the gymnasium completed by tomorrow morning. "Venn finalized the forging of the second ship overnight, and Magnar designated Cadmar as its captain. Cadmar has learned you named yours the Berlioz, so he has decided to follow in the same line, naming his ship the SJS Offenbach." I smiled, knowing he did it as a long-distance expression of his devotion to me. "A woman by the name Etsuko, contacted me," said Mason. "She is the artist Cadmar asked to paint the name on his ship, and she has offered her services." "Aiden will appreciate that," I said, "Please, accept her offer with my thanks." "I have no news of Maggie," said Mason. "Pearce, however, is conscious and stable. His scans continue to improve, and they expect him to recover soon. One thing you should know, nanos can do many things, but they cannot restore brain tissue. They can replace or augment, but not restore." "What's wrong with Pearce?" "The blow to the back of his head has damaged his visual cortex. He is blind, and evidence suggests he will remain blind when the swelling diminishes." "Oh no, can they correct that?" "You should present that question to the clinicians at the hospital," said Mason. "Okay, I'll see to that. Thank you for letting me know." "In other news," said Mason. "After beddo this morning, Magnar sent two Trust members to bring back our families with young children, and to fetch Aiden and Fennec with Amare. Those three still waited in the park for an ambulance and have already returned. Amare is currently in the hospital with Maggie and Neal. "Magnar has given the NP device to the nano technicians, and they have set all current projects aside to analyze the viral code." "I gave Maggie the Nano Reset hours ago," I said. "It doesn't appear to work." "Magnar believes the nano technicians have the best chance of helping them." "People know that Amare is incapacitated," I said. "Has the next person in line assumed the position of Prime?" "I do not know, but the database lists Gabe as the next in line after Dmitry." After having slept, I realized something about the memory enhancement. We process memories from our short-term memory to our long-term memory while we sleep. The memories held in the quantum lattice are no different in that regard. I must sleep to remember with it. After having rested, something nagged me. I didn't have enough sleep that night with Cadmar, and as the day wore on, my mind couldn't think at its best even with the afternoon nap. I had slept enough that morning to recognize that something seemed wrong. A few inconsistencies had popped up in my mind, and something told me to look again. I had a tough time figuring out the problem, and then I had a conversation with Venn. In the light of day, and a modicum of rest, I felt the need to see Pearce. I recalled that I left my bike at the hospital before David flew us to the temple with his flight pack. So, rather than take the ship, I had Venn drive me, figuring I would ride the bike home. I wore the clothes cleaned from the previous evening, and they did need replacement. I would send the buttons to Svend for use on future garments and recycle the remains. We had a warm, humid morning from the previous day's rain, and not a cloud in the sky. On the busy sidewalk that morning, I noted more than a few turned heads and surreptitious whispers as I stood at the lay-by waiting for Venn. The instant I sat in the transport, the windows created the roof to encapsulate me. "You appear rested," said Venn, "and I'm pleased you need me this morning. If you hadn't, I would have contacted you. Do you have your communication link on?" "Yes, but there's no reason to worry about that anymore." "Please, humor me and turn it off," said Venn. I did so. "What's the matter?" "We have a problem." "We have at least a dozen of those, Venn." "No, this is a new problem," he said, "There was something wrong with Dmitry." "Yes, I saw. After what he did, I think no one could doubt Dmitry had something wrong with him." "Mason didn't know how to act last night, so he allowed me to listen in. As a linguist, you should understand what I will tell you. Dmitry had something different about him, not just his behavior, which I judge as abnormal. I have analyzed his voice and word usage. I have determined he had an 18% difference in his language and a 74% difference in his tone." "Oh, how can you calculate that?" I found the notion particularly incredible. "I beg you not to reveal this to anyone, but I remember everything spoken in the transports. It's not something I go out of my way to do; it's part of how I function and not much different than how your enhanced memory remembers things. Over the jears, I have carried Dmitry often, alone and with Amare. Without exception, Dmitry has had a calm and peaceful demeanor. His tone last night did not mesh with any of the conversations I have overheard before. His word usage included phrases that I had never heard him say, Dmitry would never use the phrase `the night wanes,' for example." "I understand," I said. "Before last night, I had met Dmitry once, and even with the limited speech I had for reference, I thought he had something different about him. He didn't call me Mr. Heiden either, which seemed uncharacteristic. Of course, I've never understood why he and Amare call me that, and Amare had only recently begun calling me Rick on occasion." "Dmitry and Amare are reserved and respectful people," said Venn, "especially to people they trust and consider friends, of which they have a rare few. I would consider them exceptionally private. In secret, they have been a companion to one another for centuries. I know this because I have transported them together, and I can translate Japanese." "Gabe told me that Amare didn't trust Dmitry," I said. "He is either mistaken or lying," said Venn. "The story he wove hinged on it. Are you sure about their relationship?" "I'm positive," said Venn. "So, Gabe lied to me? How can I know you're not mistaken?" "Amare asked Dmitry to share his English with him," said Venn. "Does that sound like the actions of someone who doesn't trust Dmitry?" I took a deep breath. "No, it doesn't," I said. "Then why did Dmitry do everything he did?" "I've given that considerable thought over the last few hours," Venn said. "There is one answer that seems most probable; we have another Prime Sharer on Jiyu who made Dmitry do it. From your information, it sounds like Gabe. As the fourth oldest elder, he would have known Aurum like the other elders. He must have had the opportunity to become a Prime Sharer long ago, and he took it." "Oh damn," I said, "what's his motive? And why me? Do I exude gullibility or something?" "I do not know his motive," said Venn, "unless Dmitry gave us a clue last night. Gabe may want to stop Amare's plan from continuing, as third in line, with Amare and Dmitry out of the way, he becomes Prime. As for why he chose you, I think Dmitry said it last night. People like you, Rick. You engender trust. Your say-so has more power than you realize." "I don't know about that," I said. "Do you know Amare's plan?" "No, I do not. Amare may have told no one." "Gabe must know it if he wants it stopped," I said. "I wish David hadn't left." "I could contact Magnar, and the three of us could have a discussion." "What would we say that Dmitry was 74% out of sorts and didn't call me Mr. Heiden? No, that's not enough. An analysis of Dmitry's temperament and word usage is no more evidence than the fact that Gabe lied while alone with me. It's my word against his, and Gabe did an excellent job making himself look like the hero protecting Amare. He even stood by David, and I believed him when he said he was David's man. I don't get that. And, if Gabe possessed the Prime Sharer enhancement all this time, why did he wait so long to do anything?" "We don't know that he waited," said Venn, "but you could ask Gabe." "No, he'll just go into defense mode and deny everything," I said, "and I can't prove otherwise. Besides, it would give it away that I know. Something David told me repeatedly, do not give away your element of surprise. You and I know that Gabe is most likely guilty. For now, that will have to do. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." "You're welcome," said Venn. "I must leave knowing when to act up to you. You're in more of a position to do so than me." I saw my bike on the rack before I entered the hospital. Apollo greeted me upon entry, and after a few minutes in the waiting room, Klementina, the clinician in charge that morning, came to meet me. The pleasant, black-haired, black-eyed, pale-skinned woman had a Russian accent that had diminished from living on Jiyu for decades. "Good news," she said, "Pearce has regained consciousness but is sleeping. He told us he wishes to speak with you when you visit, so come with me." She led me to the trauma unit where Pearce would stay until the next day. I couldn't help but notice how much he contrasted the others. Medical personnel had wrapped his head in a bandage, covering his eyes, but even in his state of rest, his mouth moved occasionally, and he would adjust his body to find a comfortable position. I felt some relief seeing someone animated in a hospital bed. "Good morning," I said. He smiled and turned his head slightly in my direction. "I told you I would get us out of there," Pearce spoke in a quiet voice and sounded a little groggy. He held his hand out. "Yes, you did." I held his hand. "Have they given you a prognosis?" "The swelling around my visual cortex has blinded me," he said, "and I have one devil of a headache." "I bet. Does Jiyu not believe in pain medications?" "I've taken pain medication," he said. "Ah, so either it's not effective, or you're one lucky man to have it." "No, you're the lucky one," he said, smiling. "I bet you don't have a scratch on you." I sighed. "All my wounds are internal, I'm afraid." His smile vanished in the sober reality of the previous night's repercussions. "I heard about Maggie," he said, "I'm sorry." "Maggie, of course, but you as well. I don't want to lose any of you." "I don't remember the incident itself," he said, "I must assume you saved my life, so thank you." "Anytime." I squeezed his hand. Klementina came back to tell me Pearce needed to rest. I asked her about his sight before I left. "Since the problem is at the point of his visual cortex and not his eyes," I said, "can you restore his sight?" "Yes, with synthetic connections. With the help of the nanos in Pearce's body, the swelling should go down quickly. A day or two, and then we'll know more." "Can I keep my eyes," said Pearce, "or can't I?" "That's hard to say," she said. "The brain has a certain level of plasticity and, therefore, can overcome many things. The connections to your eyes may be enough to allow normal vision, but there's only one way for certainty. You could have the full replacement, and it would work with no difficulty. We'll know what we're working with when the swelling has gone." "Do you oppose having synthetic eyes?" I asked him. "I fear they may frighten my son," he said, "but I want to watch him grow up." "We will do whatever we can to keep your eyes," she said, "but we make no guarantees." I told Pearce I would return the next day and left to visit Maggie, but I ran into Magnar on his way to see the Americans. Magnar entered the hospital as I waited for the lift where he joined me. "I'm pleased to see you up and about," he said. "Yes, I'm not one to sleep all day." "That's good, no sense in letting your circadian rhythm become unsynchronized. Watch the sunset this evening; it will help. I presume you're here to see Maggie." I nodded. "Have you come to see how our Phalin friends are faring?" "Lopez is conscious and asking to speak to someone. I would appreciate it if you joined me. I want your input. Also, it seems that my voice upsets Mr. Greco." "Really?" I tried not to sound sarcastic. Magnar's tone often sounded too matter-of-fact, and his voice, deep and gruff, so it wasn't surprising Greco's nerves couldn't cope with him. "I would make a poor diplomat," said Magnar. I looked at him. "You have a child to help raise. So, unless you intend to act as a dictator rather than a parent, you should work on those diplomacy skills." We entered the lift. "Cadmar told you about that, did he?" he asked. "Was it a secret?" The Trust held the mercenaries from Phalin on the second floor. Magnar had placed two guards outside their door and one inside the room. Greco and Lopez were lying in their beds. They looked better. They appeared clean, and their skin was healing quickly. Lopez lay on his back, wearing a webbed, immobilizing body-cast that screwed on. It had holes all through it to allow the skin to breathe. He saw us as we entered the room. "I hear you wish to speak with someone," said Magnar. "I'm listening." "Are you the one in charge?" Lopez asked, glaring up and down at Magnar. "Oh, that's right. You don't have anyone in charge." I didn't allow Magnar to respond. "Did you have something to say," I said to Lopez, "or did you just want to disrespect the culture of the people who saved your life?" Greco had turned over in his bed when Magnar first spoke, facing us. "Ask them," he said to Lopez. "Have you told our people what happened?" asked Lopez. "No," said Magnar, "we're not exactly on speaking terms with the primitives." I elbowed Magnar. "We don't know who we should contact, or for that matter, how much we should tell them." "That's true," said Magnar. "Any information we give them would tell them what they want to know. It's better for us if they know nothing." "Not even our families?" asked Lopez. "Wallen, Tourney, and Coulter have died. Their families should know." "They will know, given time," said Magnar. "Greco says that Coulter's body lay crushed on the machine," said Lopez. "Have you removed it and given him a burial?" "No," said Magnar. "No?" Lopez scowled. "No?" I asked. "No," said Magnar shaking his head, "and we won't." "Why?" The furrow between Lopez's eyebrows deepened in anger. "I owe you no explanation," said Magnar. "I will tell you that eventually, we will exhume the other bodies and return them to Earth where they belong." Lopez looked at Magnar in disgust. "You leave a dead man's body exposed like that? Animals do that." Magnar leaned over Lopez. "Unlike your own, we have a peaceful culture. I will point out that we've never bombed anyone, and if we ever resorted to such barbarity, we would never bomb civilians. With honesty, can your country say the same?" He looked at both men in their beds. "Have you asked all your questions? I have other things to attend to." "What will you do with us?" asked Greco. "For the moment, you are convalescing," said Magnar with as much sympathy as he could express. "Nothing will occur until the clinicians have declared you both well. For your peace of mind, Mr. Greco, at that point, we will not torture you, we will not imprison you, or send you to a concentration camp. One day, you will go home to your families, and until then, you will remain a guest on Jiyu for the duration. But...the same rule continually applies; your treatment will correlate with your behavior. We will meet kindness with kindness. We have respect for one another as one of our founding principles. I suggest that you both acquire some and that especially goes for you, Mr. Lopez." "Do you have any other questions?" I asked. They indicated they didn't, and with a nod to our Trust member guards, we left for the end of the hallway. Once we neared the lift, I pulled Magnar into a vacant room, and I made my inquiry. "I've seen the body on the portal, why would we leave it there? "I understand, no one wants to leave it," said Magnar, "including myself. It remains for an early warning signal. When they clear the portal site of stones in Japan, the portal will send the body back to Earth. Leaving it on the portal gives us an advantage." "Can the garrison contact us to tell us of any change there?" "As of this morning, yes. Cadmar took them a communication node," he said. "Before you hear it from anyone else, this morning, two members of the Trust and I searched for Aurum's vault. We made it to the fake vault door you told me about last night, but we saw no key in the wall and no hole." "That can't be!" "Don't worry," said Magnar, "I believe you, but someone has managed to conceal it again." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "As you're on your way to see Maggie, I should tell you that I also saw Aiden this morning. I told him what happened since you were resting. He didn't take it well." I knew Aiden had fallen for Maggie, and I had both the pleasure and responsibility for his having done so. I cared about Aiden's friendship, and I loved him as much as I did, Maggie. I introduced them and gave them my approval of one another, and they took it from there. I could tell he loved her, but he hadn't realized the depth of that love until she lay beyond his reach. As is my nature, the pain of others affects me profoundly, especially when it's one of my friends. I hurt when they hurt, and I could think of little I wouldn't do to alleviate it for us both. After having left Magnar, I stepped to the doorway of Maggie's fifth-floor room down the hall from the lift. They gave her a bright and colorful room in shades of purple and red. Aiden sat with his back to me in a chair at her bedside holding her hand, talking to her unresponsive body in his much-improved French. I heard his repeated plea for her not to leave him, and I couldn't bear it, so I left. I rode my bike back to the penthouse, thinking, and crying on the way. I stopped crying once I had determined to do the most dangerous thing I had ever done, and after having met David, I had done some dangerous things. With the earlier conversation with Venn still fresh in my mind, I relied upon bloody hope once again, tapping behind my ear. "Iris, I would like to speak with Gabe, please." After the usual greeting, I gave him no time to say much else. "You don't have to say a word, Gabe. I want you to listen. You've won. You have the power as Prime to halt Amare's plan. I know that's what you wanted. I also know that you're the one who created the NP device with the viral code. You're also smart enough to build into it a means to reverse it, and if you have, I beg you to release them. If you do, Amare will retire. It won't take much convincing; he wanted to retire anyway. He will not get in your way. Dmitry's problem no one can fix, I realize that. He's done unforgivable things, even though you made him want to do them, and no, I cannot prove any of that. At this point, Gabe, I don't care. You have nothing to fear from me. You have won completely. But I swear on my honor that I will never mention this to anyone if you let them go. I can only hope that you will show mercy. Amare did what he believed he should. That doesn't make him right; it makes him human. Maggie and Neal found themselves caught in the fallout; I understand that now. So, I give you my word, and if they awaken, I will know you have accepted my offer." I kept peddling, listening for a response; anything that told me Gabe heard me and acknowledged my words in some manner, but I heard nothing, and then the communication ended on the other side. I deactivated my link with Iris. My mouth went dry, and I moved to the sidewalk as the blood had drained from my face. I felt nauseated and more than a little dizzy. I had a tough time trying to catch my breath. A cold numbness began as I started to sweat. I had gone a minute into what I recognized as a panic attack when the Berlioz landed on the road next to me, which drew the attention of more people on the sidewalk than my obvious distress had. I opened the hatch, and the bike slid into the ship at an angle. I buckled into the starboard jumpseat and asked the Attendant to take me back to the penthouse. I had taken the chance of willingly wearing a bullseye, knowing I stood in the company of someone who had no reason not to shoot me. Did Gabe have a better nature? I knew that if my offer left him unsatisfied, he could eliminate me, and he would have solved his problem.