CHAPTER 6
DIĜIR-GA-ŜUM
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A pervasive and horrible feeling of panic gripped me, freezing to the bones. All around there was nothing but emptiness and total silence. I wanted to scream, but I could no longer hear my voice, I wanted to close my eyes, but my own eyelids were invisible and transparent, like every cell of my body. I felt as light and impalpable as air, with the difference that I was not a gas, but a being of flesh and blood and as soon as I remembered it, the panic grew. All around were only stars and in the distance, like a giant sapphire, Terra was shining behind me. In absolute despair, I wanted to wipe away the tears I felt running down my face, but I couldn't see anything beyond space, not even my hands. 'Those darned people abandoned me in space, they threw me overboard!', I thought. Suddenly, a sharp pain in my neck made me suffer excruciatingly for a moment, then even the stars faded away leaving only darkness and silence.
Incredibly far away, however, a small point of light made its way out, growing larger as the seconds passed. I opened my eyes: a fluorescent light bulb dangled from a bare, dull metal ceiling, while a pale blue light shattered on the wall to my left. I slowly turned my head in pain and saw blue bars glowing with a thousand facets. That room looked like another cell. The vision was gone and the more I tried to remember what had happened, the more my memory faded. I struggled to get up from the dark and dirty floor where I was lying and looked around: that cage was poor and there wasn't even a cot to lie on. I tried to touch the bars and as soon as I touched them with my right index finger I sensed the danger, seeing that I was forced to give up on knocking them down somehow.
I noticed that all the information from my SAI was gone. I tried to restart it but the symbiote wouldn't turn on. No network, no AI, no nothing.
I discovered I was alone, Deena and the others were gone. 'But how?', I suddenly asked myself. "Is there gravity? Wasn't I on a shuttle? How fucking long did I sleep?".
"Fifteen hours", said a familiar voice to my left.
"We've been here forever and they haven't brought us some slop yet, shit!", another man protested. "Is it Ramadan here already?".
"Enough by the Gods, Asif", said the same voice.
I turned around, but saw no one in my cell, so I asked facing the wall: "Are you in an adjacent cell? Damien? The girls? They're all there aren't they?".
"Sorry cowboy, but they took your little friends away. If you want, they left us the old man, though", the initial voice I recognized to be blondie’s explained again.
"To add to the hunger the stench of his corpse!", laughed Asif.
"Will you stop jinxing it?", suddenly burst in Agatha Bancroft. "He's going to make it!".
"Where the fuck did you take me?", I asked exasperated. "My AI is dead!".
"Ours too", said the doctor. "Probably the shield's fault".
"Don't get excited kid. We're guests of Charon, in Diĝir-ga-šum. Nice place, isn't it?", the leader explained.
"Digi... ta... what? Where?", I asked confused.
"Diĝir-ga-šum!", the blond man repeated. "Not that I know how to spell it! Anyway, our customer's base of operations. Just DGS for normies like us".
"Did you argue about the price?", I laughed enjoying their situation.
"There wasn't even that discussion", he grumbled.
"I thought you guys were welcome here, but I was wrong. Do you no longer work for this Charon?".
"That depends", he tried to answer. "I think he wants to check out the merchandise and talk to you first".
I got anxious all of a sudden. "Me?! What the hell does this have to do with me? I don't know anything about this I just happen to be in it!".
"By accident or by force, Charon said he wanted to talk to you. That's why we kept you alive", Asif said.
Charon was clearly a nickname; it could have been a woman, a man, or a group of people. Maybe they didn't expect Humanity to protect Deena and they must have thought the government knew something about their plans. The mercenary may have been a simpleton but a terrorist group would not have accepted the story of the bicycle accident as quickly. Truth or not.
"What is this Charon", I asked starting to get scared.
The blond man granted me his information. "He's a person. A man. All we know is that this Charon pulls the strings. He gave everyone who accepted his offer files with a list of girls to track down around the planet and entrusted them with a DNA analysis machine".
"DNA?", I asked. "What exactly was this machine looking for in Deena's DNA?".
"We don't know", he admitted. "It was just expressing a percentage. Sixty percent and up was his stuff".
"Sixty percent and up", I said weighing each word. "And Deena how much?".
"Our competitors were talking 98%", he promptly replied. "You can see it was safe money".
A manhunt based on the DNA of the targets. Deena had always seemed like a normal girl to me but as I thought about it, I began to focus on so many special things about her. Deena's physicality was impressive as well as her reflexes. Even the color of her eyes, which until a moment before was just magnificent now also began to look strange to me. "Did this Charon attack Hobson's Rock?", I asked.
"Definitely", the blond confirmed. "He told us in our last radio contact that he has an old score to settle with you and I don't envy you. The guy gives me the creeps, I confess. He's got an army at his beck and call, and from what we've seen, it's not even really made up of humans but of... almost humans".
"Almost humans? Meaning?", I asked skeptically.
"He calls them demihumans. You'll see them for yourself", the blond man cut in short, sensing my puzzlement.
"Suppose your client dumps you. Do you have a plan?", I asked in a low voice.
"You don't run away from Diĝir-ga-šum unless Charon lets you. Not only because it is well guarded, but its ESP barrier is omnipresent and would prevent us from moving freely", he replied.
"More strange words, I give up", I sighed as I sat down with my back resting against the wall that separated us. "Since we might end up sinking in the same boat, will you tell me who you are?".
"Major Henry Gage, once upon a time. To my friends Hank, to you Mr. Gage, boy. The ESP shield doesn't just act on the outside of the base, it acts on the inside as well and to be shielded from it requires an item that only the guards have. A larger version by way of exception was installed on our ship to dock. Connected to an explosive charge, if we hadn't returned it would have exploded".
"What effect does this shield have?", I asked curiously.
"Don't you remember? Yet you experienced them on your skin, kid. Nice little space flight, wasn't it?", replied Asif. I shuddered as I tried to relive the terrible vision. Alone, in empty space, cold and without air.
Gage unbuttoned a little. "The shield erodes the human mind and forces it to see things that don't exist. That's why no one has ever seen Diĝir-ga-šum and no one can move within it freely. One of the side effects of the ESP shield is that it also manifests itself inside the station by stunning you, unless one has a proper barrier, such as that produced by the cell bars. Even if we got out of these cages, our mind would lead us to believe that we were in space.
As soon as we landed in a hangar on the base, we were forced to turn off the shield and you were hit. We had individual shields but you and your buddies did not. French guy was fast asleep under his medication and didn't notice anything. Your girlfriends, on the other hand, well... the blonde had no effect at all while the brunette fainted.
You literally went crazy and in order to get you to calm down Jake had to bolt you in the neck. Then they took the girls I don't know where and us here. There's no way to escape, not without protection".
"Wait, aren't we on Terra?", I asked incredulously.
"No of course", he confirmed not understanding my amazement.
"But... it really feels like 1G here! How do you explain that?". Gravity was terrestrial, I wasn't wrong about that. "Even on the rich colonies you never get above 0.9".
"Diĝir-ga-šum has a lot of advanced technology and a lot of energy at its disposal", he explained as if it were natural. Artificial gravity in space was an unnecessary luxury and extremely expensive to implement, which was why even the most impressive ships still lacked it at the time.
"I'm not going to stay here and get killed. I'll try to escape, somehow, and if you swear to help me I'll get you out too. Done?", I proposed as I rubbed my still sore neck.
Everyone laughed, minus Damien who was still drowsy and Dr. Bancroft who was busy watching over him. "You're going to set us free, right! Put your mind at ease cowboy, there's nothing to be done anyway", Hank replied.
"I didn't think the famous Henry Gage was half-baked. The legends say just the opposite about you, or maybe I’ve misunderstood".
I could almost see him gloating through the wall. "I didn't think that you were still talking about me. Anyway, that was a long time ago, now I'm just a mercenary and I don't feel like risking my skin unnecessarily. Let's just wait and hope for good luck".
"Did you do that on the Belt too? Did you wait and hope?", I asked arrogantly.
"Everything was different back then, me first", the man retorted coldly. "But you know how it feels, too. You yourself are what I was like. A rampant, invasive lieutenant of Humanity. You would send a company to their deaths for the honor of the Grand Master without a second thought, deny me otherwise if you wish". I remained silent, bewildered. Could it be that that ruthless mercenary was a mutation of someone very similar to me? "Our deal with Charon hasn't blown up yet. So, for now, we're staying put".
A hiss followed by a rumble of metallic footsteps interrupted the conversation. I jumped up and went on alert, ready in case of danger. From the corridor in front of the cell came two curious figures, perfectly identical to each other.
They moved in an ape-like manner and as long as they were in the half-light they seemed to me to be simply two stout armed men of small stature. As soon as they were illuminated, however, they sent shivers down my spine almost instantly. A ballistic mask of almost carnivalesque style covered half of their face except for the mouth, a misshapen gaping hole, too large to belong to a human being, with horrible thin lips and sharp teeth. They wore a black balaclava from which red wisps casually emerged, just as black was the aviator suit with which they covered themselves. All their clothing looked rough and coarse, from the bulletproof vest to the ballistic protection on their thighs tied with American tape to their bodies.
I was disgusted to see that a plastic tube came out from behind the back of their necks and into a small contraption they both carried around their shoulders. Like some sort of tiara the two wore what looked like a small two-way radio around their foreheads, from which a small antenna exited.
The one who held their metaphorical leash was behind them, a man dressed in a rather simple black uniform, a mixture of elegance and tactical necessity consisting of a diagonally closing jacket and tailored pants reinforced with side pockets and knee pads. He belted a black belt, hanging accessories and pistol as an FMP agent would. He wore a tiara similar to those monsters on his head, but of a more precious and elegant make, almost like a piece of jewelry. She had another pair in her hand and seemed to have it right out for me. "Daith Lester?" he asked looking at me coldly. I was impressed by the man. He didn't look like a terrorist or an impromptu mercenary, but a trained professional.
I remained impassive with my gaze fixed on those two things. The man then asked Hank, "Henry Gage?", and the blond man nodded his head yes. Without him speaking the two beings now behind him moved, turned off a switch behind the walls of our respective cells and the blue light surrounding the bars disappeared. The cosmic void surrounded me for the second time but I knew what was happening and I managed to hold back my sensations trying to stay still. Then everything vanished in an instant and I found myself back inside the cell with that strange diadem on my head, which must have been the guards' individual shield against the ESP barrier.
"Follow me", the man in black said in a flat voice.
"To go where?", I burst in.
"Shut up kid, don't make a fuss", Henry Gage shushed me.
"Don’t you kid me again, you fucking...".
"Charon lacks in patience, let's get this over with", the man said calmly. Those two things behind us had pointed their rifles at us, ready to shoot. We both followed the officer without making any more fuss and without opening our mouths, trying at the same time to look around as much as possible. We went out of the gray corridor and got on a freight elevator, then we found ourselves in a huge room with a very high ceiling with several windows from which you could see Terra in all its beauty. I was not an astronaut but I could tell that we were probably geostationary from the size of the blue disk. We descended a flight of stairs and found ourselves in the middle of a group of men dressed in black working behind screens and keyboards. That control room was not as advanced or eccentric as the rest of the base, or at least not the man-machine interfaces. By now, no one worked with physical or visual aids but directly with their SAI without screens or keyboards. Guarding the many doors arranged around the rectangular room were a couple of those strange beings for each. In the center of the room stood a metal column and above it a circular platform with a diameter of about ten meters. To access it there was another freight elevator, which we took this time without the escort. In a few moments we were on top of the circular platform and a trap door on the floor introduced us definitely above it. A step forward, then we heard the sound of the lift returning to the ground floor beneath our feet with its mechanical gait. What could ever be the usefulness of such a position I was totally precluded from understanding.
A tall, slender figure was looking up at the blue sphere that loomed beyond the glass windows. He was dressed in a uniform similar to that of the men in black, but in a dark red, slightly darker than his carefully combed back hair. He also wore one of those ESP devices on his head, and over his shoulders shone two gold epaulets like the buckle on his belt from which hung a large caliber pistol in a black holster. I carefully observed every detail of the man including the palms of his hands crossed behind his back, scarred with deep, summarily healed scars. "Isn't it beautiful?", the man suddenly asked breaking the silence that reigned above the platform. "In the entire known universe, no previously discovered planet can rival the beauty of Terra. Our blue, shining enclosure", he said laying his eyes on me, instantly freezing my blood.
I thought about many things. About losing a lot of blood and regenerating. I thought about eating nothing and drinking less. Of what I had seen at Hobson's Rock. About the ESP shield that had sent me over the edge. Any one of those things could have contributed to my being dizzy. I brought my hands to my face and rubbed hard, then looked back at him. No dice, he was still there.
"N-No, that's not possible", I stammered in utter bewilderment. Hank watched the scene mute, curious to know how it would end.
He greeted me with a wave of his hand. "You look good. A little thin".
"You're dead", I said almost in respiratory distress. "Sean...".
"Take a breath, Little D", he said noticing my condition. "I'm not a ghost. I'm still alive and I find this astonishment on your part offensive".
I tried to compose myself, letting anger take the place of fear. "I killed you!".
"You couldn't even kill time when you're bored, Daith", he laughed. "A few shots fired from the trembling hand of a child are not enough to stop the heart of a god. In fact, you were providential! My purpose was exactly that and you helped me achieve it in the best way possible".
"You filthy traitorous murderer!", I screamed. "You betrayed all of us and now you're a terrorist for them? What are these? Traitors from any Dominion? Do they pay you?".
"These are my men. We are united by a common purpose and they follow me because they believe in my cause", he replied looking down at me. "They're certainly not like this one, are they, Gage?".
Hank stood in silence, looking at Charon like a wounded animal in the corner. "I remember you".
"I should think so, Major", he said. "How many have we killed together, on the Belt? Quite a service to Humanity to be proud of".
John seemed bitter as he recalled those events. It sent me over the edge, and I began grinding my teeth and breathing heavily. "What does that tone mean Sean? Are you perhaps regretful?".
"Regretful? That's an interesting question Daith", he replied looking at me carefully. "If you mean killing hundreds of enemies, the answer is obviously no. If did it for Humanity, the answer is obviously yes. To have been used by those filthy worms is something I will never forgive myself for".
"What about killing our people, huh?", I yelled clenching my fists and shaking with rage. "Did you attack Hobson's Rock treacherously? Did you order that massacre? Answer me, Sean!".
"Yes", he said icily. "I did".
With eyes blinded by tears and anger I lashed out at Charon, who showed a bitter expression on his face. I jumped up and attacked him with a powerful kick to the neck, but he seemed to find no difficulty in parrying it with a simple gesture of his right hand. Then I tried a punch right to the face, but he grabbed me with the same hand and said, "Looks like another nap will do you good, little brother.
He landed a kick to my face that sent me spinning off the platform. As a result, I plummeted several feet into the room below, crashing backwards into a control station.
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*
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"You suck."
I was tired of hearing that repeated to me. "Fuck you, Sean!", I retorted to my brother. The air was fresh on that September Sunday. It had recently stopped raining, a blue sky was beginning to prevail over the gray clouds still reflected from puddles on the basketball court at Seattle Academy. "You're so much taller than me, you have little to brag about!".
"Little D, don't mess with me", the young man retorted. His short-cut red hair was glistening with sweat, like the black shirt he wore with blue sweatpants. "Only losers use height as an excuse in basketball, just excuses!".
I made every effort to stay focused, but there was little I could do about it: my third-period shot was easily blocked under the basket by John, who took possession of the ball and deftly slotted another basket, yet another one that morning.
"Ten zero, your ball", he exclaimed laughing.
"I know the score!", I ranted.
"Come on kid, don't get so hot!", he encouraged me gently, passing me the ball with a bounce. "I already explained it to you: it's not because I'm taller. It's all a game of reflexes and coordination... watch my movements, try to anticipate me".
"Now I'll show you!", I said after a few bounces. I tried again on the layup and actually guessed his countermove, managing to make the ball fly past his bulky body. Unfortunately the action ended on the iron of the basket. John took the ball on the fly and put it under his arm.
"Better", he commented. "But in trying to get past me, you lost sight of the goal and in the end, you found yourself missing your chance".
"Yeah...".
John laughed, coming to run a hand through my sweaty hair and arranging my locks backwards uncovering my face. "You're getting better though. You'll see, they'll definitely take you on the academy team. You'll knock out the competition at tryouts".
"You think so?", I asked doubtfully.
"Sure! You're a Lester... we always win", he reassured me confidently.
I reciprocated his enthusiasm with a puzzled expression that he couldn't help but notice.
"What's wrong Daith? Trust me, everything will be fine!".
"No Sean it’s... it's not the auditions I'm feeling down about", I explained. "To be honest I changed my mind, I don't really want to be on the team anymore".
John seemed disappointed by my answer. "Why?".
"Well, I mean... you won't be at my games", I said embarrassed.
"I'll come whenever I can... I promise", he promised with sincerity.
"Mom won't be there either...", I continued with great difficulty.
This time my brother's expression was on the borderline between panic and helplessness. John didn't know how to react, so he decided to tackle the issue head-on, his way.
"True, she won't be there. I don't know why she decided to leave like that... I suffer like you do. But I don't think it's fair to let this change our lives or keep us from enjoying it fully. We don't know why our mother decided to leave.... We can only hope that she is okay and one day she decides to come back. For now, though, let's go forward with our heads held high and show them who the Lester brothers are!".
A few moments passed, then I got my reaction. "You're right Sean... You're right... let's show them, yes...". I couldn't finish the sentence that immediately my eyes filled with tears. John dropped the ball on the ground and came to hug me. "I miss her so much... I miss both of them...".
John squeezed the hug tighter, ignoring the sweat and stroking my hair. "Me too kid, what do you think...".
I cried for quite a while, until I found snot on my nose. At that age, I was barely ten, I figured I could still afford it.
"I hate it here", I confessed. "I want to go home".
The darkness was thick, cut at times by sudden blue flashes of lightning, and the temperature icy. A myriad of echoes rumbled through my head. "I want to go home", I stammered again in my sleep, losing a tear.
"Are you sure? Did you call him that?", asked a voice I had heard before.
"I swear! In fact, the two looked alike. But you haven't heard the weirdest part yet! That madman ordered him back to his cell. I saw that he had one arm bent backwards! That guy is crazy, I tell you!".
"Where did he have that fine Frenchman taken?", asked a female voice.
"He said he'd bring him back to Earth, alive. Weird, since he killed his own brother. Oh, did you see that? The blue light is back to normal".
"They must have repaired the fault in the bars of the near cell. What about us?", asked Jake.
"He doesn't want to put us down, but he says he'll keep us in custody. He said he doesn't trust us right now, that he's doing some checking to make sure we're not screwing him over with Humanity. We're clean so I'm not worried about him finding anything, I'm more worried about him being out of his mind. If we are clean, besides paying us, he will give us a new mission, he says. I only know that as soon as he pays us and lets us go, I won't see the blue of Terra again for the next ten years. At least they brought us food, we were starving".
"Is there anything for me? I'm starving too", I asked with what little breath I had. I was panting from exhaustion as if after a long run. There was silence again and after a few seconds Hank found the strength to speak, "You should be dead by now, kid".
"That kid again", I replied with some extra strength. "I swear I'll beat you up the first chance I get".
Hank laughed thunderously. "I don't know what you're made of, kid", he then said, "but I have to compliment you. Great kick you gave him, but I told you Charon is good. Still, you ought to know better than I do".
"Let's just leave it at that", I sighed.
"Come on, let's spend these long dark hours in each other's company", he said sarcastically.
"I said no".
"Listen. Let's consider option A, Charon has decided to take us all out, including you. So, correct me if I'm wrong, it's in our mutual interest to try to escape, but I think it's obvious that you're not leaving without her", Gage reasoned.
"Wrong! He'll want to take me out, and even if he does, I won't leave without them. But then what's this about you wanting to escape? Didn't you just say...?".
"You have earned points with me boy, so see that you treasure them. I propose that we work together in our mutual interest", offered Hank. "You know him. He's your flesh and blood, isn't he? If you know him you will also know whether or not he will keep his commitments to us".
"What ‘s on your mind?".
"We're not double agents Charon won't get anywhere with his investigation", he explained. "A good professional does the job and gets paid and his reputation finds him another one. It's not worth it for a little extra to ruin your resume".
"So you got no reason to betray him," I concluded.
"Yes, but I don't want to work for that crazy Charon anymore", he explained. "Do you see all this? This space station acts as a base for violent terrorists and is particularly dependent on its secrecy to operate. Don't think you can just say no to an organization like this! If Charon lets us out and offers us a job, if we refuse he will kill us and if we accept him and cut and run he will seek us out and do the same".
"Then keep working for him".
Hank spaced out. "Do you have any idea how hot things are starting to get around Diĝir-ga-šum? Charon has razed Hobson's fucking Rock to the ground! Humanity must have alerted the reservists by now! It's an act of war the likes of which Daith hasn't seen in decades! Working for him? It would mean having the Service and the SpecOps against him! Working against Humanity and all the Grand Order!".
"Balance of power is a bit against you, yeah". I was indifferent to Hank's problems but I really couldn't ignore a partnership with them. "You want to turn yourselves in?".
There was a muttering in the cell next door and Hank shushed his cronies. "It's a last resort, yes. We'll cooperate with Humanity rather than help Charon! The idea is to get away from both of them and escape as far away from Sol as possible but if we have to, then we'll turn ourselves in to the FMP. A nice payoff for you too I guess. Your career would be saved with a nice prey like us and information on all this".
I hadn't thought about career for a second. Everything about that story was personal. I just wanted to kill Sean for good and get Deena out of that place.
"What about the girls? Escape without them isn't an option", I made it clear.
"We have no idea", Jake said. "Taken away".
"Was the DNA story true? Hank?", I asked wary.
"Yeah, yeah...", he said annoyed. "I didn't lie to you. So, any information on your dear brother?".
Combining information, strength and ideas was the only way to get out of that situation alive. I asked for some food and drink and was satisfied with some dry galettes and half a bottle of water. Drinking that half-liter gave me back my life. I decided to speak, as much as I could, to make them understand what we were talking about.
"His name is S... er... John Setanta Lester, my brother in fact. He's thirty-two years old now, a captain, once serving a late career in the SpecOps. PFC and Special class pilot with Atmosphere and Orbital and Deep Space certification, graduated from Denver Military Academy with honors, specialist in: air combat, guerrilla warfare, low gravity hand-to-hand combat, sharpshooter. Army champion in rifle, boxing and javelin throw. Declared MIA (Missing In Action, Ed.) and dishonorably discharged as a result of", I paused for a moment, then resumed, "well, that's not relevant".
"Pool champion, record-breaking hot dog eater at the end-of-summer fair, and the only instance of being crowned both king and queen at the prom!", joked Asif.
"Ah that's funny!", complained Jake. "Well, he wears a tiara actually, maybe you're not wrong!".
"I'm afraid it's all true guys, he's not exaggerating. I worked with a certain Captain Lester years ago... I had heard he was out of the game", resumed Henry Gage. "I've seen him around a couple of times, visual memory is not my strong suit unfortunately. If I had recognized him as Charon, I might not have taken the job. Certain stories of when he worked with the Services... He wasn't just sabotaging targets or doing reconnaissance. They used to send him out on his own to take them over, code-naming him Agent Ares. Although he worked in the shadows, he became infamous among the criminal organizations on the Beltway. If word got out that Ares was in town on a job, everyone would run to their holes and hide. Last I heard of him on Mars, from some of the prisoners".
"Now I'm the one learning from you Gage", I admitted. "I didn't know about these stories".
"How old are you kid? I guess you were too young", he said. He didn't purposefully belittle me however I was nonetheless pissed off.
" He never talked about his operational past ", I explained.
"How can you blame him", he continued. "Your brother was a legend but also a monster. I don't intend to get involved in this weird private war of his anymore than I did in spite of myself! I hope I can at least get paid first".
"How frustrating, no respect for my expectations, Major Gage. As low as I almost hoped to see you in black among us", said Charon's grim voice, peeking out from the corridor to the right of my cell. "You have failed me, Henry. I had hoped that your detachment from Humanity would be a realization. Instead, you only think of money, you're such a wretch. Take him", ordered the red-haired man to a pair of demi-humans behind him. This time the vision didn't bother me too much and after the two of them had put the shield on my head, they dragged me with them, followed by John aka Charon.
At the end of a tortuous journey through the corridors of the space base, they ended up throwing me first into a small and dark room and then on a chair placed in the center of the room with a large mirror on one side. The creatures took their leave to apparently leave us alone. It was terribly hot in that room, a dry heat that dried the palate and parched the eyes.
It had been two years since I had last seen him. Two years since our goodbye, since the day of his betrayal.
"Alone at last, finally tied up, so maybe we can talk a little without you trying to tear my head off", he exclaimed, bringing his face closer to mine. I spit out what little saliva I had on the collar of his nice uniform. "Jerk", he commented, wiping some of the spit off with his hand.
I gave a forced, hysterical laugh. That place gave me the creeps and I couldn't expect anything pleasant from that situation.
"I get it, you know? Your hatred", he resumed. "I killed your friend, in front of your eyes. I tried to kill you. I did it knowingly and in cold blood. Without mercy".
I growled like an animal, contracting my muscles as much as I could, dreaming of being able to tear the metal bonds that bound me. But I wasn't like him. I couldn't control my gift at will.
"You must think I'm sick. Crazy", he continued with his back to me. "Instead, I'm simply awake, Daith. Something that has always been unpopular in our society".
"Explain it to me! What does it all mean? Who built this place? What do you have in mind?".
"So many questions! And thinking that as soon as you saw me you jumped on me... how come now all this desire to talk?".
"Answer me, damn it! How did you end up among these people? How are you still alive after what you...", I bit my tongue. Suddenly I feared the memory of our last mission together would make him angry. I feared his wrath and hated myself for it. "So?", I asked finding my courage.
"So what?".
"So what? I shot you! I remember well, one shot in the leg and two in the chest! I know who you are, a wound like that, the fall! No, that would be too much even for you!", I shouted.
"Unlike you, I am able to treat far more serious injuries. I can handle my gift, you are only good at losing your temper. Only the first bullet wounded me, the others just impacted against the plates. Of course, they had enough stopping power to send me tumbling down that cliff. A flight I wouldn't do again".
"Wasn't that cliff over a hundred feet?", I asked shocked.
"Ouch", laughed Charon. "Like I said, it hurt a lot".
"Are you kidding me? Someone had to have come to retrieve you, to give you medical attention! Does that mean that even then you and these people...? It's not possible! How long has this been going on?".
"You're too young yet to understand", he sighed. "Me too, like you, have been convinced that I knew everything, that I was on the right side. I've been a puppet all my life. But now, one by one, I'm going to cut the strings that control me, the puppeteer's fingers, his tongue, and who knows, one day I'll take his head too".
"Puppeteer? Sean what the fuck are you talking about? I don't understand anything you say!".
"I know, I beg your forgiveness. I tried once you know? To try to make people understand what is happening to us. What I found out and what I want to do. It didn't end well and he was the second most trusted person in the world. It would just be wasted effort trying with you, wouldn't it Daith? I'd like to spare you but I don't know if I can. Because you're one of those strings I have to cut to finally be free".
"What?", I asked shocked. "Sean it's me, Daith! Your brother! If not to defend myself I've never done anything to you!".
"Given the choice, I would kill myself to save your life. Truth is that it would be a pointless waste. You wouldn't then be able to finish the job. To save yourself. Because you are and will always remain a weakling. In the world the gods have created, in this perverse predatory system called Humanity, it is the strong, the ruthless and the indomitable who thrive. And I am all of that. You are weak Daith and as much as I love you... I sacrifice you".
"You broke my heart Sean", I said through tears.
"I know", he said taking on a sad expression in turn. Maybe I imagined it but for a moment it seemed like even he was teary-eyed. "My revenge will be for you too Daith, I promise".
I shook my head, completely baffled by that absurd exchange of words. John was completely insane and I couldn't even imagine what he wanted to get out of Deena and Christelle.
"Why am I tied up here?", I asked almost rhetorically.
"Because I'm stunned", he explained casting a defiant glance at the mirror at the side of the room. "I'm being warned of some very tasty prey. Humanity has no idea what I am preparing for them. So why does something as easy as bringing me a poor, illegal wretch become so troublesome? «They're protecting her», they tell me, «agents of Humanity». Fair enough, the FMP protects a citizen who is clumsily kidnapped by clueless mercs, sounds plausible. But then it turns out that it wasn't the FMP protecting her, but just a cadet, alone. It's not strange to put cadets in VIP protection jobs, as bodyguards they are enough and as trainees, they are also an economic solution. What's strange, however, is that this one is not a VIP but a poor loser who hangs out at the Défense that no one has ever heard of. No file, no chip, no nothing, an illegal wretch with a sealed fate. Why would Humanity assign a cadet to protect such an insignificant nobody? And why my brother of all people? What do they know Daith? Why did they assign you this job? Have you spoken to anyone in the Services? Did your dean, Burris give you the mission?".
"I assigned it to myself Sean", I said shaking my head. "I pursued it of my own volition after a coincidence".
"Coincidence?".
"After you freed her from your people at Athena Tower, she escaped and I found her by accident. I followed her because I felt like it, and here we are", I recounted knowing she wouldn't believe me.
"By accident", he repeated, suddenly becoming extremely careful and thoughtful. I realized that he had taken me terribly seriously and this surprised me. For a moment he seemed on the verge of saying something, then it was as if his attitude changed radically, suddenly becoming skeptical again. Sean crossed his arms and showed some disappointment. "Daith, you know how these things go. You're a senior now. This is an interrogation, I'm in a hurry. Why don't we just get to the point?".
"Ever since Gage got me, I knew this moment would come", I said disconsolately. John believed Deena was under my protection because Humanity knew she was special. Nothing was going to change his mind. He was going to tear me apart for knowing something that didn't exist and I had no hope of making myself believe it. "I'm here because of a stupid coincidence".
"Of course", he said, shaking his head. "I'd rip the symbiote out of your brain, but it's a level five and we don't have years to waste trying to hack it. I'll have to use a more despicable method. Beast!", he suddenly yelled.
"You should have used that as your nickname instead of Charon, you asshole!", I laughed with contempt. "You want to torture me? Are you going to do it in person like you did with poor Hoberman or are you going to leave the dirty work to your friend?".
"Jalen didn't suffer. The first thread I cut. No Daith, I am repulsed by the idea of doing it myself. Your bad luck means it will be even worse this way".
From the armrests of the chair came out further hooks that tied me tightly so that I couldn't move anymore, while from the darkness emerged a demi-human apparently equal in all respects to the others pushing a cart. On it were pliers, scalpels, hooks and other chilling objects.
"There is no honor in this. Spare me the shame and you the humiliation", he asked gently.
I was afraid; I knew what I was getting into. However, I had no choice: I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and tried to concentrate, then spoke, "Lieutenant Daith Cillian Lester, serial number 07040418, Seattle Military Academy".
"You have a blank check", Charon said addressing Beast. Beast nodded and approached with his tools. Charon knew that cadets were taught a subject, called Prisoner Treatment. He knew that self-hypnosis and mental exclusion were taught to endure torture. He knew it wouldn’t help, he had been one of us once. But he went through with it perhaps just for the sake of seeing his little monster at work.
The creature stared at me and said only one word: "answer". I spit on him and began to go into a trance as I had been taught.
Before I was unconscious and exhausted, I started to cry and swear. I will never forget that room that still reappears in my darkest nightmares.
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"I lost again, crap!", I protested in a child's voice. I slammed my fists down on the game board, sending several colorful miniatures flying and flipping over.
"Don't feel bad!", laughed John picking up a die from the ground and rearranging his pieces in formation.
"Sean why do you always use Orcs? They are ugly and stupid! Look at my warriors how beautiful they are! You should get some yourself!", I said looking for some sort of moral revenge. My Space Marines were wonderful and elegant even if not perfectly colored while his green aliens were grotesque and ungainly.
"For one thing, I find them original and eccentric, not ugly at all", he said ignoring any provocation.
"But they rely a lot on luck!", I said. I had recently learned the rules of that game but before long I had memorized almost every manual of every army.
"All battles eventually rely on luck Daith, even the real ones. Then everyone underestimates them precisely because they are as you say ugly and stupid... when the enemy underestimates you Daith, you've already won! Besides, how do you defeat an enemy that doesn't want to survive?".
"Who doesn't want to survive?".
"Orcs don't care about going home. They have no fears or affections. They fight for the instinct to do so, for the very pleasure of war! They don't stop even if wounded, they are many they reproduce quickly and never get tired. If this were not a game, the Orcs would surely be the conquerors of the universe. If I had to decide to conquer the whole world... I would do it with them".
A pleasant warmth had been lovingly surrounding me for a long time now, but I still didn't have the strength to open my eyes. I moved one arm very carefully and realized that I had a myriad of bandages wrapped around my forehead, forearms and chest. My head ached like someone had been dancing a tango on it for a few hours. A smooth little hand gently caressed my face and as soon as my mind became clear I realized that the ones I was resting my head on were legs. I squinted my eyes.
Two big eyes twinkling in the dark looked at me softly and for a moment I imagined that person was Deena. "They sparkle", I whispered sleepily before falling asleep again, despite the hunger and pain. I sensed the girl's torso bend down and felt a kiss brush my lips. My heart raced for a moment but then inexorably I dozed off.
I regained my senses aching and in a state of confusion but despite everything alive and hungry. I got up and looked around. Dishes of all kinds surrounded me: eggs, bacon and toast and further away was still smoking a jug with freshly brewed American coffee and nearby there was also a large cup ready to use. There was no sign of Deena but in that moment I was only interested in one thing: eating. Nothing was left on the plates, not even crumbs and after breakfast there were only the profanities of Asif begging for a bite.
'He tore me apart before. Now instead he offers me breakfast. What's going on in his head? Carrot and stick? No, I didn't give in, I guess... it didn't make sense. I didn't have anything to confess anyway. What are you aiming at, Sean? ', I thought in mixed emotions. 'What about that person? Was it Deena? Those eyes... maybe a dream?'.
I removed my bandages and sat cross-legged, thinking about the identity of my benefactor. I shook my head after yet another thought and leapt to my feet, stretching my legs. Unfortunately, the cell did not have a shower but only a miserable toilet and a sink encrusted with limestone.
I looked at myself carefully: that filthy creature had torn off all the nails of my left hand, before breaking every single finger. Fortunately, the bones were already in place and the nails had almost completely grown back. Slight burns remained in the places where he had implanted electrodes to torture me with electricity. They would disappear in the evening, as would the tooth he had pulled from my jaw. With my tongue I could already feel it appear. I laughed to myself: if I had been a normal person, I would have died for sure. The hematomas were all gone, the ribs that he had surely cracked were already back in place. Only my nose worried me, it didn't look as straight as it should. I was going to kill that thing. Him and the monster that had unleashed him on me.
I couldn't do anything, I didn't have a plan. In order not to end up devoured by anxiety, I started punching the air and doing all sorts of exercises. Hours passed without it being clear what Charon had finally decided. At a certain point half a dozen demi-humans entered the corridor adjacent to the cells. No men were escorting them this time and strangely enough their target was not only me, but also the rest of the Navajo crew. Without the shield to protect us, we were dragged away from the cells by the guards with no little difficulty.
After an interminable period in fake space, we found ourselves disoriented in a place as magnificent as it was improbable. As much as we had been swirling around in our anguish, we might as well have been back on Terra.
It could almost have been a theme park, so strange was that spacious room. It felt as if we were under a canopy of petrified trees intertwined with each other above our heads about ten feet high. The chandeliers that illuminated the room with a greenish light seemed as if they had sprouted directly from the ceiling.
"Is it all etched in metal?", the doctor wondered as she admired the absurd place.
"It looks like one of those forests I've seen streaming", Asif said with an open mouth.
That kind of vault chiseled in that strange metal alloy that I couldn't recognize ended in a wall in front of us with a large pointed doorway, the one probably made from a bronze alloy or similar, more familiar and simple workmanship.
I noticed how elements of common technology were juxtaposed with that bizarre architecture, giving the idea that those places had been built by totally different hands or at very different times.
"What a tacky place", Hank commented. "Such luxury in space".
"No ESP here", said Jake. His voice seemed to be lost in the void.
"Luckily, I was about to throw up. Boy, do you also believe...", asked Hank.
"Yeah, I think these are Charon's apartments".
"How come you call him Charon?", asked Dr. Bancroft. “Isn’t him your brother?".
"Because it disgusts me to call him by his name".
I was interrupted by Hank, who had heard a sound of footsteps in front of him. The door opened with a ghostly sound: a slender and elegant figure emerged, dressed in bizarre white clothes that reminded me of traditional Japanese costumes, adorned with a curious belt of silver metal with greenish reflections, masterfully worked to resemble a floral motif.
Even the sandals on her feet were in the same strange alloy, artfully created to give the idea that they almost climbed on the sensual calves of the mysterious girl. How that metal bent while remaining so rigid in appearance was a mystery.
Two men in black emerged from behind the figure and stood one on each side of the doorway with their arms folded. Strangely enough, they did not wear the ESP device on their foreheads but hung it on their belts, moving with a dazed air. The figure advanced slowly and shone in the darkness and in the almost mirror-like floor of the room where it appeared reflected like a ghost. Her wavy blond hair fell softly behind her shoulders and she wore a silver crown similar to the one Charon wore, whose unnatural glow created a blue halo around her head. "Hi guys", she said, smiling as soon as she was within a few steps of our gaping mouths.
"Christelle? Y-you here? What the hell?", I asked. By now I couldn't make sense of it.
"Not now and not here. Follow me, all of you. Excuse me, but I was in a hurry and couldn't get you barriers for the route", she said in a soft, candid voice. She looked like some Greek statue to whom the gods had given the gift of movement and speech. She led us through the enormous doorway to what were in effect her apartments, as sumptuous as the rooms of Versailles and as eccentric as madness. We arrived at what appeared to be a small, circular sitting room with a small table in the center that was also as grown from the floor, covered with cups and sweets. "Please", she said, "don't be too polite, I know your condition. And while you are eating, I will explain the situation". Everyone sat down in apparently normal chairs, but only the four Navajo's manhandled the sweets.
"Now I know who to thank for breakfast. Thank you Christelle".
"What breakfast? I didn't send you anything".
"Oh...", I marveled. Could it be that it was really Deena that I had seen? What was the reason she was there? Had Charon allowed her to see me? Why?
"It doesn't matter", she resumed. "What matters now is that we are all in great danger. He will soon return to Diĝir-ga-šum and soon Charon will push his offensive again. A first move has been made. Now...".
"Hey easy, a minute. Maybe they're following you but I still don't understand this story or this crazy place. So do me a favor and answer my questions".
"If I can, I will", she assured me.
"Good. So, first, where's Deena? Is she okay? And what happened to Damien?".
"Deena is in her rooms elsewhere in Diĝir-ga-šum, but I haven't been able to find out where yet. Your teacher has been released back into the wild near St. Petersburg. A little inconvenient for him, but better than staying here".
Christelle knew the movements of the enemy and was treated with consideration. That she was one of them? Was she betraying them? "Why?", I asked. "Why did he let him go?".
"That Damien guy was unconscious all along", Hank recalled, "He didn't see anything".
"Wasn't he a friend of yours? Maybe he was hers once, too, and she didn't want to take him out. After all, he didn't see Diĝir-ga-šum or even hear about it", Jake pointed out.
I wondered if there was still pity and friendship inside Charon. Damien was fine, and that was enough for me at that moment. "Does killing hurt his business, too?", I asked looking at Gage. He shrugged. "Second, who is the puppet master in charge of Charon? Who is he working for? What do these people want?".
"I wouldn't call him the puppet master. Everyone here is acting consciously with the same purpose. He notices if you talk about Him, so I will be vague. He defines Himself as... ah, I can't it's too explicit... He is a very powerful and very ancient entity, but He should not exist, not anymore, it would be impossible even for Him. This is His palace and I can't tell you about Him in here. I'm sorry".
"Thank you, Christelle. Exhaustive", I sighed.
"The barrier to ESP is generated by Him", she explained. "The thoughts of those who live inside this base are generated inside this sea and can be read at his leisure. Not all of them at the same time of course but to him they are a constant background noise. Hearing about Him might get his attention and we would end up exposed. As long as we are here, we have no choice".
"Why are you treated with all this concern?", asked Henry Gage.
"We are not their enemies. We are guests albeit against our will. They need us".
"What is it that he wants?", I asked.
"Knowledge, Daith", she replied, smiling. "From me. From Deena I don't know yet".
"What kind of knowledge? Who are you?", asked Hank.
"What level have you reached in Freemasonry?", she asked in surprise. Did the pseudo state religion have anything to do with it?
"Does it matter?", I asked puzzled.
"Yes", she replied.
"Only the first one", I admitted. "After the initiation I let it go. Too much weirdness".
"And you?", she inquired.
"None", Asif and Jake said. They hadn't even finished high school, at the end of which there is initiation at the first level for males with diplomas. Every good citizen after all is invited to live their lives worthily between the square and the compass.
"I am a woman, fortunately", said Agatha. "I gladly leave skirts and ceremonies to the little boys".
"Third". Hank as a senior officer must have had a longer run. "But I haven't heard anything to suggest the existence of this place".
"All quite unaware", she observed. "You will know for certain that Humanity lives in a condition in which there are some people more aware than others of the world in which we exist. The greater our awareness becomes the more our despair may rise, should we not be ready to accept it. This is what the long journey in Freemasonry is for. The Grand Order of Terra slowly guides worthy citizens toward understanding. Charon is unworthy and inexperienced. A man who has never been ready to accept the truth he came to unprepared".
"What truth?", I asked.
"I said you are unaware. Would you perhaps like to succumb and join him?", asked Christelle in contrast.
"Join him? You've got to be kidding! I wouldn't do that!", I exclaimed with conviction.
"How can you rule it out Daith? You don't know the truth", she said.
"I know what I see Christelle. A terrorist torturing his brother, killing and betraying his comrades! What I see is all I need to decide which side I'm on."
"Then know this, Daith Lester. Your brother has decided to defy the gods themselves and subvert the order of the World. To rebel against the nature of things and overthrow the hierarchies of the universe. A boundless ambition that this place, Diĝir-ga-šum, perhaps can achieve. For there is an insane power here that should no longer exist, the echo of an ancient war that should not even be remembered. How it came into possession of this place and how it met Him, I ignore. The devices against the ESP shield block my abilities, I don't know what Charon is thinking in his head. But if he's here it's obvious what he wants to do".
"What is this place?", asked Hank.
"This place is death", she said. "Diĝir-ga-šum is a weapon of mass destruction. It can wipe out every trace of humanity in the entire universe in the time of a blink of an eye".
There was a moment of silence. John had such power on his hands? I couldn't believe it. "How do you know these things? What abilities do you have? What were you doing at Hobson's Rock?", I pursued her eagerly.
"One thing at a time Daith. Hobson's Rock is not just an air force base. Underneath it is an underground complex where certain scientific studies are promoted. I was part of those studies. My father, Colonel Teyssier, commanded that part of the base. My abilities are innate and concern reading thoughts and transmitting them to other minds", he explained, astounding us.
"Absurd," the doctor commented incredulously.
"No, Agatha Bancrof. I know what you would have wanted to do with Damien Dutronc", Christelle blurted out candidly.
"You little minx!", protested Agatha blushing.
"You didn't need to read her mind", chuckled Asif.
"And I know what you'd like to do to me, you piggy", the blonde rejoined.
"No need to read my mind for that either!", said Asif feeling somewhat encouraged to try.
"Focus boys, come on!", called them back to order Hank.
"You read minds and you're tied to this place?", I asked ignoring the play.
"Very distantly but yes. I’m needed to Charon to make his weapon operational", Christelle explained.
"What about Deena?".
"I have no information on her role as of yet, unfortunately. This part of the structure is not original. I don't know if they have enlarged Diĝir-ga-šum or if we are in a detached module. You may have noticed, however, that everything that makes up this part of the station is of exquisitely terrestrial construction. Instead, the core of Diĝir-ga-šum has an older, more sophisticated design. The history of this place is so old that only the gods could tell it clearly", she admitted. So there were things about Diĝir-ga-šum that even Christelle was unaware of.
"Let's go to the pantheon and ask then, tsk...", complained Jake.
"Yeah, let's split up, I'll ask my Allah, who's going to Buddha?". laughed Asif.
"Forget the fucking Gods!", I cut in. "John is a terrorist and this place is real. Ancient or not I don't give a damn. You seem to have some autonomy here and you have some useful skills as well. How do we get out of here? How do I alert the authorities?".
"I will devise a strategy using my favors," she explained vaguely. "However much will rely on timing and luck".
"Like always" Gage concluded. I nodded, though not as knowledgeable as him at the time, I at least knew the theory. Christelle would take advantage of any opportunity or setback and we would have to be ready to do anything to take advantage of it.
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