Ocean in the Sea Read online

  “But did it slow the bubble’s expansion?”

  MacTavish nodded. “Yes, for about 82 milliseconds. Then the rate returned to normal. We’d have to nuke the periphery continuously to make any noticeable difference, and even then, the entire world arsenal would probably buy us an extra few seconds at best. Nukes are not the answer.”

  “Damn. That only leaves the Germans. They’ll deploy the Schwerkraft device.”

  “Are you sure they even have such a weapon? We’ve been hearing rumors for years, but there’s been no indication of a test firing.”

  “They have it, they just haven’t tested it. It’s been too dangerous, but there’s nothing left to lose. It might even work.”

  “If it does,” stated the Doctor, “then it will probably kill us all. And if it doesn’t, it will render the Earth uninhabitable. Even with the moon bases, we aren’t self-sufficient. We’re reliant on Earth-based resources. We’ll die out here eventually, and that will be the end of humanity.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, Doctor, but if there’s anything we can do to stop the Nazis from dropping that weapon, I don’t know what it is. May God help us all.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lewis awoke feeling more tired and drawn-out than he’d ever felt in his life. He moaned once and Nora Trent appeared at the edge of his blurry vision. Putting a plastic straw between his dry lips, she let him drink his fill before unzipping his pants and letting him relieve himself into a bottle. After cleaning him up, she spoke to Valon Kang, still in earshot nearby.

  “He’s not looking so good.”

  “He’s hypoglycemic. Give him a D5NS intravenous glucose drip. The integration took longer than I expected, but then I’ve never done this before. Other messengers only get a single system interface. Overlapping three is dangerous. I had to make sure the configuration was stable.”

  “Is it?”

  Valon stared at his computer and tapped his lip with a pen. “Maybe.”

  Lewis groaned again as Nora slipped the needle into his arm. With increasing lucidity, he became aware that his surroundings had changed. A second medical lounge sat in front of him, empty. Except for the lack of arm and leg clamps, it was identical to his own with the same stereotactic frame mounted above the headrest. He tried to trace the wires running to see where they led, but with his skull locked in place, it was out of his visual range. “What’s… that for?” he rasped.

  “The chair?” Valon moved his stool back to face Lewis. “That’s for me. Ever go sky-diving Lewis? No, I know you haven’t. Well, the first time out of a plane, they make you go tandem. It’s a safety thing. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re jumping tandem. But first there’s a class.”

  “Parachute folding?”

  Valon snorted. “No, but I do appreciate your attempt at humor. First you must learn to jump. You can’t just do it. Well… actually you can… but in your case, I think it’s prudent for you to know the technique.”

  Lewis forced his dry throat to swallow. “Why?”

  “Because you’ll need to do it many times, and being able to do it yourself means you’ll have control over when and where it happens. It certainly beats committing suicide manually every time you want to jump. Not that you couldn’t. Plenty of jumpers go that route, but it’s messy and primitive. I prefer my messengers with more sophistication. Consider it a favor.” He stroked his goatee in thought. “No, you don’t need to thank me. I know I’ve given you so much already, and this is yet another gift. Don’t worry, you’ll pay me back eventually.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You will. By the time you remember this, you’ll probably know exactly what I mean.” He spun around and raised his hand over the keyboard. “But for now, I’m going to provide you with the sensation of jumping without doing it. You’ll feel a little tickle in your head. Pay attention, it will isolate the portion of your mind you’ll need to trigger in order to jump. But don’t trigger it. No pushing, or you’ll be gone. Got it?”

  “I hear you, and at the same time, I don’t give a shit.”

  Valon laughed. “Very good, Lewis. You’re adopting the mindset of a soldier. It is what I wanted for you, even from the beginning. A true soldier fights for a cause regardless of the cost to themselves. They do so because they believe that the cause is worthy. Not because society has told them so, or that their parents and teachers have trained them to justify one thing above another, but because they themselves have made the determination. Whether you oppose me, or my disciples, or my enemies, there is still the battle to consider. The soldier, the combatant, the judge. You must be that person. But without the right mental tools, how will you make your determination? How will you choose our future?

  Lewis licked his lips and swallowed. “Shut up and push the button already.”

  “As you wish.” Valon’s finger descended with a click.

  Unlike the probability interface, the jump interface didn’t start slow. It rang like a bell through the center of Lewis’s mind, as if a vibrating spike had been driven through core of his essence. It ran through the top of his head to the base of his spine, flooding his body with a strange feeling of connectedness, like nerves exploding in branches extending outward to infinity. At the sound of the chime, a wave pulsed out and back, slamming into him with a force of pure identity and recognition, an encapsulated ideal of who and what he was. Seeing it, knowing this mirror was him, he shouted in resistance, despising the reflection. He was neither who he thought he was, nor who he wished to be. When the sensation ended, tears streamed down his eyes and he sagged in the chair.

  “Don’t let it defeat you,” said Valon. He patted Lewis on the arm. “Everyone thinks they’re something different than what they are. The majority of species I’ve come into contact with are this way. I believe it’s a defense, albeit a problematic one, but don’t let it harm you. The memory of the reflection fades. The important thing is to get past it. Once you’ve broken the mirror, anything is possible.”

  “I’m weak,” muttered Lewis. “I knew I was weak, but not this weak.”

  “And now you can become stronger.”

  “I should have stood up to Garth.” Lewis gagged. “It was the right thing to do, but I let him bully me, fool me. Jacky paid the price. And Brenda. If I’d had the spine to tell her I didn’t want to watch that damn movie, she and Scotty would still be alive.”

  “Yes, well…” Valon sniffed. “Water under the bridge is the expression I believe.” He stood and turned to Nora. “Time for you to make your departure, my dear. You can’t be here for the last phase of our adventure, I’m afraid.”

  Unexpectedly, Nora Trent came forward and put her arms around Valon, embracing him. He returned the embrace, and when she withdrew she looked away sorrowfully, lowering her head and rubbing her eyes. “I won’t forget you,” she whispered. “Thank you… for everything.”

  “I wasn’t entirely altruistic, Nora.” Valon smiled ruefully. “I needed you as you needed me. In other lives, we might have been enemies. But I am glad to have been friends. You have been loyal and true. I appreciate that. Take the back way out. There’s a man outside who wants to kill me. Knowing his tendency for violence, he’ll probably take this building apart, and he’ll murder anyone in his way. You’ll find a briefcase loaded with untraceable money in your trunk. Go somewhere and lie low for a week or two, then contact my lawyers.”

  Escorting her to the door, they whispered something to each other that Lewis couldn’t hear. The door clicked shut. When Valon returned, he looked troubled. “Some goodbyes are harder than others,” he sighed.” Reaching behind the desk, he picked up a rectangular metal can. “But, that’s how it goes!” He shrugged. “Time gets shorter and shorter the older you get. For me, a lifetime seems like five minutes. But Nora will be fine. She’s got enough money to do whatever she wants, and she’ll probably find someone nice who shares her sadomasochistic tendencies to settle down with.�
��

  “You still owe me the answer to a question,” stated Lewis.

  “Yes, you’re right. I do.” Stepping in front of Lewis, Valon popped the top on the can of barbeque lighter fluid and began spraying it over Lewis’s pants.

  “HEY!” shouted Lewis. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

  Valon stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Is that your question?”

  “No that’s not my…” Lewis sputtered as the liquids splashed him in the face. “WHAT THE HELL!?”

  Tossing the empty can, it rattled to the floor, and Valon took a seat in the chair across from Lewis, lowering the cerebral rig over his head with a grunt of effort. A flip of his hand brought up a small control pad mounted to the chair’s right arm. It hummed into place, the focus of his attention. “If you have a question, now would be a good time to ask it. Your next opportunity may be some time in coming.”

  “Are you… You’re going to light me on FIRE?”

  “In a moment, yes. Is that your question? If it is, then reconsider. The people you’re probably with now are going to be disappointed in your waste of this opportunity.”

  After all the torment, or perhaps because of it, Lewis bared his parched gums in revulsion. “I don’t want to die! Not like this!” He couldn’t’ help it. He was weak. This was more pain than anyone should have to suffer, and the mirror of himself was still too fresh. He was nowhere near strong enough to bystand his own immolation… Bystand? Where had he heard that before…?”

  Valon scoffed. His fingers moved spider-like over the keypad to his right. “No one wants to burn to death. Horrible way to go. Although if you’re seeking some rudimentary form of absolution for what you did to Jacky Jacobson then you’re welcome to suffer.” He checked his watch. “Ten minutes max. After that, you must jump or we’ll both get tea-bagged.” Tapping hard against a key, the scanner over Valon’s head began to hum. At the same time, a deep booming crash shook the entire building. “And there’s the megalomaniac now,” said Valon. “Time is short.” He pulled a silver monogramed lighter from his pocket.

  Delay him, thought Lewis. Valon’s insanity was beyond question. Regardless of the miracles, there was still too much to doubt, and help was on the way. People were trying to break in. They’d stop this. To stall he’d have to ask a question that would get Valon rambling. Ezra… she always said people like to talk about themselves more than anything else. “YOU,” Lewis gasped. “Who are you, Valon Kang. Where are you from?”

  “Oh, that’s a lovely question.” Valon smiled. “It’s what Randuu would ask, I think. Arsus would too, if he weren’t so obsessed with my future activities.” Valon laughed, almost as if he expected some other observers to hear his laughter and note his derision, then he stopped and reflected on the laughter, as if determining its quality. “Mmmmm.”

  The old man flicked the lighter a few times in thought. “I’m not who they actually suspect I am, Lewis. They think I’m one of the creators of the ring, but I’m not. No, it’s far more complicated than that. Too complicated to explain in eight minutes, so this will have to be an abridged version. My apologies.

  “I am a partial simulation of one of thirteen simulated entities belonging to an organization tasked with the defense of a construct known as Gateway that spans the ring and binds all its simulations. Through Gateway, it is possible to traverse the simulations – the multiverse – physically and without jumping. And, in turn, Gateway is a simulation of the Gateway above it. Confused yet? You should be, but if you aren’t, then wait. I’m just getting started.

  “I awoke in reality deviation 3.323467E-3490, also known as Kqwvoord to the entities dwelling at my jump-point. They were a species of energy beings, children of the stars! Beautiful people, they understood the simulated nature of their reality and had discovered several of the hidden interfaces allowing them to manipulate their environment. This was permitted in Kqwvoord, because that simulation was created to answer the question of their existence, as in what ‘would happen if such a species evolved through natural causes and serendipitous events?’ And here they were, doing exactly what you’d expect. Sharing poetry and staring at their navels. It was a stupid question, likely composed by a child too young to know any better. You don’t give that much power away without a cost or it isn’t appreciated, but whatever.” Valon shrugged.

  “My task among them, as I understood it, was to establish an alliance granting them jump interfaces in return for their aid in battle against an enemy that greatly outmatched my original – and vastly more powerful – self. That original ‘me’ – who goes by the name of Anadar – is stuck in an afterlife sandbox attached to Kqwvoord. He trapped one of his enemies there, blocking the only way out, but if he leaves, his enemy will be freed as well. That would be bad.

  “I, and the others of my ilk, are personalities Anadar spawned in hopes of bringing back the cavalry. It all sounds good, right? I mean, you get into trouble with something you can’t handle, you send out cronies to make deals and come back with enough firepower to put a boot on the enemy’s neck. Problem is, there’s something coming after us cronies too. And what it is, I’m not exactly sure.”

  A boom and a crash vibrated the building. Valon frowned.

  “Anadar’s enemy,” prompted Lewis. “Maybe he sent his own cronies.”

  “That’s the obvious guess, yes,” agreed Valon. “Whatever they are, they’re limited just as I am. I suspect it might have been an agreement between Anadar and his enemy, the rules of a contest between them, but I don’t know for certain, only that I’m being pursued by what seems to be multiple opponents. They can track me, which isn’t that difficult, but their tracking appears to be locked to interfaces. That’s why I awoke Paradise – a world of criminal analogs built by a different species than mine, but still analogous in many ways. The Paradisians are a bastardization of Anadar’s race. The answer to another question. I gave them jump access and individual interfaces to throw my enemies off. It caused them to diffract and divide, following the jumpers of Paradise in their hopes that they would find me.

  “Since then I’ve spent tens of thousands of jumps collecting data on my enemy and building alliances or setting traps where I can. Most of those are bombs set to go off in my wake. Some will transform entire worlds. Others will trigger recalibrations when the right parameters are met. But none of my tactics really matter to you, do they? What you have just learned is a soldier’s perspective. This is like a General speaking to a Private. I’m giving you a taste of the big picture, but the details would take years to explain verbally. Audible information transfer is such a restrictive medium.”

  A heavy crash shook the building again, this time from the floor just above them. The wall groaned and a crack ran down a concrete pillar.

  “What details, Valon?” barked Lewis. “Who is the enemy? What do they want? What have you learned about them?”

  “Slow down! I’m impressed you understood the words vibrating across my teeth and over my lips, but you only get one question, and you got a lot for it. It’s probably the best question any simulant has ever asked! I salute you.” Holding the lighter up, Valon eyed Lewis through the tiny flame. “Remember this, physical pain is only temporary. It’s an illusion, just like everything else. You can end it by jumping. I showed you how. But if you must… enjoy payback for the acts you have committed in this life, you poor dumb fool. I tell you now, judge not me, judge yourself.”

  Valon tossed the lighter. It landed against Lewis’s right paint leg and burst into a blue flame. The fire crawled quickly up his leg and into his lap, spreading quickly to his other leg. At first, it was nothing but a light show, but the heat came quickly, and Lewis squirmed as the burning began – the cooking of his flesh – the pain tracing over his limbs. Searing agony.

  “AHHH!” Lewis choked on the acrid fumes and gagged at the stench. The skin of his knees were more sensitive than his calves, alerting him first to the approaching torment. “NNNggg!” He gagged and twisted, straining against the
restraints, though he knew it was impossible to break them, he tried by reflex. Vibrating and shaking, he struggled, an ant under a magnifying glass, rattling the chair and the stereotactic frame. “AHHH!”

  Valon closed his eyes. “Let it go, Lewis. I’m ready to jump. Can you feel me? I’m in your mind too. Your burning is mine. Your pain. I’ve been burned to death before, so I know what to expect. The suffering is exquisite. There’s nothing quite like feeling your body destroyed. It’s the recognition of the dysfunction and disfiguration that defeats most people. Your legs will never feel again. The skin is beyond repair, and the nerves beneath them are gone. The technology of your world might partially repair them, but the tissue will have to be replaced. An agonizing process. I have seen it attempted. AH! The fire has reached your reproductive organs. Can you feel it burning, Lewis? That tiny flap of flesh you treasure so much? It gets worse from here.”

  Hyperventilating, Lewis couldn’t draw enough air to scream. Valon said nothing about the automated fire suppression system in the ceiling. He’d reset its sensors and tied them to Lewis’s heart rate. They wouldn’t activate until his heart ceased beating. If he burned the building down Heticus wouldn’t know they’d jumped.

  “The room’s ventilation system has kicked in,” he advised Lewis. “Carbon monoxide poisoning won’t save you. I’ve prevented that. BURN or JUMP.”

  JUMP… the words echoed in Lewis Herman’s mind. Enhanced by the escalating pain, he saw visions, Valon reaching his hand out, world’s burning beneath the door of an airplane, people screaming for him to rescue them, Brenda and Scotty alone on the tracks as a flaming train sizzled toward them. Brenda clawed his arm. “JUMP LEWIS!” Scotty cried through the smoke. “JUMP DADDY, JUMP!”

  He didn’t have the power to resist. He was not that strong.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Arsus pushed the intercom switch. “Replay that first part,” he told Randuu. “When Tanandor was talking to the woman.”