Paradigm City - Fan Fiction - Eve of the Hurricane

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Eve of the Hurricane

CHAPTER SIX

It took a while for Big O's chestplate to be unbolted. But soon the huge mass of metal was eased away from the great Megadeus, unveiling a very human-like rib cage and an array of missile banks and mechanical/electrical elements, not all of which were immediately identifiable.

Entering the narrow conduit (which they all knew was called a Jeffries Tube although none knew why), they climbed down the ladder and entered the narrow, claustrophobic access space around the power core. There was just enough space to walk around the huge egg-shaped mass of black metal, although only Dorothy could do so comfortably; Roger had to walk sideways, and Norman was stooped to keep his head from banging against anything.

"Nothing like that object from Dorothy One," Dorothy said calmly. "Have you ever tried to access it, Norman?"

"The notion has occurred to me, Mistress Dorothy," Norman commented. "But the only variations I ever found were the cable connections at the top and bottom and a small aperture at two hundred twenty degrees from the front, two feet up from the equator."

"Precise measuring," Roger commented.

"Every component in Big O has coordinates listed in the master registry," Norman stated. "otherwise, fixing even a burnt fuse in a machine this size becomes virtually impossible."

"I found it," Dorothy stated. "It's about the size of my finger ... Roger, where is that rod?"

Roger slid around the power core toward her, then reached into his jacket and removed the luminous enigma.

Dorothy took it and inserted it into the small hole. The rod abruptly lit with a bright chromatic light, and a noise was heard; the sound of a vault opening, of ice cracking on a river during spring thaw, of an old tree falling in the woods.

A hexagonal section swung inwards, revealing a white corridor leading into the distance.

"Roger-dear," Dorothy said, in a tone of mixed curiosity and fear. "This tunnel seems to be approximately three hundred feet long. This is not possible."

"An engineer once told me that Megadeuses were impossible," Roger replied. "Mass increases with size according to volume, but strength only with cross-sectional area. A Megadeus should be too heavy to move its arm or take a step. But they do." He stepped past Dorothy and into the corridor. "I don't ask for explanations - I just accept. Understanding will come later." He poked his head back out. "Norman, give me fifteen minutes before coming in after me."

As Roger walked down the corridor, he heard steps behind him. Turning, he saw Dorothy.

"Shouldn't you be waiting with Norman?" he said angrily. "This is no place for a pregnant woman."

"Shouldn't you be in a straightjacket?" Dorothy replied blandly. "This is no place for a man with a pregnant young bride."

Roger rubbed his eyes, then turned and proceeded down the corridor. They both soon noticed that it was tilting upward at an angle, as if they were going uphill. At the end, they found a featureless wall with a sort of pistol-grip handle in the exact middle. With a shrug, Roger gripped the handle.

The wall swung open, and they stepped into a twilit garden. It had the ruins of columns and arches, similar to the meditation garden at the Smith mansion, or the one that he spoke to Alex Rosewater in on the day the artificial star almost crashed on the city. This one was overgrown with vines and had plants pushing up through the paving stones. High above, there was a sky covered with streaky clouds illuminated by a pallid sun that could be looked at directly without hurting the eyes. A strong breeze blew, and a high-pitched whistling-whining noise could be heard.

"This is irrational," Dorothy said.

"So says the pregnant android," Roger commented. "It's here, so there must be a reason." He pointed toward a nearby half-collapsed wall. "It's this way."

"What is?"

Roger paused for a moment. "Whatever the Splinter brought us here to find."

"The what?"

"The Splinter," Roger said, a bewildered look in his eyes. "The object from Dorothy One - a splinter from the Heart of Time, where all the sundered worlds are one ..."

Dorothy became alarmed. "Roger, you are scaring me."

"Now you know how I feel when you do your 'psychic knowledge of Megadeuses' routine," Roger replied. "Come on."

Dorothy followed Roger, her hand gripping the object that Roger had mysteriously called a Splinter of the Heart of Time.

Around the wall was a ruined enclosure, like a six-sided amphitheater with over a dozen tiers of stone seats surrounding a hexagonal stage. In the middle of the stage was a huge ball or spindle or teardrop shape that appeared to be both shiny luminous metal, a sparkling gemstone, and a blazing phosphorescent liquid, all at once. It appeared to hang motionlessly in midair, both at perfect rest and in endless fluctuation.

Surrounding the mysterious object were four metal frameworks, oddly modern for so ancient a place. Their dishes looked like radio antennae, and their exposed circuitry and cables made them look like improvisations.

Walking down to the stage, Roger and Dorothy examined the closest of the devices. One surface had a number of dials and gauges, as well as a label.

"'Omega,'" Dorothy read. She turned and walked to the one on the left. "This one says 'Dual'." Continuing clockwise, she approached the third. "This one is 'Faust'." She read the last one. "And this is 'Venus'."

"Power taps," Roger gasped, his face contorted as memories rushed through his mind. "These devices tap into the Heart of Time and power the Bigs." His voice lowered to a strong whisper: clear, concise, thick. "The lesser Megadei use the Splinters, but they can't tap into the Heart. They have only a reflection, not the sun ... "

"Roger?!" Dorothy dashed toward her husband, passing closer to the huge enigmatic object called the Heart of Time. The Splinter in her hand suddenly jerked out of her grip and flew into the huge anomaly. The sudden motion yanked Dorothy off-balance, sending her sprawling on the cold stone stage.

"Dorothy!" Alarm at seeing her fall freed him from his spell, and he rushed toward her.

And he brushed against the shape at the center, the Heart of Time...

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