Reborn

The Curse From the Future

The Curse From the FutureWe were about to exit the building when a voice stopped us.

“Stop right there!”

The President of the United States stood between us, surrounded by a contingent of men in black suits. There was something strange about their eyes. Their irises were red and swollen, as if afflicted by a bad case of allergies. I noticed the same phenomena earlier, but assumed it had been the way the light hit them through the view screen, similar to a camera. Up front and in person, however, it seemed their ocular distress was something more sinister.

“Look at their eyes,” I whispered to Satou. “Do they seem off to you?”

He squinted and stroked his beard of tentacles. “They do,” he agreed.

The surprising appearance of these people caught us off-guard. After dispatching the security we incorrectly concluded there would be no further resistance. Our weapons were holstered. Lianne and Wraith were further hindered by the weight of Embeth as they helped him. We found ourselves outnumbered and outgunned.

“All of you are under arrest,” the lead Secret Service agent commanded. “Drop your weapons and place your hands behind your back.”

Lianne and Wraith gently let go of Embeth and he dropped to one knee. Defensively Lianne's hand dropped to her sword but hovered there, as if she was torn between self-defense and taking the lives of innocents. Her decision was halted when a Secret Service agent slapped handcuffs on her. Another agent tried to handcuff Satou but his thick wrists and odd shaped hands made it impossible.

“What the hell?” the agent muttered. He had to use a set of disposable plastic cuffs. Satou stared silently at the floor, dejected.

Another agent approached me, handcuffs in hand. “Hands behind your back, son.”

I looked over at Embeth. He shook his head slowly. I clenched my fists and turned around, disappointed. I felt the cold metal touch my wrists, but the agent never had a chance to close them. An explosion rocked the building. I fell into a desk, hitting my head awkwardly against the corner. Wraith used the ensuing chaos to his advantage. He snatched his neutralizer and took out the three closest agents. Before the remaining agent had a chance to react he looked down to see three darts protruding from his chest. That left only one person remaining—the President.

“No wait,” he held his hands to show us they were empty. “I surrender.”

I used the distraction to my advantage. I grabbed the handcuff key from the nearest agent and unlocked Lianne and Satou. Embeth struggled to his feet and moved toward the President. There was another explosion, but unlike the first this one was much further away.

“What the hell is going on?” the President asked, his eyes wide with fear.

Embeth retrieved his neutralizer and shot the President. He fell unconscious at Satou's feet. “Grab him.” Embeth gestured to Satou. “They have been infected with something. We need to get him to the lab.”

Satou nodded and hoisted the President over his shoulder. “What about the rest?”

“We will have to come back for them,” Embeth replied.

“What the hell is going on out there?” I hurried to the exit and held the door open for Satou.

“Gard, what the hell is going on out there?” Embeth repeated into his communicator.

“Sir, the Defense Fleet is attacking. They have locked onto the Cirrus and are attempting to bring it down.”

“Their aim is terrible. They are going to destroy the city,” Lianne shouted. “And us in the process.”

“We have to get out of here.” Embeth agreed. On our way we were greeted by Kedge who had several unconscious security officers lying around him.

“Have some trouble?” Embeth grumbled. Still weak from his wound, he slipped and Wraith had to grab him to keep him steady.

“Nothing I couldn't handle,” Kedge countered.

“Do you know what the situation is out there?” Embeth asked.

“It looks like your friends ran out of patience,” Kedge said with a wry smile.

We hurried aboard the shuttle and strapped ourselves in. Satou shoved the President into a chair and buckled him in before jumping into the pilot's chair.

“Sir, it appears the Cirrus has escaped. The Defense Fleet is in pursuit. I suggest we leave. It appears the United States government has dispatched fighter jets to intercept.”

“Great, they probably think it's another 9/11.” I frowned. “I guarantee the entire military is on its way to New York City.”

“So much for discretion,” Lianne growled. “What the hell was Meta thinking?”

“Set course for the Argus, Gard.” Satou ordered before glancing at Embeth. “How are you holding up?”

Embeth grimaced. “I've been better.”

Wraith retrieved a kit from a nearby cabinet and removed a clear jar filled with a green viscous substance. He took a handful and spread it across the wound which started to smoke. It sizzled like bacon on a hot frying pan. Watching the wound billow smoke made me nauseous. Embeth closed his eyes, grit his teeth and let out a grunt before settling in the chair.

The smoke died down and he opened his eyes. He looked over at me and offered a pained smile. “Don't look so pale, I refuse to die today,” he assured. “If I die, who the hell is going to lead you sad excuse for soldiers?”

“Patch me through to Royal Command,” Satou ordered.

Meta's face appeared on the screen. He did not seem pleased. I thought he looked disappointed, as if he didn't expect us to be alive. I dismissed the notion.

“Calypso escaped,” he growled.

“You have to call off the Defense Fleet,” I said. “We have the President of the United States on board.”

Meta shrugged. “So?”

I clenched my fist and chewed back my anger. Embeth sensed my anger and answered for me. “He seems to be under the influence of some sort of drug. He could have been compromised by Calypso.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“We are not sure, his eyes are different. Definitely not normal. He moved sluggishly, and his eyes are so red it looks like his blood vessels may have ruptured.”

“Red you say?” Meta steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “I wonder…” he trailed off and paused.

“What is it?” Embeth asked.

“Bring him to me. Immediately.”

The screen went blank and Satou turned to Gard. “Change course to the Astral Spirit.”

“Astral Spirit?” I asked.

“It's Meta's flagship,” Wraith explained. “The largest in the fleet. It's a cross between a battle cruiser and a pleasure barge.”

Once we left Earth's atmosphere I understood what Wraith meant. The Consortium fleet lingered in the distance. Most of the ships were similar to others I had seen except for the lead vessel. It was enormous, even by galactic spaceship standards. The angular frame was longer than the Empire State Building, with two large wings at the center and several smaller wings attached to the rear. Hundreds of small, cylindrical objects were attached to the outer hull, but when we got closer I realized that they were actually smaller ships, like small escape pods. An enormous ring, attached to the rear of the vessel, looked like the largest Dyson fan ever created. My lips parted when we initiated docking procedures and my mouth hung open until we stopped.

Embeth chuckled at me. “Never seen anything like it, huh? You need to get off Earth more often.” He bellowed laughter before becoming overwhelmed by a coughing fit.

Satou chimed in. “A ship the size of the Astral Spirit requires a large amount of power to rocket through space. That is where the technetium drive comes in.”

“The what?” I asked.

“The large ring surrounding the rear of the vessel is a technetium drive. Technetium is the driving force behind the radioactive power feeding the propulsion engines,” Satou explained.

“Oh sure, obviously,” I retorted. It felt like he just explained quantum physics in Latin.

When we exited the shuttle, the High Prince was there to greet us with a frown. He pointed to the President, draped over Satou's shoulder. “Bring him to the Science Lab.”

“Come on Embeth, we better get you to Medical,” Lianne grunted and tried to lift him up. “Wraith, can you help me here?”

Wraith nodded and grabbed his waist. They stumbled out of the bay and down the hall.

“I shall remain behind with the shuttle and conduct routine diagnostics,” Gard offered.

Kedge and I accompanied Satou to the Science Lab. They strapped the President to a gurney and bound him by the wrists and ankles, the same way they bound me all those months ago. I cringed when the disembodied tentacles slithered around his appendages. Just watching them crawl over his wrists made my skin break out in goose flesh.

Meta crouched over the prone form of the President. He switched on a miniature pen light and pulled back his eyelids, waving the light back and forth in front of each pupil. “How much longer until he awakens?”

“I would say at least an hour,” Satou replied.

Meta stepped away from the gurney and glanced at us. “I hope it's enough time. He has indeed been infected.” He removed a syringe from a nearby medical supply case and extracted a blood sample from the President.

“Infected by what?” I asked.

Meta held up his hand and moved toward an intercom mounted on the wall. “Hark-Kalech are you there?”

“Yes sir.”

“It's true. The human has been infected. I need you to develop a cure. I am sending you a sample of his blood.” He slid aside a compartment door next to the intercom and placed the vial inside. After he closed the door the vial was sucked skyward with a loud swoosh.

“Infections? What's going on?” I asked.

“The royal prince bloodline has the ability of precognition. It is how we are chosen to rule over Caelum and preside over the Consortium,” he explained. “I can see pieces of the future, but they are nothing more than random images. Most of the time it takes considerable effort to translate the images into something understandable.”

“What?” I gazed at him in disbelief. “If that's true then how could you not see this coming? How did you miss Calypso's defection? Are you telling me this could have been avoided?” My anger grew with each word.

“Calm yourself, Nathan,” he cautioned. “As stated, I only see some images. Sometimes I can piece them together and understand the message. Other times they are nothing more than a random slideshow.”

“You mentioned infection,” I said, trying to control my anger at his latest revelation. “What is he infected with?”

He placed his hand on the President's forehead. “It is called the Dominion Curse.” Meta spoke softly, as if he was in a trance. “It is synthetically manufactured but acts like a parasite, attaching itself to the victim's brainstem and making them susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. It's a cruel weapon, but effective. The victim loses their sense of self, becoming nothing more than a hollow slab of meat determined to follow any command they are given.”

“Where the hell did it come from?” Satou asked, his eyes sparkled with interest but I saw the concern hidden deep within.

“From Earth,” Meta replied.

“Earth?” I repeated incredulously. “There's nothing like that on Earth.”

“That is because it hasn't been manufactured yet,” he replied.

I threw my hands in the air. “What the hell does that mean?”

Meta removed his hand from the President's head. “It is from the future. Earth's future to be exact. The door is now open and we need to close it.” He moved toward the exit but I blocked his escape.

“Wait a minute. What door? What are you talking about?”

“I don't have time to explain,” he muttered. “We have to stop him. Get out of my way.”

I didn't budge. “Explain it anyway. This is my planet we're talking about.”

Anger flashed in Meta's eyes briefly and I wondered if I pushed him too far. He eventually relaxed and slumped his shoulders. “The time hole on Earth does not lead to the past as Ales originally believed. It leads to the future. We believed the portal was inaccessible due to its location deep under the ocean, but apparently he was wrong about its location as well.”

“So, where is it?” I asked.

A strange smile spread across his face. “Oh but you already know where it is. Kell knew its location. That is why he made it part of the key to unlock the map.”

I shook my head with confusion. “I have no idea what—” I stopped and suddenly remembered the quiz to unlock the map. “The Richat Structure,” I concluded.

Meta nodded. “Only the Universal Map can reveal its exact coordinates.”

“We have to find Calypso first. He has the map,” I stated.

“There is another way.” Meta glanced at Satou but he shook his head. “It's been done before.”

“What is it?” I asked, my eyes darting between the two of them.

“Destroy the planet.”

“What?” I blurted. “You can't be serious.” I started toward Meta, but Satou held me back.

Meta leered over the prone form of the President. “Destroying the planet would neutralize the time hole.”

“Calm down, Nathan, we will find another way.” Satou's attempt at comfort fell on deaf ears.

Meta turned to me and frowned. “Unfortunately, there is no other way to close the time hole. The only experience we have to fall back on is the event on Mars. The destruction of the planet destroyed the time hole as well.”

The world turned red through my veil of fury. “NO! There has to be another way! You are the Consortium, with access to technology I could only dream of. You need to find a way!”

Meta matched my anger. “There is no time!”

I attempted to wriggle from Satou's grasp but, despite my rage-fueled strength, he had a grip of steel. “We know Calypso has left Earth,” Satou offered. “Our scanners do not detect the Cirrus. Since they are not on the planet that will give us time to capture him and recover the map.”

I ceased struggling when I saw that Meta seemed to contemplate the suggestion. While he stroked the gray whiskers above his upper lip, deep in thought, an idea came to me.

“What about those transceiver things?”

“What?” Meta ceased his contemplation and looked at me.

“The transceiver like the one in the cave,” I explained. “Those transceivers have the ability to harness the power of normal wormholes, maybe with some alterations to the technology we would be able to control and monitor the time hole. Maybe we could even close it.”

Satou scratched his head. “Perhaps.” He turned to Meta. “It might be possible. I can form a team and investigate this course of action.”

Meta nodded slowly. “I will give you time to work on this solution.”

An incoming message interrupted us. “High Prince, are you available?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, we have received a communication from the DFS Proteus.”

Meta sounded impatient. “Well? What do they want?”

The voice on the other end cleared their throat. “They have captured the Cirrus near Mars. They are starting boarding protocols.”

“Advise them to put priority on locating the Universal Map!” He hesitated before adding, “Take the crew alive if possible, I will be right there.”

Satou placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “Perhaps everything will work out after all.”

“I hope you're right.” I pulled away and followed Meta out the door.