A Journey Unthought Of

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter Seventy-Two

“Lyra don’t! You don’t know what could happen if she takes you.”

“Look Adam, be reasonable. We need you here, and the Doctor is probably going to be some good here too. I’m the obvious choice!”

“Lyra, please.” I tried to plead with her.

“Don't be afraid,” the woman spoke to us, “I won't cause her any harm.”

I looked once again to Lyra, and I could tell she was set on her decision. “Alright.”

The woman glided down to Lyra, and she cupped Lyra’s face in her hands. Little particles of greenish yellow light broke off of her form, and they began to circle and land on Lyra’s body. Lyra shuddered softly as the last of the woman’s glowing dust landed on her, and then she opened her eyes. They looked the same as before, but they also seemed to be filled with age now, and wisdom as well.

“Interface Complete” Lyra spoke, but from the way she spoke it was obvious the spectral woman was in control now. “If we are to save this world,” the woman spoke through Lyra’s lips, “we must begin immediately: time is short now.”

Lyra walked away from us towards the mound I had partially uncovered before. Her horn glowed, and the spell she cast lifted the rest of the dirt from the mound. What was then revealed was a metal hatch that was seven feet tall and three feet wide. “Open, Master level access granted. Callsign: Maiden.” The hatch hissed and swung open.

“Follow me.” Lyra urged us, and she ventured through. We followed.

“Maiden?” I called out hesitantly.

Lyra’s body stopped. “Yes?”

“May we call you that?”

“You may.”

“Be careful with her, alright?”

“I always take good care of my children.”

“So it is true that humans created the species of this planet,” the Doctor affirmed.

“Yes, we did.”

The corridors we walked down were dark and empty.

“Excuse me,” Maiden said as turned her head to the ceiling and cast yet another spell. “Nothing but the emergency power has run in this facility for nearly twelve hundred years, but I will try to create some illumination.”

The spell flew upward and flashed a reflection into the lights above, and miraculously, they began to flicker with life. Light after light turned on, until the entire hallway and passages beyond were granted the warm green light.

“This is quite an advanced installation you have here,” the Doctor commented.

“It was the best at its time. Welcome to Vanguard: the last home of mankind.”

“How were you able to turn on the lights with magic?” I asked. “So far as I have seen in this world, magic and technology are separate.”

“What you have called ‘magic ‘ is actually an expression of the energies of the Spatial Tesseract: the hole in the sky through which matter and energy flow. We studied the hole intently and wondered of its possibilities. We soon came to realize that the energy of the Tesseract could be manipulated to almost any effect. Overnight, we came to the realization that we had become gods, and all opportunity was open to us. We could do anything; grant both death, and life itself. Here we are.”

The Maiden stopped Lyra’s body in front of a sliding door, which did its exact function to allow us access to the room beyond. “This is one of many medical bays. If you are to fulfill your purpose, you must be made whole again.”

“But what is my purpose?” I asked with frustration. “You keep saying I’m here for a purpose, but you never tell me what it is.”

A large, intricate machine descended from the ceiling, and approached me slowly along a track before stopping several feet in front of me. A hole opened in the machine facing me, and the Maiden positioned Lyra’s body next to mine, “I will tell you in good time, but please first place your left arm into the machine.”

Comments

[Sentinel]

"You must be made whole again,"

Sounds like the marker.

[starship55]

Sol Bianca/ The Legacy 6 ANIME