Layla Noir: Chapter 25
Seshat woke Mick early the next morning. Of course, in this building full of winding hallways and often windowless rooms, the day and night cycle offered very little in the way of meaningful change. The lights in the halls would dim considerably as “day” passed to “night” but it was mostly the same to Mick. He stretched, chuckling in surprise as Seshat took the opportunity to “stretch” all of his mechanical parts as well. Mick was amazed to see how efficient his new body was at maximizing the use of available space. He caught glimpses of all kinds of things that he neither understood nor recognized in the few seconds that each device poked out its nook or unfolded from underneath something else or twisted around to present itself before returning to its home. Standing in the darkness, he uttered, “Is it safe to exit?”
“For now, yes. Although that word is relative. Remember what we have planned for today…” remarked Seshat.
“Ah yes”, sighed Mick, already an uncomfortable mix of terror, anger, excitement and anxiety, “what do we have planned for today? I basically left you in charge of that once I gave you the basic idea… how can I help you to make your plan a reality?”
“That depends. I won’t force you to do anything… my plan is desperate and savage. However, I ran the numbers, and I see no alternative with a greater probability of success” she announced.
“Desperate and savage? That sounds like a pretty good fit for me. I’m just a wild monkey human beast, right?” Mick couldn’t resist, but he immediately regretted his joke. Seshat didn’t notice, or she let it slide, and she began to explain her plan.
“Perhaps. If you trust my judgment then this is what I would have you do: as I mentioned to you, the illusion that makes you seem to be a very short member of my race is not one that can stand up to scrutiny. Therefore, attempting to work our way into any selection of guards at the ceremony will not work. It would be mere moments before someone became aware of our ruse. However, there is one loophole: The Agents of the Overarching Narrative, those Hunters who form the elite core of The Chancellor’s private guard, they stand at the front of the room with their back against the wall. Not only does this help our cause from a positioning perspective, given that your backside is the weak link in the current illusion, but it also will save you having to communicate. The Agents of the Overarching Narrative are respected and feared by everyone except their leader. No one questions them. No one asks for credentials. If you can successfully impersonate one of them, we should not face much adversity in attending the ceremony and gaining the opportunity to disrupt it”
“Ok…”, pondered Mick, “I’m liking this so far but… well, I’m no genius but something tells me that the ‘if’ in your plan was one very, very big if”.
“Yes”, admitted Seshat, “that is the real issue at this point in our day. There is a reason that The Agents never have to provide credentials: they are literally born with it. Although their birth is not a natural, organic one, they still come into this world as slightly less large and well-formed beasts. Part of the process of birthing them is the insertion of a special module within their… well, no English word exists for this but the pyramidal structure on their chest. This module emits an aura on many planes and in many forms, some of which are visible to the naked eye and all of which can easily be detected by various security devices. The result is that everyone can see them as they travel and no automated defense system will ever cause them trouble. These modules cannot be faked. I won’t bore you with the enhanced, four dimensional mathematics that create this unique code but believe me when I say that I could never falsify such a thing”.
“So, I have to go find one of these guys, these elite, top of the line killing machines, and kill it to get the module?” groaned Mick.
“Unfortunately, that is the only course of action that I see with any chance of success. However, it is actually more complicated than that…” conceded Seshat.
“Fuck me” spat Mick, “of course it is. So, what, I have to kill it and then kill it again as a cyborg or what?”
“That would be easier than reality” was Seshat’s exasperated reply.
“Wonderful” was all Mick had to say in return. After a moment, Seshat realized he was waiting for her to continue, so she did.
“You must first subdue your target, then remove the module while he still lives, or else it will be deactivated. If you can remove it from his chest without killing him or severing the connection, I can use your electronic parts to interface with it. An organic being could never successfully break the security, as it is infinitely complex, yet a simple computer program could not either due to the inherent randomness of the process. This seemed like perfect security, and before my existence, it was. Now, though… I am reasonably confident that my speed as a computationally-based organism combined with my organic problem solving skills that came with my birth will allow me to defeat the security daemons and quickly block the failsafe functionality of the module while we transfer it to you”
“Reasonably confident?” spluttered Mick, “reasonably? How reasonable is that? How long will I have to keep this guy from dying, killing me, or killing himself while you’re computer hacking like some kind of 80s Hollywood hero?”
“The time period should not be long from your subjective standpoint” was her brusque reply.
“Fuck…” grunted Mick, “fuck. Ok. I said I trusted you before, and I meant it, and, well, it’s not like I have a plan of my own to fall back on so… but… I mean… fuck! I’m on my way to do the impossible and now I find out I’m going to have to do it twice today if I want to make a difference. God damn yo, not excited about today. Not excited…”
“Did you expect it to be easy?” Seshat’s words were harsh, but her tone was calm, even comforting perhaps. This offset Mick’s emotional balance and he wasn’t sure what to say.
“No…” he mumbled, eventually, “No, I guess not. All things worth doing are hard to do. That’s a lesson that I never really learned. I guess now is the time. Time to grow up and actually really try to get something accomplished for once. Time to make a difference…” he gulped, almost unable to continue, “…time to make a difference, or die trying”.
“Then it is settled!” exclaimed Seshat. “We have been given one boon by fate: one of The Agents of the Overarching Narrative was injured during the eradication of The Pirates. He is seperate from the others, a situation which is extremely rare. We will take advantage of this to attack him in secret in his healing pod in his cave”
“His… cave?”, queried Mick, “do you not know the English word for home, domicile, etc, or does he literally live in a cave?”
“He literally lives in a cave” replied Seshat, “Usually they all share one and regularly sharpen their claws, both metaphorically and literally, on each other in practice combat. However, when one is injured, it retires to a nearby cave with various healing pods and other medical devices and the others leave it to nurse its wounds. This will not be easy, but at least it’s possible. I’m taking that as a sign that our mission has a chance to succeed. I refuse be hopeless in the face of such relative good fortune. Hopefully you agree with me”.
“Yeah… I guess” grumbled Mick, “So, anything else that I need to know, or…?”
“You have fought Hunters before” began Seshat, “This will be the same, but more difficult. With your upgrades, I trust that you will succeed. Do not let him get a hold of you as he may crush anything in his grasp after a few seconds of pressure. More importantly, though: once he is subdued, you will need to make a thin, shallow incision in the pyramid on his chest, open it slowly and carefully, and then gently pull the the module from its moorings to expose an opening for me without disconnecting any of the wires or tubes that spring forth from elsewhere on the device. After that, I will do the rest. I will give you necessary instructions as they become pertinent. Remember: you must not kill him! Not until I say so. Also, we only have two of your hours before the ceremony begins. We must accomplish this in less than one and a half of those hours. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be!” chuckled Mick. “Lead on, oh fearless leader”. Seshat then gave Mick some direction and he set out from his sleeping hole to what he worried would be his doom. He was grateful for the relative ease that graced most of his journey as he didn’t have to do more than duck into a room or stand out of the way up against a wall to avoid any investigation of who he was or why he was there. Eventually turning down a yet another thin corridor, Mick was surprised to see it widen out considerably as he walked along. He was quickly a small presence in what had become a major hallway, flanked on both sides by space that could contain five others without difficulty.
“Careful now” hissed Seshat, allowing fear to supersede logic since no one but Mick could hear her unless she really wanted them to, “we approach the main cave. As soon as we exit the hall, quickly move diagonally forward to the right. You will see a large entrance; you are to avoid it, or being seen by anyone that inhabits it, at all costs. To the right you will find a much smaller entrance. This is our goal. Make haste but be careful not to make too much noise! Let us pray that no one is expecting a visitor…” Mick wasn’t really sure how to balance those goals so he threw caution to the wind and sprinted as quietly as he could to the smaller cave entrance as soon as he left the hallway. Fortune smiled upon Mick and Seshat and no one saw them. Slowing to almost stationary, Mick crept inwards, appreciating Seshat’s decision to enhance his vision in the clammy darkness that threatened to swallow him whole before any enemy was found. Inching along like a worm, choosing quiet scraping and rustling over actual footsteps, Mick allowed his mind to wander for a few seconds and contemplated the vast advantages of fighting for revolution in a world where it simply wasn’t possible. If everyone believes revolution will never happen, they tend to let their guard down. Mick assumed that no one guarded these special soldiers because no one would ever imagine someone attacking them. The impossibility of his mission was actually making it possible and Mick had to shake his head to clear it of that paradox before he lost all focus. Seshat eased his senses to alert him to the faint light that he was approaching and somehow Mick began to move with even more care and less speed than he had been before. This was the worst, the nightmare, the moment before the fist hits the face. This was the calm before the storm. Mick had no idea how he was going to succeed in his mission. Get killed? Failure. Kill his enemy before getting what he came for? Failure. Get killed for being lenient while trying to get what he came for without killing his antagonist? Failure. Succeed at all of that but do so loudly or slowly enough for others to get wise? Failure. Sneeze right now and alert his prey? Probably failure. Mick’s mind almost shut down. He began to panic. Sweat was dripping from his face and he swore that he could hear the drip, drip, drop of the tiny clumps of molecules hitting the ground. His heart was pounding, slamming his chest like a battering ram on a door. He was about to die, he was sure of it. It was almost too much…
Turning around a bend in the tunnel, Mick was suddenly mere feet away from the Hunter, the Agent of the Overarching Narrative. The Hunter was splayed out on his back, mostly submerged in a pod of some mystery liquid. It smelled a little like turpentine, and the scent made Mick want to gag. He almost turned tail and ran, he really did. In fact, he took a step backwards, preparing to pivot and just run. To where would he run? He didn’t know. There was a logical voice in his mind, reminding him that his life was forefeit no matter what he did, reminding him that he had already been killed once and somehow survived to make it here, reminding him that he had done nothing but make a mockery of the love that his wife and daughter had showered him with while they remainded alive with every moment he lived before this adventure began… but that voice was drowned out by the cacophony of screams and wails that assaulted his mind, screeching terror and fear and insecurity.
Mick was frozen to the spot. He needed to move forward, but he could not. He wanted to run away, but he could not. Staring at The Hunter, Mick couldn’t help but be amazed at the chiselled muscles, the sleek, predatory structure that made this beast a killing machine. As Mick’s eyes roamed from bicep to chest, fixating upon the pyramid, he watched in horror as the chest rose, shaking slightly, and fell. The Hunter took another shallow breath, and then he sat up.
Author’s Note: Confused? Find chapter 24 of this sci-fi noir novel that I am writing and releasing live, at least one chapter every two weeks, right here. Enjoy! I really am excited for people to read upcoming chapters and I hope to hear back from people soon. Leave a comment if you have anything to say about this story so far, where you think it is going, where you want it to go… whatever you like. Thank you for reading! There are only three chapters left… I’m excited to show you all how this ends :)
