Into the Fire
1
What Sam saw after emerging from the gateway nearly left him speechless. It was a vast field of crystal that stretched to the horizon and beyond. Flat green crystal made up the ground, while crystals of various colors jutted out from it. So enthralled by the exotic beauty of this new world that the chilling wind could not dampen his warmth.
Princess Kaguya was equally captivated, Her body was much more resistant to extreme temperatures. Gareth and Peace were either uninterested or unimpressed but they did not complain about the weather. Gareth was properly dressed for it and Peace had lubricated his cybernetics to ensure that he would not be inconvenienced by it.
Gareth cleared his throat to grab Sam's attention. “You will have time for gawking later.”
Sam nodded. His helmet camera took a couple of pictures just in case he didn't. Beauty such as this was rare in these times. Merlin summoned the vehicle data. Two one-wheeled motorcycles loaded into reality. There was no wheel but an anti-gravity device in the shape of a circle taking its place. Each one was blue and white with the face and eyes of a large feline.
Sam
guessed it was a panther.
He and the Princess would be flying
while Peace and Gareth used the bikes. He would have brought his
horse but time was of the essence. The Enchantress had detected an
anomaly that was blocking any and all ability to gateway into Altea.
This included authorized gateways, meaning it was disrupting
something in virtual space entirely.
Sam continued to enjoy the local scenery, switching from snapshots to recording the various different crystalline structures. Some appeared to be natural while others showed signs of mortal handiwork. One particular example, A large blue obelisk embedded with golden runes from base to tip, blurred the lines between natural and artificial structure.
That raised the question of whether anything could be considered natural in a constructed world. Did that obelisk have a hidden function or was it just an art piece? Questions piled on questions. His childlike curiosity and wonder screaming out for answers. Merlin yanked him back into reality.
“Sir Warden. I am receiving anomalous readings. Metallic in nature with a large mass. Twenty seconds ahead of us.”
Sam
signaled for his party to hold position while he approached this
anomaly. Ascending a few more feet for a better few he spotted it.
Blanketing the crystalline fields was a sea of liquid metal. Large
lumps of gray goo rose from it and took the shape of various
creatures. Massive predators with jagged teeth that ranged from
sharks to things that could only come out of sick and twisted
nightmares. This ocean of gray was moving south to a city made of
crystal in a lagoon.
He quickly realized that attacking it would do no good. While it may draw its attention away from the city that would just be a minor reprieve from the inevitable. Even if he and Kaguya could fly high enough to stay away from its reach, Gareth and Peace would be eaten in mere moments. For now, he could only pursue and observe until he perceived some way of eliminating it.
The gray mass continued onward until it reached the shore of the lagoon. The front of the metallic heap compacted itself into a bridge and began crossing the waters. Altea responded with intense laser beams fired from strategically placed crystal obelisks. A screech of static could be heard as the tide receded for an instant. Then it marched on its momentum only slowed but not arrested. As the laser's impact appeared to dull with each successive hit.
“Merlin? Peace? What are we dealing with here?”
“Analysis reports nanometer computers inside the mass of liquid metal,” stated Merlin. “There is a constant signal being emitted through the mass. Source unknown.”
“Send the signal to me,” said Peace. Merlin did so. Using his cybernetics and familiarity with Domain signals. He swiftly found the source of the signal.
Peace pointed West and lead the way.
Liquid metals. Never a good sign.
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