Face of the Earth

  Unique

  One quarter of an interactive map of the continent.

  Collect the map fragments to restore the full map. The more pieces you collect, the broader its scale will become.

  “Neat!” Sartorius exclaimed. “So, when we combine two or more pieces of the map, the scale increases? The Face of the Earth has just become a very interesting artifact!”

  “This is a big quest,” Jack shook his head. “The priests spread the pieces out in different areas. One quarter. So, four by four. Makes sense, yeah? The devs designed it so that the map pieces were stored in different areas of the continent. Whichever direction the player came from, there was a good chance of him coming across one of the pieces while doing one of the local quests. We won’t find a second piece in our sector. We’ll be able to start searching when we cross into the next sector and right now, we’re in the very corner of this one.”

  “So there’s still more on the map? A large territory?” the alpha asked. “If that’s the case, we’re still pretty far away from finding the location of another piece.”

  Jack glanced at the clock at the edge of his vision. “My chip should be okay now. That crucial moment when you lead me to the upper city is drawing near.”

  Before entering the chapel and logging out of virt, Jack tossed a farewell glance at the meadow beyond the forest. The flat plain wandered far off in the distance, bunching together in some place to form gently sloping hills. Bathed in sunlight, the grass looked golden. He thought he saw a golden speck flying over the landscape. Another Divine Harbinger circling. The gryphon’s extended wings gleamed as the rider rushed toward the ground. Must be a village there and the Harbinger had gone to program the local NPCs to greet any newcomers with hostility.

  Even farther, on the horizon, another golden speck flashed… All this would come later, after Jack got the cure Goodwin promised. And if he didn’t? Then all this — the Harbingers, hostile inhabitants of Gaerthron, Gods, temples and monsters – none of it would matter.

  Chapter Five. Steel Guardians

  JACK PEELED OFF the virt-helm and shook his head, recovering his senses in this world. He heard the sound of metal clicking somewhere nearby, loud and quick. Turning, he saw Goodwin and barely recognized him. The old man’s hair had been cropped short. Mendez stood over him, holding some kind of shiny, little machine and looking critically at Goodwin’s head. The floor was sprinkled with gray hair.

  Goodwin had changed his clothes, too. Most likely, they were Mendez’s, as the two had a similar build.

  “Uh, so, you’re getting ready for our grand appearance on the surface,” Jack assumed. “What about me? Do I have to cut all my hair off, too?”

  He smoothed back his hair, which was now cleaner than it had ever been in his life, thanks to their dip in the East River.

  “You look fine, don’t worry about it,” Mendez reassured him. “A lot of young people are sporting long, messy hair, like some prince in Alterra. For an old man, though, it’d look strange.”

  Sartorius stirred in the corner. He’d stayed behind in virt after Jack exited back into reality.

  “I took a look in the Shell,” the alpha mumbled, blinking vigorously outside of the virt-helm. “Victorious Ged has several Harbingers. They possess the ability to inspire soldiers to great feats and lead them into battle. Now, though, we know it’s the Helm. But there are still a lot of Harbingers!”

  Jack only shrugged. “One less, now.”

  What else was there to say? It was a good thing they were spread out across Gaerthron. Fighting them all at once would be impossible, but one at a time… hell, any old donkey could take one out with a hoof kick, as recent events had shown.

  Sartorius didn’t push the subject. Instead, he pulled a small device from his pocket and, pointing it at Jack, began pressing buttons.

  “Portable sensor?” Goodwin guessed.

  “Mm-hmm,” the alpha murmured. “They give them to us in case we have to go down into the lower sewers. Rats and such down there. Looks okay to me. It’s not reacting to Jack.”

  “Time to head for the upper city, then.”

  Sartorius began fussing, threw off his waterproof slicker, which tangled at his feet as he awkwardly freed his arms from the sleeves. The more he rushed, the clearer it became to Jack that the alpha was desperately afraid. Not Jack, though. Quite the opposite. The sooner, the better. After all, he was heading toward life and health. When everyone was finally ready to go, Mendez opened the door.

  As they walked the underground corridors, climbing level by level, Sartorius’s gaze darted constantly. Probably watching out for sensors, but all was quiet. The device hadn’t reacted to Jack.

  Eventually, they reached a room at nearly ground level. The first thing he noticed was that it was a somewhat spacious room. The second was that there were windows. Long, narrow glass slits that hung just under the ceiling. There was sunlight streaming through! Sartorius was growing nervous again because that deciding moment was fast approaching. Jack, however, couldn’t wait any more. He went first to the stairs leading to the surface. He stepped outside and froze. It was bright here. A dome of fumes hung over New Atrium, just like in the ghetto, but that wasn’t the point. This place was… incredible. It was clean, like the paving stones under his feet were freshly washed. Dazzlingly bright light beat down from all directions. So much open space overhead, all the way up to the blue sky. Yes, this was right. Unlike the ghetto, which crept out over the ground, sprawled flat, New Atrium stretched vertically, seeking the heavens. Tall walls of solid windows ran skywards, longer than the streets.

  Jack stood there, motionless, head tilted up because he couldn’t help but sweep his eyes up and down such an incredible height. The walls touched the sky, narrow strips of light blue sandwiched between glass walls. The gleaming airships glided high up along these strips. From where they stood on the sidewalk, the flying machines looked like beetles. Jack saw nothing but the soaring, glass-framed space above him. Sunlight reflected off the thousands of windows, splintered endlessly into streams of light that crisscrossed and merged again… Damn, this was even cooler than Alterra…

  “Nice gear. Like a real omega,” a husky female voice called out.

  Jack forced himself to lower his eyes. A young woman in black leather was standing on the sidewalk next to him. On the other hand, maybe she wasn’t that young? He couldn’t work out her age. Her figure wasn’t much to look at and the outfit emphasizing it did nothing for her. Not slender, but also not plump, like most women in the ghetto. She could have been thirty years old as easily as fifty. Or did alphas not age? Did they just freeze themselves in whatever shape they liked best and keep that appearance for decades?

  The left half of her head was shaved and purple curls fell over her right shoulder. The smooth, slinky outfit was tied with chains and belts. Her eyes were heavily lined and she wore green lipstick. Weird.

  “I’m going to Charlie X’s ghetto-themed party, too,” the strange woman continued. “See you at Charlie’s? You can check out my costume.”

  “Uh-huh,” Jack said warily. “At Charlie’s.”

  How was he supposed to answer? The half-bald alpha nodded, turned, and tapped on a flat device strapped to her wrist. A droning erupted above, a warm breeze blew, and a shadow fell over Jack… a two-seater airship slowly descended, its green lacquered sides gleaming. From what Jack could tell, it was running on autopilot. There was no operator.

  The airship hung in the air a few inches above the road. When the door slid open, the woman ducked into the shadows under the tinted glass. It hummed louder and began to rise.

  “What was that?” Jack asked.

  “I think she liked you,” Sartorius said hoarsely, clearing his throat. His worry was causing him to lose his voice. “We have enthusiasts in New Atrium who like to throw themed parties. So, today’s theme is the ghetto and everyone’s dressing up as an omega. She mistook you for one of the guests. You’re still an omega. It shows.”

  “Well, I’m not a real omega,” Jack broke into a broad grin. “I’m just going to Charlie X’s in an omega costume. Goodwin, which way are we going?”

  But Goodwin was nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? Jack ran his eyes over the glass walls, registering more and more details. Bright red and blue striped half-spheres crept along the pavement. They hummed quietly and left wet trails in their wake. Several more of these machines were gliding over walls, too. Cleaners, Jack guessed, washing the concrete and glass.

  Damn, the street was empty. He didn’t see a single alpha, just the automatic cleaners. The door leading from the basement they had left cracked open and Goodwin peeked out.

  “Where’s that woman? Is she gone?”

  “Flew off,” Jack replied. “Got bored when you left. Me, too. Why were you hiding?”

  “She called you an omega,” the old man muttered, his head turning back and forth in search of danger.

  “So what? Calling someone an omega isn’t against the law, though maybe a little insulting. If you don’t like it here, then let’s get to Genotech. The sooner, the better.”

  Goodwin nodded, then finally stepped out into the light. As he walked over, he caught sight of his own reflection in the glass walls and muttered in a low voice, “We need to get to the outskirts, not far from the Barrier. Those thugs down below, Douglas and the other guy, the little one… they said it was best not to get close to the Barrier. Plus, you look too much like an omega. Well, in the way New Atrium believes they look. Typical, so to speak. So, we’ll have to be very careful. I asked Mendez if it would be possible to reach the Genotech building through the underground tunnels, since that would be the safer route.”

  “And? Didn’t know the way? Well, we’re going over the surface, so there’s a reason for it, right?”

  “Mendez comes across as a streetsmart, rational guy, but as soon as he thinks about any kind of local superstition, he gets a little loopy. He starts carrying on about someone walking around the underground, someone with gleaming crimson eyes. That several of his friends have gone missing. That those red eyes most likely saw where we’re going. Only below the ground, of course. Mendez spends all his time down there. He’s walked the whole length of those tunnels through and through. Knows every nook and cranny.”

  “Yes, he’s got an excellent sense of direction underground,” Sartorius agreed.

  “But he outright refused to take us to Genotech. Maybe that unfortunate business with his daughter has messed with his head, or something… It’s not a good idea to wander around underground without a guide,” Goodwin finished his explanation. “That’s why we’re up here on the streets. It’s not too far from here, so it’s fine. The city inside the Barrier isn’t big, no matter which direction you go, so anywhere’s close. We’ll take a left after that building and…”

  Someone appeared on the street up ahead. An average-looking man in a light green suit. He crossed the street, eyes on a tablet he was holding in front of himself. One of the cleaning robots yielded the road to him, or else he would have tripped over it. The man stopped at the front door of a building. Dragging his gaze from the little screen for the first time, he raised his arm and pressed his wrist to the doorframe. A mechanism inside clicked and the door opened in a smooth motion. The lock responded to the man’s chip, Jack realized. That’s how things worked here… Meanwhile, Jack’s own chip wouldn’t even open the door to a toilet.

  Goodwin kept quiet until the man disappeared. As soon as the door swung shut behind the alpha, he went on. “That’s where the suburbs begin. They’re empty, more or less. No recreational facilities, no residential buildings, according to Mendez. It was different in my time, but I believe we can trust him.”

  “Right, yes,” Sartorius echoed. “People in New Atrium prefer the central neighborhoods. Closer to the Barrier, it’s just offices, warehouses, the upper floors of automated factories and the like.”

  “Upper floors?” Jack wondered. “What do you mean, upper?”

  “Manufacture is concealed underground. Bio farms, too. They produce noise, smells, fumes. We keep it all underground so it doesn’t bother anyone. People don’t like… Stop!”

  “What is it now?”

  Another alpha was standing at the intersection a block away. This one was wearing armor similar to Defender gear, but his was dark blue and much lighter than the tactical suit. Jack thought it was ornamental, just an imitation. The helmet on the alpha’s head even had only a thin, transparent visor. However, the Taser and the hilt of an emitter in an open holster looked pretty serious. The armed alpha was turning slowly with a small device in his hands.

  Sartorius backed away, nudging his companions, before the man in blue armor could point the machine in their direction.

  “Policeman,” he explained when they turned the corner of a building. “They keep order inside the Barrier walls and that thing in his hands looked like a scanner. We’re already on the outskirts. There aren’t many people here and the buildings are unoccupied. Sometimes the police come out here to do checks. Let’s wait here, give him time to clear out.”

  They waited for five minutes, then the droning of a small, dark blue airship with a white stripe along the side passed by overhead and Sartorius announced that they could continue on.

  As they turned the corner, Jack unwittingly slowed his pace. At the end of this street was the Barrier. Just a few meters and there it was. Inside the unscalable wall of the alpha city was rather different than the view omegas had grown used to, looking at the Barrier from the outside. There, it was an impenetrable wall — towering, gray, and ominous. It was dotted with ledges that offered a clear shot into the ghetto. Every inch of the Barrier was fraught with death.

  Looking at the Barrier from New Atrium was quite the opposite. It was full of life, dotted with windows, buttresses, extensions and gleaming elevator cabins creeping between them. Dozens of airships were winding erratically around the Barrier. Everything was moving, humming. Sunlight reflected off the smooth glass, scattered spots of light ran endlessly along the gray concrete and it was as though it were a breathing, moving thing.

  “There it is,” Goodwin stopped, eyeing a building at the end of the street.

  It stood out from the rest. Massive, broad, cylindrical and tiled with glassy black tiles. A dome of cloudy glass crowned the black cylinder and made Jack think of a dust-covered soap bubble.

  The buildings in New Atrium Jack had seen until now had looked entirely different. They’d found others that were wider and taller, but these were radiant and sleek. Their smooth, clean windows sparkled and the building itself seemed to reach into the sky. The building Goodwin indicated, however, despite its tall stature, looked dark and clung firmly to the ground.

  The old man didn’t even glance at the Barrier.

  “Even though we’re on the outskirts, this is the most important place in New Atrium. Well, it had been in those early days, when I fled to the ghetto. All the world’s secrets are hidden behind those walls.”

  “The world? Or what’s left of it?” Jack corrected. “It doesn’t seem strange to you that such an important building looks abandoned? That door doesn’t look like it’s been opened in years.”

  “Actually, these neighborhoods are supposed to be uninhabited,” Sartorius interjected. “We’re on the outskirts.” He sniffed and added, “There are plenty of abandoned buildings in New Atrium. We have more homes than people.”

  Goodwin scratched the back of his head, glanced up and down the empty street. Quiet and deserted. The only movement came from the little cleaning robots and shadows of airships flying overhead.

  “We ought to wait,” he decided. “If there’s work going on inside the building, then the employees will go home in the evening. It would be best to lie low somewhere nearby and watch. You’re a communications specialist. You’ve got a master key to the technical room in every building, right?”

  Sartorius nodded.

  “Great, another delay!” Jack said, incensed. “The clock is ticking, Goodwin, with probably only hours left. I feel the worst I’ve ever felt in my life.”

  “We won’t get into Genotech in broad daylight,” Goodwin snapped. “Right now, a stone’s throw from the cure, you will take extra precautions and do as I tell you.”

  He said this firmly and sharply, surprising Jack. It was a new side to the old man. But facts were facts and, here, he was in charge. It was probably best to listen to him. There was still a little life left in Jack’s body. He’d manage somehow to last until nightfall.

  “Across the way there is an entry to the basement,” the old man turned to Sartorius. “Open it. We’ll wait there until evening and observe who leaves Genotech after the workday ends.”

  As he unlocked the door to the basement, Sartorius muttered over his shoulder, “Seems like I won’t be much use to you… well, in the near future. I need to rest and it’d be nice to find a little info on Ged’s Harbingers… and stuff like that. There, open. I think you can handle this yourselves. I’ll only be in the way.”

  The alpha stared at the pavement under his feet, sparkling clean thanks to the cleaning robots, and added, “Frankly, I probably won’t be much use to you there, either.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Goodwin agreed, unexpectedly. “Better for you to stay out of it. Who knows what we’ll encounter. In my time, the building was well-guarded.”

  Jack thought it made sense. Sartorius would be of little use if they had to deal with security. But why was Goodwin being so kind? Till now, he’d only worried about himself. Odd. There was a marked increase in his assertiveness, like an entirely different person. Maybe, after breathing in the New Atrium air, he was beginning to feel like an alpha again?

  “Yeah, Sartorius,” he nodded. “You’ve already done more for me than I had a right to ask. You should go find out what’s up with those Harbingers.”

 

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