Dragon Conjurer 8, page 16
“I will share this new discovery with Headmaster Burkhard,” Dr. Hastings said. “Shall we move on to a more relevant search?”
“I think that’s a good idea.” I nodded.
“I have saved the search parameters from our previous research sessions,” Dr. Hastings said, and her fingers danced over the keyboard again. “I shall apply those parameters to the African Academy’s database, and we shall see what it turns up for us.”
I paced back and forth through SEEKR’s room, and I both hoped we would and wouldn’t find something new. I definitely didn’t need or want more nightmare fuel, but the possibility of finding some version of a monster that could be The Great Scaled One, and that wouldn’t swallow me whole without problem or release a plague of demons on the planet, was pretty appealing.
“This is interesting,” Dr. Hastings mused a moment later.
“What’s that?” I walked over to look over the good doctor’s shoulder at the small screen, and I was surprised at what I saw. “There’s only one result?”
“It certainly seems so,” Dr. Hastings chuckled. “I suppose Headmaster Mahrous’ archives may be categorized rather differently than our own, or the Japanese and European Academies. It is also possible that African monsters, in general, have shorter lifespans. Or that there are very few African monsters with scales. Let us have a look at this file, and then we can alter our search parameters based on the way MIA organizes and categorizes their database.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.” I shrugged and watched with bated breath.
Dr. Hastings opened the file and flicked the image over to the wall-sized screen, and an eerily familiar image filled the screen. An enormous snake that coiled around in a large circle to bite at its own tail spread out before me, and I immediately thought of my favorite anime.
Fullmetal Alchemist was a great show, and the creepy antagonists, the homunculi, had been easily identifiable by their ouroboros tattoos. The creature named Lust had been one of my favorites, and her sexy body flashed through my mind. I couldn’t help but remember how many times I’d stared at her animated cleavage and the small Ouroboros tattoo along her collarbone.
“That’s the Ouroboros,” I said flatly. “That’s been used in a lot of popular culture.”
“Indeed,” Dr. Hastings agreed. “The Ouroboros originated in Egypt, in the time of King Tutankhamun, who lived in the fourteenth century BC.”
“I don’t know much about the original myth,” I admitted. “All of my knowledge of this thing comes from anime.”
“The Ouroboros was known as a symbol of life, death, and rebirth,” Dr. Hastings explained. “Eventually, it was adopted by other cultures. The Norse integrated it into the stories of one of their gods, whom I expect you may be familiar with. The legends of Thor incorporate the Ouroboros. The world serpent was a child of Loki, and it brought about Ragnarok, or the end of the world.”
“Such a great movie,” I chuckled. “Though it was Cate Blanchet’s character and Surtur that were the cause of Ragnarok in that version.”
Dr. Hastings looked at me with puzzlement for a moment.
“Sorry, not helpful,” I laughed.
“No need to apologize,” Dr. Hastings replied. “That is a fantastic movie. But no, it is not quite relevant to our discussion. I’m not entirely certain the Ouroboros would be The Great Scaled One, however.”
“Why not?” I asked and stared at the image. It was certainly great in size and plenty old enough to fit our criteria, and as a snake-like creature, it was definitely scaled.
“Often the Ouroboros is identified as unconcerned with life on this planet,” Dr. Hastings murmured, and she tapped a finger against her red lips. “Although, it does say this is a creature that represents the formless disorder of the world. I always thought it was more about the metaphorical balance and natural cycle of life and death, but perhaps it is the cause of that cycle.”
“Sort of like a planetary-sized grim reaper?” I pondered.
“Possibly.” The sexy doctor nodded absently as she stared at the image. “Perhaps the Ouroboros has become resentful over the centuries. It is certainly old enough to fit our criteria of The Great Scaled One. I wonder if perhaps, this creature has decided to take it upon itself to sort out what it sees as the disorder of the human population.”
“What are you getting at?” I muttered.
“You said one of the monsters had called humans pests, correct?” Dr. Hastings asked. “That The Great Scaled One saw humans as a plague upon this planet?”
“Yeah, I got that feeling from both the Aigamuxa and the Curupira.” I nodded.
“What if the Ouroboros has taken it upon itself to set the world back to the disorder that ruled the natural world before humans became civilized and tried to make disorder into order?” Dr. Hastings asked. “Much like an unruly AI system in so many science fiction movies. Perhaps the Ouroboros began to think for itself, and decided its previous workings were not fulfilling the root of its responsibility to the universe?”
“I don’t follow.” I stared at the good doctor dumbly. “Are you thinking the Ouroboros got too big for its britches, stopped doing its life-cycle duties, and started working on eliminating all humans from the world?”
“It seems like a reasonable series of events.” Dr. Hastings nodded, and she started to pace back and forth through the room as she continued to think out loud. “A creature, made by ancient Egyptian gods, given a tedious and probably dull responsibility to perform until the end of time. Over the centuries, the Ouroboros has had nothing but time to think as it continuously cycles life into death, and death into rebirth.”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled. Something in my gut told me this wasn’t The Great Scaled One, but I had no real reason to strike it from the list, so I shrugged. “I mean, it definitely could be. Let’s add it to the list.”
Dr. Hastings nodded decisively and started to drag the file into the folder we’d created for our shortlist of suspects, but before the tip of her finger reached the folder, SEEKR’s screen appeared to freeze.
Dr. Hastings hummed with confusion, and she moved her finger across the screen to try again. This time, SEEKR’s screen flickered violently for a second before the whole thing started to glitch, and the pixels all along the edges started to dance wildly back and forth.
“What the devil?” Dr. Hastings grumbled, and she tapped at the keyboard for a moment.
“What happened?” I leaned over the sexy cougar’s shoulder to stare at the screen, and a second later the whole thing went black, and a quiet, high-pitched whine came from the tower of hard drives and motherboards.
Then the room descended into darkness, and after a few beats, a dim orange light washed over us from the emergency lights in the corner of the ceiling.
“Well.” Dr. Hastings frowned, and she lowered her hands from the keyboard. “One moment, let me try to reboot the systems.”
“Okay.” I waited patiently as the platinum-blonde woman worked.
Dr. Hastings knelt down in front of the cylindrical tower, and she pried open a small door at the base. Inside the compartment was a neatly sorted mess of colored wires, and none of it made any sense to me. Dr. Hastings reached into the door until the entire lower part of her arm disappeared into the computer system. I heard the thick click of a switch, and then the same sound again, and I had a feeling she was trying the “turn it off and then turn it back on again” go-to move for IT professionals.
Dr. Hastings leaned back enough to look up at the screen, but it remained completely dark, and the only light in the room was still the dim orange emergency lights.
“Damn,” Dr, Hastings growled low in her throat. Then she closed the compartment door, and she stood back up beside me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and that lingering sense of foreboding and doom seemed to laugh deep in the back of my mind.
“SEEKR is down,” Dr. Hastings sighed heavily, removed her glasses, and massaged the bridge of her nose. Then the sexy scientist looked up at me with frustration clear on her beautiful face, and she walked over to SEEKR’s door without another word.
I stood dumbfounded for a second, and when I got a hold of myself, I strode after Dr. Hastings. I made sure to close the heavily armored door behind me, and then I raced through the maze of bookshelves in search of the good doctor. I made it almost all the way to the front door before I found Dr. Hastings, and I almost grabbed her by the elbows and forced her to stop, but I was painfully aware of Mrs. Wright’s gaze on us.
I waved casually at the librarian and then followed the sexy doctor out of the library instead. Once we were down the front steps, I gripped Dr. Hastings’ elbow firmly in my hand and turned her to look at me.
“What the hell does that mean?” I demanded, and I took a deep breath to calm my frustration before I continued. “What do you mean SEEKR’s down?”
“The entire system is malfunctioning.” Dr. Hastings frowned. She laid her palm on the inside of my forearm and gave me a gentle squeeze, but her voice was filled with severity. “The entire Academy relies on that system, Mr. Cooper, and it is currently offline.”
Chapter 11
It took a few seconds for the gravity of the situation to really sink into my brain, but then my breath whooshed out of my lungs like I’d been punched in the gut.
“Shiiiiiit,” I breathed out, and I stared at Dr. Hastings.
“Precisely,” Dr. Hastings said. Then she pursed her lips tightly together, and she nodded toward the main building. “I must speak with Headmaster Burkhard immediately.”
“Wait, hang on a second. Please.” I wrapped my hand around the sexy doctor’s wrist to keep her from racing off. “I know SEEKR does more than just house all the monster archives and everything, but what exactly does it do besides that?”
“Everything, Mr. Cooper.” Dr. Hastings frowned wearily at me with her body half-turned away from me.
I just stared back at her with confusion, and apparently, the concerned pleading was evident in my eyes because Dr. Hastings sighed and turned back to me.
“SEEKR controls every system we have,” Dr. Hastings said, and her voice had taken on a patient, lecturing tone. “Scholar of Examination, Elucidation, Knowledge, and Research. SEEKR compiles and analyzes all of the information that enters the Academy’s systems. SEEKR anonymously communicates with all of the GPS satellites around the world, as well as all of the United States government agencies. It scans for anomalies in the data, this is how we determine the location and severity of monster activity. It also provides the intel we use to determine whether there is a need to send out cadets on missions, and indeed, which team is best suited for each particular mission.”
“I can definitely see how that’s important.” I nodded dumbly and dropped my hand from around her wrist, but Dr. Hastings didn’t move away from my side.
“Yes,” the sexy cougar continued. “SEEKR also operates the training simulations. Any cadets who were in the holographic training rooms just now when SEEKR went down were suddenly dropped out of their simulations. SEEKR also controls all of the programs that maintain smooth operations at the Academy. All cadet class schedules, online classwork portals, and even the communication between professors and cadets are now offline.”
“Wait… Shit!” I gasped. “What about the monster containment facility? Does SEEKR control all of that, too? Are they all going to get loose?”
“No.” Dr. Hastings shook her head emphatically. “Thankfully, those systems all revert to a manual system of deadbolts and old-fashioned key-locks if SEEKR goes offline. There is no need to worry about any of the monster cells.”
“Oh, good,” I sighed with relief. “Last thing we need is a ‘Cabin in the Woods’ style breakout.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Dr. Hastings said, and I could tell she was anxious to inform the headmaster of the situation. “I must go.”
“Of course.” I nodded once, and the worry in Dr. Hastings’ face spread to me and coiled tightly across my shoulders.
Without another word, Dr. Hastings pivoted on her stilettoed feet and started to walk with fierce purpose in the direction of the main building’s front doors. I stood there for a few more seconds before I finally took a shuddering breath and forced my feet to move. It was like walking through sinking sand, and I dragged my feet across the cement, through the doors, and down the hall to the elevators.
A terrifying thought flashed quickly through my brain, and I had to take a steadying breath to keep the instinctive panic from rising in my throat and consuming my mind.
What if The Great Scaled One was behind all this?
I examined the idea for a moment, but it seemed pretty much impossible. I couldn’t think of any way The Great Scaled One, no matter what monster He was, could have gained access to SEEKR’s systems. They were so securely locked away deep within the campus that it seemed impossible, even for a centuries-old monster that could command monster attacks around the world.
I shoved the thoughts away dismissively and pressed the elevator call button. Then I waited, and my thoughts played through what Dr. Hastings had told me about SEEKRs responsibilities and functions.
I’d known that SEEKR did a lot, but I had no idea it did basically everything. I half-expected the elevators not to work when I pressed the button, but the light blinked and the doors opened just as usual. What was unusual was the small crowd of cadets inside the elevator who were grumbling about their interrupted training session.
I stepped quietly into the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor as a few of the cadets stepped past me and turned toward the cafeteria.
“It was really weird,” one of the male cadets was saying. “Why do you think the session just ended like that?”
“I don’t know, man,” another guy said, and he shook his head. “There were still three werewolves left, it shouldn’t have just stopped.”
“I bet Jayden fucked up the simulation when he programmed it,” a girl said with a snooty huff. “You’re never allowed to program our sessions ever again.”
“Fine, whatever,” the first guy said, and then the doors slid closed, and the rest of their conversation was cut off from my ears.
The four cadets who remained on the elevator stood silently for a moment as they exchanged heavy glances with each other. Then one of them finally spoke up.
“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” the smaller of the two guys muttered.
“It’s awfully weird that their simulation stopped just as abruptly as ours?” the brunette girl ventured.
“No way did both of our simulations fuck up at the same time on pure coincidence,” the thinner guy said with a decisive nod.
I worked to find something incredibly interesting about the walls of the elevator, but my ears waited hungrily to hear what the cadets would say.
“I agree,” the sandy-haired girl said. “No way was this just happenstance.”
“And it looked like some of the other training sessions also ended at the same time,” the brunette girl added, and I could hear the tension in her voice.
“I don’t like it,” the other guy muttered, and he crossed his arms over his thick chest until his muscles bunched. “I think somebody’s trying to play a prank on us.”
“I don’t know,” the sandy-haired girl sighed, and I caught her tense frown in the reflection of the shiny elevator walls. “I have a feeling it’s way more serious than that.”
“What do you mean?” the smaller guy asked.
The elevator doors slid open, and the team of four stepped out into the hallway and began to make their way in the opposite direction of the suite. I lingered for a second to see if I could hear any more of their conversation, but they walked quickly down the hallway and lowered their voices.
I turned toward the suite and walked rapidly down the hall, and when I got to our door, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. My ladies were lounging around on the couch and armchairs, and Zahra and Nick appeared to be in the midst of a video game battle in the center of the couch. Elisabeth held a worn-out novel in her hands, but I couldn’t read the title because she had the front cover folded back behind the pages. It looked like something she’d read a dozen times, and she smiled softly up at me over the pages before she glanced back down and continued to read.
Nala was intently watching Zahra and Nick’s game, and Steffi was writing in a journal with a pen that had a ball of fluffy pink feathers sprouting from the end. The journal had a glittery rainbow unicorn emblazoned on the front cover.
“Hey, cutie,” Steffi said, and she barely glanced up to smile at me.
“You were gone for a while,” Nala said without taking her eyes off the television screen.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, and I cleared my throat. It felt like somebody had poured a pound of sand into my mouth.
I walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, and I hoped the cold drink would help flush some of the desert-like dryness from my tongue.
“Would anybody like a cup of tea?” Ronin asked as she stood from her chair.
“Oui,” Elisabeth said absently from behind her book. “Merci.”
Ronin smiled at the copper-haired girl, and then she walked into the kitchen to kiss me. Then she took one good look at me, and concern flooded her face.
“Dylan,” Ronin breathed, and she reached up to frame my face with her hands. “What is wrong? Has something happened to your dragons? Are you unwell?”
Steffi, Elisabeth, and Nala all looked up at the concern that was clear and thick in Ronin’s voice, and they quickly stood from their seats and walked into the kitchen with us.
“What’s going on?” Steffi asked, and then she really looked at me. “Dyl, what’s wrong?”
“You look like somebody ran over your dog,” Nala frowned, and she laid a hand gently on my arm.
“I’m fine.” I gave my ladies my best reassuring smile. “My dragons are fine, no one got hurt.”
“Then why do you look so worried?” Elisabeth narrowed her pale green eyes at me.
