Happened a while ago during a multiplayer game. I was playing zombies, opponent was playing MBC. My Soulless One went to the yard as a result of lethal damage dealt by an attacker, and he activated Lim-Dûl the Necromancer, targeting it. In response I sacrificed No Rest for the Wicked... and much confusion followed. Who would've gained control of the zombie avatar?
I'm working on a RW rescue deck for Time Spiral Block based on the PC precon, and so far I've had good results with Momentary Blink, backed by two Island and four Terramorphic Expanse.
I'd buy at least two of the theme deck you pick. That way you can cut out the chaff and focus on the actual theme of the deck. Quick suggestion on the decks you're considering:
Really had no idea on what to do with this one, I guess I just replaced the worst card with more copies of the useful cards. It's mostly a creature-based control deck I guess.
Mark Tedin has his own thread on the official forums, which he seems to be replying there. I'd ask nicely over there, seems to be your best chance. Other than that, he might have it on his site, or maybe it'll pop up in an Arcana some day.
Thomas sighed as he made his way up the stairs. The wound in his leg still ached, but alcohol numbed it for the moment. His hands were trembling slightly, an indication of the fact that his body needed something stronger than alcohol. With Tetra tied up in his apartment for the past few days, he hadn’t had much time for Dreaming and it was beginning to affect his body and his mind, warping his perception in very inconvenient ways and causing random lapses in his concentration.
Finally Thomas reached his floor. He couldn’t help but let out a groan when he saw that the door to his apartment was open again. Had Tetra somehow managed to break free and get out? He wouldn’t really mind, considering all the trouble she had caused him over the past few days. Still, if the security patrols somehow traced her back to him… With a weary sigh Thomas stepped inside, only to trip and stumble over a corpse. He went down with a scream. When he looked up he was stunned to find three more corpses littering his living room, along with several expensive automatic weapons. Pale as a ghost he crept further into his apartment, his mind trying to comprehend the situation. Then he heard the sobbing. The sobbing he would recognize anywhere by now.
Tetra was huddled up in the closet again, sobbing quietly. Her arms, face and clothes were covered in a mix of blood and tears. The ropes around her wrists were torn to shreds, although the ones binding her ankles together were still intact. The skin around them was red with friction. It didn’t take Thomas too much effort to put two and two together. It looked like Tetra was right, someone had come for them. Someone with enough firepower to wipe out the entire building it seemed. Finally he knelt down besides Tetra, carefully tapping her on the shoulder, ready to defend himself should she choose to attack. She didn’t. She just remained there, sobbing, completely oblivious to Thomas’s attempts to communicate with her. He shrugged. She could sit there if she wanted, he was getting out of here before anyone else came looking for them.
First he headed over to the secret compartment in the wall, pulling out his Dream machine. He couldn’t tow the entire contraption along, but he detached the ichor tank and stuffed it into a worn courier bag along with his laptop. He thought for a moment before picking up one of the weapons as well. He couldn’t carry it past the security stations at the edges of the district but while there was still the possibility that he was chased by anonymous bad guys wielding the same rifles he didn’t want to be caught off guard. He pulled a fresh clip from one of the men’s belts and replaced the spent one with a dry click. At the sound of the click Tetra snapped from her trance, trembling as she looked at Thomas.
“You… you’re leaving Claudia…”
“Yup, can’t live in an apartment littered with corpses… you’re on your own kid.”
“But… Claudia doesn’t want to be alone… she’s afraid… please take me along, you have to! Please!”
Thomas looked at Tetra and saw she was bordering on hysteria. He bit his lip, considering his options. She was an unstable inhuman monster, but she had also been able to kill four men with her hands and feet tied together. If the people that were after them really were as dangerous as she said they were, Thomas needed all the help he could get, and at the very least she could catch some bullets for him.
“Alright, but you’ll have to clean yourself up first. If those crazy clothes won’t get us arrested, the blood on you will.”
“Will you take me along? Really?”
“I will, now get yourself in the shower and get yourself clean. Afterwards you can get into some clothes from these guys. They’ll be a poor fit but at least you’ll stand out less.”
Tetra nodded, crawling out of her hiding place in the closet. Without warning or shame she ripped her clothes off as she went, catching Thomas completely off guard as she disappeared into the bathroom. He had to shake his head a few times to clear it before pulling together a set of clothes from the corpses, leaving them on the threshold of the bathroom door for Tetra. A few minutes later she emerged, clean and wearing the ill-fitting civilian clothes of the cleaners. She walked over to one of the bodies and stooped down to pick up one of the rifles, only to be stopped by Thomas.
“You already tried to kill me once, I’m not taking any chances. You’re coming unarmed.”
Tetra looked confused. “But… I… I need to defend myself… us…”
“You can defend us with your bare hands, you seem to be good enough at it. If you reach for that gun again I’ll shoot you myself.”
Tetra sighed and hung her head in defeat. “I… I will come unarmed then.”
Thomas nodded, indicating that Tetra should follow him and heading down the stairs. Once they were outside he grabbed her rather roughly by her arm, keeping her pinned besides him as they walked down the street at an even pace. “I’m taking us to a friend’s place, we can hide there. I’ll make up my mind on what to do with you later, right now we just need to get there alive.
Tetra nodded, indicating that she understood. She clamped onto Thomas, partly because she didn’t want them to seem suspicious as they walked down the street, partly because something deep down inside her was desperate for anything that felt even remotely safe. The wind howled through the street as they walked. The feeling of a gun pressing into one side and Tetra pressing into the other made Thomas feel uneasy, and he couldn’t help but occasionally glancing over his shoulder nervously. The streets were mostly quiet, but he doubted it would stay that way for long.
Near the end of the street they turned into a small alley. Apartment buildings towered up on either side, blocking almost all sunlight. As they made their way past heaps of garbage and sleeping homeless persons, the squealing of tires could be heard in the distance. In a quick reflex Thomas reached for his weapon, but Tetra reassured him that it wasn’t a Facility vehicle. Although he wasn’t entirely sure if she was right, Thomas decided to trust her for the moment, realizing that he was probably better off with Tetra on his side than without her for the moment. The smell of garbage smouldering in the afternoon heat made him want to vomit, but his stomach was empty so he didn’t manage more than a few half-hearted retches.
“If you are ill, you should seek shelter soon…”
Thomas looked up at the sound of Tetra’s voice and shook his head. “I’ll be… I’ll be alright. My friend will help me cure myself, and maybe he’ll let you have a turn too…”
“What… what do you mean? I am functioning normally at the moment…”
“You’ll see… you’ll see…”
Tetra sighed and decided not to ask again. She just wanted to be off the streets. There appeared to be plenty of holes they could crawl into, but she had received plenty of instruction on how dangerous the impoverished parts of the city were. Indeed, this very part of the city was rumoured to be so dangerous that suicidal security officials would walk in to get killed so that their families wouldn’t lose the compensation for losing a relative in the line of duty. She couldn’t see anyone, but she could feel that they were being watched by hungry eyes. Goosebumps crawled up her skin and she let out an involuntary shiver. She tried to comfort herself with the thought that she could easily fight off petty criminals and robbers, but she knew that wasn’t their own problem.
Again they turned into an alleyway, this one darker than the one before. Still, Thomas seemed confident enough and she doubted if she had any choice but to stay close to him. At the end of the alley was a door, a large, metallic thing. The green paint was faded and worn, and it looked like it hadn’t been opened in quite a while. Still, when Thomas placed his hand against it and pushed against it it swung inwards with the painful groan of rusty hinges. They were in some sort of stairwell. Tetra could swear she heard echoing footsteps but they were small, scurrying. Thomas made no indication of having heard them but started climbing the stairs.
The stairway to the third floor appeared to be missing entirely, but before Tetra could say anything about it Thomas steered her roughly into a hallway. The scurrying sound got stronger, and by now Tetra was sure Thomas had to hear it too. It seemed to be confirmed in the fact that he was beginning to show small physical signs of discomfort.
“Are you sure this is safe? I can hear-”
“The children, yes, I can hear them too. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, they’ll be docile enough… and if they do start to cause trouble we’ll always have the cannon…”
“Cannon? What are you talking about?”
“What? Oh, of course, the gun under my coat… it’s just a metaphor…”
Tetra nodded a little. She wasn’t sure if Thomas was right about the children being docile, but she was fairly sure that she could handle them if they were just children. Besides, delaying Thomas probably was a bad idea. It had been two hours since she killed the first cleaner and she was sure the Supervisor had taken action by now. She glanced out at the street through a hole in the wall but saw no sign of their typical black vans, or any other kind of vehicle the Facility might use to transport them. It eased her mind just a little. The room beyond the door at the end was cavernous, and much brighter than the hallway beyond it, stretching down to ground level. They had emerged onto a rusty metal walkway that stretched along the wall with no visible means of getting down.
The floor beyond was a chaotic mass of small huts and shacks, composed of all sorts of materials ranging from scraps of wood and cloth to metal plates and even windows with cracked and dirty glass in them. Small shadowy figures darted among them. The centre of the floor was taken up with a building that seemed a bit larger than the rest, and was made entirely of mismatched brickwork. Tetra gazed out, quite amazed by the city within the building. Thomas grinned at her amazement.
“Like it? Welcome to Muripolis, City of Rats.”
As if on cue two dozen children crawled out from their hovels, climbing onto the walls and pillars with no visible effort. Within half a minute they were on the walkway, surrounding Thomas and Tetra. They were dressed in rags, and they all wore some kind of face paint or jewellery that seemed to symbolize the rodents they had named themselves after. Some of the older kids had even made crude attempts at scarring and other permanent forms of modifying their body. They all squatted or crouched, moving as if they hadn’t walked upright in years. Most of them were armed with wicked looking clubs and knives made from chunks of wood, rock or shards of glass. They eyed Thomas and Tetra suspiciously for a few moments before a burly, buck-toothed girl emerged from the throng, idly brandishing what appeared to be a broken baseball bat with several rusty nails driven through it. Thomas did his best attempt at a friendly smile as he sunk to his knees in front of the girl, trying his best to seem harmless as he tried to make eye contact.
“Hello Scipula… think you can offer me and my friend a room for a night or two?”
The girl shook her head. “That’s not for me to decide, you’ll have to ask for the leader. You know the way down…”
Then the girl snapped her fingers, and the children on one side of the walkway parted to let Thomas and Tetra through. As if by magic someone had brought up a worn and frayed rope and tied it to the safety rail that ran along the latticework. Muttering a quick prayer to no god in particular, Thomas grabbed the rope and carefully lowered himself. Once both feet were safely on the floor, he called out for Tetra to do the same.
For her part, the construct simply leapt over the railing. Her enhanced physical structure easily absorbed the impact from the fifteen feet drop, and she dusted herself off lightly. Thomas let out a loud groan. Tetra’s little acrobatic feat hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it would make things a lot more complicated for them. Still, for the moment he had no choice but to make his way to the brick house in the middle of Muripolis and hope for the best.
Part 16
The Supervisor regarded the sterile thing in the middle of the room quietly. He couldn’t help but feel proud of his new creation, the first computer built from a human body, powered by a human mind. The possibilities seemed nearly limitless. In a sense he had invented artificial intelligence, although the word ‘artificial’ didn’t seem entirely appropriate in this case.
Sitting in the centre of the room was a metal cocoon. A glass panel in the door revealed that it was filled with an opaque crimson fluid. Suspended in the middle of it, just barely visible, was what was left of the Doctor, now striped of every inch of tissue not needed to breathe or think. If someone would drain the fluid, all that would be visible was a human torso and head, stripped of all skin and muscle. Simple machines kept the organs stable and active, pumping oxygen and nutrients into the body as needed. The head was relatively untouched, although the nerves leading to the eyes, ears and nose had been severed and a series of sockets had been placed in the back of the head. The surgery needed to put them in place had been so delicate that the Supervisor had decided to place them himself. The Chirurgeon could probably have done it as well, but her attitude towards her work had been less than perfect for the past few days, and denying her this assignment had sent a clear message.
In his mind the Supervisor had playfully codenamed Project #A4120 the Sarcophagus, although he was quite aware of the fact that that name was inaccurate. It was time to see if the thoroughly stripped body and mind of the Doctor would function as they were expected to. If they did, the Supervisor had managed to preserve one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Facility without having to worry about thoughts of treachery. If they didn’t, he would have wasted a marginal amount of time and resources on an educative experiment.
At the point where the Doctor’s spine joined his skull several cables exited the body in a bundle as thick as a human wrist. The cables ran directly into the wall of the Sarcophagus, connecting the Doctor’s brain to a more mundane piece of equipment. Two cables emerged from the back end of the Sarcophagus, snaking across the ceramic tiles and up to a small metallic desk where one disappeared into a monitor and another into a keyboard, both made of the same matte black metal as the sarcophagus.
The Supervisor slowly let his body sink into the chair behind the desk, relishing the moment. He was an inventor at heart, and the feeling of standing on the threshold of a new breakthrough always thrilled him. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to the keyboard. “Initialise Doctor_01”. The green letters shone brightly against the black background. Enter. A small bleep of recognition sounded from a hidden speaker in the back of the monitor. The command send a maelstrom of data back and forth between the monitor and the Sarcophagus.
One by one the lines appeared. Everything seemed to be functioning normally. When the cursor finally appeared, the Supervisor resisted the urge to immediately push his new toy to the limits. In stead he ran the first in a long line of analysis programs. As the hours ticked away line after line, page after page of sensor readings and data analysis rolled past the screen so fast that even the Supervisor had trouble keeping up with it. After about thirty minutes he was convinced that everything seemed to be in order. He shut the Sarcophagus down, deciding that it was time to put work before pleasure. Pentos would have reached Thomas Gaelen’s apartment by now, and he wanted to be there when the first transmissions came in. He needed to know what had happened to his cleaners.
The private elevator whizzed up quietly, taking the Supervisor from his private workspace to his office. He swept in quickly, ignoring a fresh stack of weekly reports that had just been delivered. In stead he turned his attention to his computer terminal, initiating the direct link to Pentos. At once the world opened up to him as viewed through Pentos’ bionic eyes.
He could see the construct as he made his way up the stairs of the apartment building. The wood groaned under his weight. He reached the third floor in a matter of seconds. The door to Thomas Gaelen’s apartment was just slightly ajar. Pentos switched to his infrared vision. There were four bodies inside, glowing a dim blue, indicating that the bodies were slowly cooling down. Thomas and Tetra obviously weren’t there. Still Pentos stepped inside, directed to collect clues that would lead the Facility to their whereabouts.
As he stepped over the bodies Pentos analysed their injuries and damage to the surrounding, quickly reconstructing the brief struggle that had left the four men dead. He came to the conclusion that Tetra had indeed been responsible for the attack. When he had completed his scan of the room he picked up the bodies, carrying them off into the bedroom so that they wouldn’t be found by curious neighbours.
After a quick scan of the room that yielded nothing useful, Pentos went back to search the rest of the apartment. In the bathroom he found what he was looking for, a pile of synthetic silk clothes, the garments that Tetra had been wearing. He tore off a strip and brought it up through his nose, drawing air through a series of artificial membranes that gave his nose the sensitivity of a bloodhound.
With his first objective completed, Pentos waited patiently for his next command from the Facility. The Supervisor wasted no time, immediately ordering Pentos to follow the trail. Pentos replied with perfect obedience, leaving the apartment. As he stood in the hallway he drew in the air, trying to draw out the scent he was looking for. After a few minutes he found it, but it was very faint. Still, it was enough to follow, so Pentos did just that.
Meanwhile, in another room in the Facility, the Chirurgeon let out a long and weary sigh as she tried to force her eyes to focus on the long lines of equations. They disobeyed her. She tried to blame her lack of concentration on the soft piping music playing in the background, but she knew that wasn’t it. Music was the only indulgence she allowed herself, one she kept carefully hidden from the outside world. No. It was the nature of the equations that caused her focus to slip, no matter how hard she tried. Finally she gave up, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, watching the steam as it curled up from the cup of coffee besides her computer monitor. It reminded her of a time long ago, of how she would spend hours staring at the clouds, trying to make out shapes. She was young then, innocent.
The Chirurgeon had lost her innocence long ago. She had done some terrible things in her life. In the name of science… out of loyalty to the Facility… they were still terrible things. Still, until now she managed to rationalize them to the point where she could easily live with them. However, for the past few days she had found herself haunted by guilt. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the Doctor’s face as electricity surged through him, erasing him. He had been a colleague and probably the closest thing to a friend and equal she had ever had, and she had killed him… because he had been foolish and disloyal and because he had done sloppy work. He had been fully aware of the consequences of failure. However, the Chirurgeon had never expected herself to be pushed into the role of executioner. It wasn’t the first time a life had ended under her hands, but this time it left a bad taste in her mouth, a nagging feeling that haunted her even as she closed her eyes and sank into a light and restless sleep. More than ever she felt old, weary, as if time was catching up with her. Time had been catching up with her for quite some time, but for some reason she felt too tired to keep running.
Part 17
Thomas and Tetra walked quickly, trying to ignore the beady eyes that stared at them from all directions. The rats were a curious lot, but also fiercely protective of their territory. It had taken them years to accept Thomas, and now he was bringing in a stranger. Nearly everyone in the city had witnessed Tetra jumping down the fifteen foot drop with seemingly no trouble at all.
The tension Tetra had caused was palpable, but Thomas tried to look as calm as possible. He knew full well that if they chose to, the children could rip them to shreds. Between Tetra and the machine gun they could probably put up quite a fight, but the rats were fully aware of the fact that they had the advantage of sheer numbers. Thomas could only hope that their respect for him and uncertainty about Tetra’s power would keep them at bay, at least until he had spoken to their leader.
Finally they reached their destination, the only building in Muripolis made entirely of bricks. It was larger than the other hovels, although any attempt not to make it look like it was constructed of garbage and rubble like the rest of the buildings had failed miserably. Thomas and Tetra had to stoop low as they entered the child-sized palace, closely followed by the ever vigilant Scipula.
The inside of the building consisted of a single room, about nine feet wide and ten feet across. The room was lit by a few oil lamps and candles that cast flickering shadows on the irregular walls. Mismatched wooden planks were laid out across the floor. One side of the room was covered with a pile of blankets that seemed to be arranged in a crude nest. A low table standing near the far wall was arranged as a desk, complete with several pencil stubs and a stack of papers that contained the rudimentary administration system the rats used to keep track of resources.
Sitting behind the desk was the leader of the rats, a boy only a few years older than most of the children that called him their leader. Still, by their standards he was ancient, as the dangerous and violent lives the children led rarely lasted past the first few years of puberty. A long puckered scar run across the side of his face and all the way down his neck, just one of the many signs that his life hadn’t been every bit as violent as that of the other children.
Nobody knew the name his parents gave him. He had been called Reston by the other rats for as long as he could remember. More than anyone else in the gang he was a survivor, and it was only natural that he succeeded the previous leader when she mysteriously disappeared two years ago. Under his reign Muripolis had thrived. Outside of their territory, the gang had become less violent and more reliant on scavenging for their survival. Their territory itself was fiercely defended however, and any trespassers were usually attacked without warning. By choosing to be aggressive only when their territory was invaded, Reston had ensured that the rats were left mostly alone by the other inhabitants of the poverty-stricken city districts where they made their home.
Thomas had been one of the few strangers he had grudgingly allowed to travel through the rats’ territory. Tetra however was new, and newcomers were usually ‘encouraged’ to leave at their earliest convenience. It was only because of Thomas’ company that she hadn’t already been attacked. Still, unless something was negotiated now the peace wouldn’t last long.
Thomas stepped forward, signalling for Tetra to remain quiet. Just as he was about to speak Reston stood up, his beady eyes regarding him sharply. “She’s an outsider, and you’ve brought her into our city. Give me a good reason not to kill her now, or you for that matter.”
Thomas shrugged sheepishly, realizing that it would require more than just diplomacy to get what he wanted from Reston this time. He shrugged sheepishly as his left hand pulled his coat aside to reveal the weapon he was carrying under it for Reston to see. The boy shifted nervously. “Are you threatening me?”
“Maybe… or maybe I’m offering you payment…”
“Payment for what?”
“Payment for letting us stay inside the city for the next two or three days, for food and water, and for using two Dream machines.”
“You’ll have to come up with something better than that. I suppose the gun will be payment enough for allowing you two to live, but we’ll need more if you’re looking for shelter.”
Thomas nodded as he reached inside his coat. He pulled out a wad of bills, the remainder of the money Tetra had paid him for his work for the Facility. He put it on the table for Renton to count. When he was done he looked up at Thomas, nodding slowly. “Very well, Scipula will take you, but you’ll have to use your own ichor.”
Thomas nodded slowly. “Then it’s settled. You can keep the money, you’ll get the weapon when we leave.”
“I’m warning you Gaelen, you’re threading on thin ice and Scipula has been aching to flex her muscles a bit. Try anything funny, anything at all and I can promise you neither of you will leave our city alive.”
Thomas shrugged inwardly as he left Renton’s lair. Tetra seemed less at ease, and as they followed Scipula she leaned close to Thomas, whispering softly. “How can you trust these… children? They seem violent.”
Thomas nodded slowly, keeping his voice hushed. “They are, but they also have a strong sense of honour. A few years back I saved one of their leaders from a somewhat dangerous situation. Since then they’ve tolerated me in their territory, and occasionally even provided me with tips on cases I’ve been working on in return for food or money. I trust them not to touch us as long as we remain civil…”
Tetra nodded but didn’t seem convinced, even though Thomas seemed to be the only thing she had left to trust. She remained quiet as they followed Scipula, although she couldn’t help but notice that Thomas seemed to be trembling for some reason. Finally they arrived at their dwelling. It was a small tent at the edge of the city, isolated from the other hovels. Tetra and Thomas just barely fitted inside. Scipula told them that food, water and the requested machines would be delivered shortly, and that they were to stay put until then. After she left, Thomas could see the shadow of her broad shoulders cast on the canvas flap that acted as the door.
With a weary sigh Thomas sat down on the floor, which was covered with rough, uneven wooden planks. He closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts, but negotiating with Renton had sapped him of what was left of his mental reserves, and more than anything he wanted to Dream, just for a while, if only to forget his troubles. His muscles were aching, and the cold metal of the weapon he was carrying was pushing uncomfortably into his ribs. He folded his hands tightly together to stop them from trembling. Both his body and his mind ached to be connected to the Dreamweb again, although the desire had never been this painful before. Deep inside he knew that he was standing at the edge of the cliff, one step away from losing himself completely. He knew that he was supposed to care about this somehow, but at the moment he felt incredibly blank about it. He wondered if he should just shoot himself in the face right now, although he doubted if his hands could hold his weapon steady enough.
Then, out of nowhere, he felt something soft brush against his face. It didn’t feel too warm, yet at the same time it was still comforting. Thomas opened his eyes, staring at the slender hand pressed against his cheek. He followed it upwards, along the arm wrapped in the ill-fitting shirt he had stolen from one of the cleaners, until his eyes met Tetra’s. He tried to define the emotion that was showing on her face, but he couldn’t decide whether it was curiosity or concern. He wrapped the fingers of his right hand around her pale wrist and slowly pulled the hand away.
“You are ill… this is not a good place to be ill.”
“I… I’ll be fine… they’ll bring something that’ll fix me…”
“The Dream machine?”
“Dream machines, plural. They’re bringing one for you too…”
“But I am no Dreamer, and I have no desire to become one…”
Thomas laughed hoarsely, a laugh that ended in a wheezing coughing fit. Finally he managed to recover his breath. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on kid… Besides, you said it yourself, you’re malfunctioning. There’s something wrong in that head of yours. The Dreamweb can help you with that… or at least help you forget about it for a while…”
Tetra shook her head slowly. “I was forbidden from using the Dreamweb. It is dangerous and addictive.”
Thomas laughed harshly. “Forbidden? By whom? The same people who are now out there trying to kill you? Kill me? I’d say they wouldn’t really care about whether you still followed their orders or not…”
Tetra opened and closed her mouth several times. She tried to respond, but there was something in Thomas’ voice that struck her deeply. Suddenly she felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and before she realized what was happening she sunk away, sobbing quietly. Thomas let out an annoyed sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you, or Claudia, or whoever it is in there crying. Do you think it’s at all possible for you to keep quiet for just a few more minutes? I’ll make you feel better, I promise…”
Tetra nodded slowly, still sobbing. She wasn’t sure if she was actually going to take Thomas up on his offer, but she didn’t feel like arguing any further. She tried to control herself, not wanting to upset Thomas further. She could only hope that when Thomas had had his chance to use the Dreamweb again, he’d feel better. She had no idea how she was going to survive the city without him.
Part 18
The Supervisor sighed softly as he watched the world through the eyes of Pentos, weighing his options. The trail had ended just a few meters outside of the building. It was too old, and dust and filth were clogging up Pentos’ artificial nose. There were other means of tracking Thomas and Tetra, but he needed to be absolutely sure that Pentos would find them soon. He did not want to keep the prototype in the field longer than absolutely necessary. The construct stood in the shadow, waiting for its next command as the Supervisor weighed his options. He really wanted to recall Pentos, but as long as Tetra was traveling with Thomas the only other way to make sure they could be secured was sending an army after them and the longer they were out there, the greater the risk that they would expose everything.
No, Pentos would have to be the one to look for them. But where? Even though he had managed to keep them confined to one district by spreading their photos to the security patrols that watched the flow of people at the checkpoints that dotted the district’s borders, the place was a festering maze of rapidly decaying buildings and sewer tunnels that had long ago been cut off from the outside world in an attempt to curb the spread of the filth that ran rampant in this area. But it was also a home for many, including Thomas Gaelen, who had undoubtedly been forced to run for his life before. If you survived those streets, you would have places to hide, holes to crawl away in. The records they had on Thomas Gaelen showed no location that qualified. Only one location showed some potential in the continuation of the search. It was a few blocks away, located in one of the few buildings that still remained completely intact. It was an old warehouse. Like all other buildings its legitimate owner had long since abandoned it, but it had kept some of its old spirit of commerce in the many petty merchants that had transformed it into some sort of bizarre mockery of the bazaars of an oriental country from distant history. It was there that Thomas Gaelen received his costumers – people who needed someone or something but were too afraid, too weak or too stupid to look for it themselves.
Pentos set off as soon as the Supervisor gave the command. He walked as fast as he could without drawing attention of bystanders. He could do without unneeded attention for now and his goal was only a few minutes away even at this relatively slow pace. Each man, woman and child he passed was registered and scrutinized by his tactical subroutines, but they were no threats. He would walk right through them if he wasn’t supposed to remain undercover. As he turned into another alley, less than half a mile away from his objective, something in his stride changed. There were things moving about behind the crumbling walls, things that moved like they didn’t want to be heard. They wouldn’t have been heard by human ears. But Pentos could hear them. He heard them scurrying closer, slowly surrounding them. He heard that they were carrying weapons. He heard that they were getting ready to strike. Pentos heard, and so did the Supervisor. He responded with a single command. Ignore them until they attack you, then deal with them quickly, don’t draw attention and don’t leave witnesses.
The command was received and processed. Pentos walked on, waiting for whoever was out there to make their move. He didn’t have to wait long. He wasn’t even halfway down the alley when they made their move, crawling out of various holes and windows to quickly surround them. There were four of them, small figures in rags carrying weapons made of various types of garbage.
“Don’t move, we want money, food, anything of value.”
Pentos responded by calmly walking forward. The children glanced at each other, Pentos’ outward calm unnerving them. When he came within striking range, the girl who had spoken lunged forward with her weapon, a broken bottle mounted on a broomstick. He grabbed her arm, snapping it in three places as he twisted her over his head, flinging her at the nearest target. Her shriek was cut short as they both collided with the nearest wall, landing in a heap of broken flesh. The other two children turned to run, but Pentos was already upon them. The first one barely managed to turn around before Pentos’ boot caught him in the back, driving him to the ground and pulverizing his spine and chest. He picked up the kid’s club, turned around, and hurled it at the last remaining would-be robber, who was running as fast as his legs would carry him to the other end of the alley. It wasn’t fast enough as the wooden weapon caught him squarely in the back of the head. He groaned as he slumped to the ground. With all four attackers immobilized Pentos walked over to the two he had thrown into the wall. They were both dying, bone splinters having shredded their lungs. He turned around, continuing on his way as if nothing happened. On his way out he stepped on the head of the unconscious boy. It caved like a watermelon, and thus Pentos had carried out his orders perfectly. By the end of the alley the blood on the soles of his boots had been rubbed off completely on the asphalt, causing the gory trail of footprints he was leaving to fade away. He detected no other humans in the area, and he walked on like nothing happened.
He reached the bazaar without further interruptions. Unlike most of the area this place was bustling with activity. The building was six stories high, and pretty much every square inch of every floor was filled with shouting merchants with their wares on display on filthy blankets and rickety stalls. Goods were exchanged for money or other goods. The market was regulated by a group of wealthy merchants who kept control by hiring a small army of thugs and positioning them at strategic locations to cast mean looks at the crowd. Several gangs had tried to take over, but all had been pushed back successfully. By staying out of the reach of organized crimes the bazaar had become a community centre of sorts. The only real threat remaining was shoplifting, which was punishable by one broken bone for every item stolen.
Pentos stepped inside, passing two burly men with clubs to enter the main floor of the market place. He, and the Supervisor through his eyes, scanned the area for anybody who could tell him where Thomas Gaelen would be hiding. When he found no-one, he proceeded to the second floor. Again there were only smalltime merchants, most of them selling foodstuffs that just barely passed as edible. The Supervisor sent him up to the third, and then the fourth floor, but still nothing.
On the fifth floor he found what he was looking for. The word ‘management’ had been painted on a large wooden door that was guarded by two large men, both carrying firearms in plain sight. As Pentos approached them the Supervisor activated his voice box. Pentos hadn’t been designed for diplomacy, but he could talk through his mouth when needed. As he came closer to the door both men raised their weapons. The Supervisor responded by making Pentos stop and reach inside his coat, pulling out a large wad of bills that had been put in the coat for just such a situation.
“I’m looking for someone,” he said, not sounding entirely human. Still, the money he was holding was more than enough to make the guards ignore that. They looked at each other and nodded. One turned around and opened the door, ushering Pentos inside. He ducked as he passed through it. The floor of the room beyond was covered in filthy carpeting, an outrageous luxury by local standards. The room itself was dominated by a roughly hewn wooden tables surrounded by mismatched chairs. Three of those chairs were filled at the moment by the richest men in several miles around. They all looked up at the behemoth standing before him, not sure whether to look at the money or at him, just barely reassured by the armed guard standing besides him. To make things easier for them the Supervisor made Pentos toss the bills on the table. One of the merchants reached for it, quickly counting it and then nodding at his colleague who was positioned in at the head of the table.
“That’s a lot of money… what do you hope to buy with it?”
“Information. I’m looking for the detective Thomas Gaelen. He is hiding somewhere within this district, and I want to know where.”
One of the men beckoned for the guard. They exchanged words in a hushed tone that was still quite audible for Pentos. The man asked if Thomas had been seen recently, and the guard responded by saying that he hadn’t been around for nearly two weeks.
“I can tell you where he lives…”
“No, I already checked there. I have reason to believe that he is hiding from some loan sharks. Where would he hide?”
More exchanged whispers. “You could ask around at The Bloodline, it’s a dive that he visits whenever he has money, although I guess that’s not the case now… Your best bet would be the kids, although you’d have to ask pretty hard, they’re a fierce bunch… But I guess that wouldn’t be a problem for a big fellow like you. They hole up in a warehouse a few blocks from here. I’ll give you the address, but I should warn you. They’re survivors, pretty much feral and territorial too, probably too territorial for one man to handle. I’d bring a few friends and plenty of barter, and they like food more than money. You’ll need to be pretty damn persuasive to get them to cooperate though…”
“That won’t be a problem. Just give me the address of The Bloodline and the place of those kids, I’ll look for him there.”
The man beckoned for a pencil and some paper, writing down both addresses before handing it to Pentos. “I take it our business is complete?”
“Yes. Take the money.” With that, Pentos turned around and left the merchants with the cash. The Supervisor sent him out of the market place and towards the Bloodline, deciding that alcoholics would probably be easier to deal with than children.
Part 19
Thomas thanked the girl that brought the dream machines. He carefully laid one of them down on the blanket on the floor. He pointed out every piece and its function. The mask that provided the sensory stimulation. The pump that sent the ichor from the reservoir through the needle and into the bloodstream. The circuitry that provided the Dreams. He explained that they wouldn’t be fully connected to the web, that it’d just be the two of them. He explained how he’d set up a timer to pull them out in time to make sure the experience wouldn’t overwhelm her. She still seemed very uncertain, but his slow and methodical explanation combined with what she had learned at the Facility and general confusion pushed her to go through with it.
“Are… are you sure this will help me?”
“You’re pretty much messed up as it is, aren’t you? One time won’t hurt…”
Tetra hesitated and nodded. Thomas beckoned for her to hold out an arm. She pulled back the overly wide sleeve to reveal the pale skin below. He pulled a strip of cloth out of his pocket and wrapped it tightly around her arm just above her elbow, causing long bluish lines to slowly appear. Thomas held up the needle to the dim light of the bare bulb that was dangling from the low ceiling. Tetra nodded a final time to indicate that she was ready, so Thomas leaned forward and placed the needle against her skin. It slid into the vein slowly. Thomas wasn’t sure if it was the light, but a small trickle, seemingly just a little too dark to be blood flowed out from around the needle. Thomas decided to just ignore it. He helped her into the mask, adjusting the straps to make it as comfortable as possible. When he was finally sure nothing could go wrong he connected himself. To make sure the shift from reality to Dreaming wouldn’t be too harsh on Tetra he counted down slowly. “Three… two… one… start.”
Tetra’s first experience wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as she had expected. There was a brief moment of weightlessness as the mask took over, feeding her nerve system new sensory data. For a split second she saw, heard or felt nothing. Then everything came back to her. She nearly stumbled forward, but even as Thomas made a quick step forward to catch her she readjusted. She looked around, taking her surroundings in slowly. They were standing inside what seemed to be a perfect cube, five meters in each direction. There was light, but no clear source. The walls, floor and ceiling were all the same shade of grey.
“I thought we’d start out slow, see how you do. Try to move around a little.”
Tetra nodded and took a hesitant step, then another. She nodded, surprised at how accurately the Dream device translated her commands to movements. She began to walk more confidently, slowly picking up speed. Soon she was running at a considerable pace. Thomas smiled as he watched her, glad that she had adjusted. Finally she skidded to a halt. As Thomas walked towards her she shifted down into a squatting position, then pushed up with a carefully calculated dose of strength. At the apex of her flight she stretched out her arm, grazing the virtual ceiling with the tip of her index finger before coming back down, landing straight as an arrow on both feet. Thomas clapped his hands slowly in applause.
“That… felt real.”
“It is real if you want it to be. The program we’re in is highly restricted. We won’t be bending the laws of gravity or anything like that. I guess they apply a bit differently to you, but I’d rather be safe either way. Push things too far and you’ll spend the rest of your life as a drooling vegetable. Still, I think you’re ready for something a little more complicated…”
Thomas closed his eyes, and the room around them began to warp. The walls became brickwork and the ceiling and floor became concrete. A table appeared in the middle with a chair placed on either side. A small metal ball was resting on its surface. Thomas motioned for Tetra to sit down on one of the chairs as he sat down on the other. He gave the metal ball a slight push, and it rolled towards Tetra. Unsure of how to respond she let it roll over the edge to land on her lap. Thomas smiled, telling her that she could pick it up. She did so, and as she did she seemed to look very surprised. “This object is… real?”
Thomas smiled knowingly. “Again, only if you want it to be. Go ahead, try it.”
Tetra nodded slowly, holding the ball up to the light and studying its reflection. Then she began throwing it back and forth between her hands, higher and higher. Finally, in a sudden outburst, she took the ball into her right hand and flung it as hard as she could at the brick wall. There was the sound of impact, but the wall seemed unfazed as the projectile fell to the floor. Thomas blinked, trying not to look surprised.
“The program ends at the walls, so you can’t break through them. You get an A for effort though… But enough of this, I think you’re ready to take us somewhere.”
“Take us… somewhere? How?”
“I’ll give you limited control of the program. When I say so, focus on a place where you’d like to take us. I don’t recommend any outdoor settings; they require a lot of concentration which I doubt you’ll manage. Just think of somewhere you’d like to be.”
Tetra nodded slowly, saying she was ready. They stood up, and the room vanished around them. They seemed to be standing in a black void. Tetra had her eyes closed in concentration. She tried to think of a room, the room in which she slept inside the Facility, but something was blocking her attempts. Still, walls, a floor, a ceiling and furniture slowly began to form around them.
They were standing in what looked like a bedroom, although it wasn’t entirely clear if it was meant for a child or an adult. There was a large desk that dominated an entire wall. A laptop was sitting on its surface. It seemed to be the only flat area of the massive piece of furniture that wasn’t covered in piles of books. Thomas turned around slowly, taking in more shelves, most of them also filled with books but others filled with what some children would consider toys; all sorts of brightly coloured puzzles, a small globe, several models of vehicles and animals constructed out of various materials. The whole combination seemed very strange to Thomas.
“Tetra, where have you taken us…?”
“I think… Claudia used to be here… she was safe here…”
“I know. I never left.”
Thomas turned around slowly, not quite believing his ears. There was somebody sitting on the bed. She was small, probably not a day over eleven. She was dressed in what looked like a school uniform. She seemed calm, yet weary at the same time. She was leaning against the wall, hugging her legs against her while resting her chin on her knees. Thomas looked on quietly, completely overwhelmed by the sudden arrival. The girl on the bed was only slightly smaller than Tetra, her hair was longer and tied together in a neat ponytail, and her skin wasn’t nearly as pale. Still, it was pretty obvious who was sitting on that bed, talking to them.
“Hello… Claudia?”
“Hello Thomas, thanks for freeing me… for a little while at least.”
“Freeing you? I’m afraid I have no idea what’s going on right now.”
Claudia smiled softly, a smile that could only belong to someone knowing they were the smartest person in the room. She recited the textbook that Tetra had read. “’…a dose of ichor released into the user’s bloodstream triggered the release of several hormones in the user’s brain…’ I’m afraid I know little more than you do, but my guess is that whatever ichor is doing to my… our brain, has unlocked something. It would help if I knew exactly what happened to me when they started that experiment.”
Thomas nodded slowly. “You were Tetra?”
“I was, until I became a human guinea pig. Tetra is what they built out of the pieces of me I guess… the rest remained locked away somehow… out of their reach… until now…”
Tetra backed away slowly, trembling, somehow managing to look even more pale than she did normally. “You… you are not real… This is virtual…”
“It’s virtual, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. We read the textbook, we heard Thomas’ explanations. They thought they… erased me, but somehow I’m still here. Barely at first… then I began to see and hear… the experiments… the training… The missions…”
Tetra took a step forwards, her face an odd combination of determination and wide-eyed fright. Her hands were clutched tightly into fists, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. “You are the reason I failed. You are the malfunction.”
Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Claudia cut him off. “Technically, I am. I’m what stopped you from killing that night. I’m the one that tried to focus on the music. I’m the one that-”
Before she could finish her sentence Claudia lunged forward, tears of rage in her eyes. Thomas could only just stop her in time by throwing himself directly onto her, driving her to the floor. To his relief she just stared up angrily, but didn’t try to push him off. “She… is… the… malfunction… I… should… remove… her…”
Thomas held onto her firmly despite her lack of resistance. “Let’s not do anything rash now. She’s still part of you, and you could kill yourself if you damage her. You wouldn’t be the first to go brain-dead over doing something stupid in here.”
Claudia had scrambled backwards, looking terrified. “You… you can’t hurt me, I’m you! Please, I can’t help it… I… I just want to be free again…”
“Right, I think we’d better cut our little trip short.” Before Tetra or Claudia could respond, Thomas gave the command that shut both machines down, bringing them both back to reality. He quickly pulled his mask off. Tetra had torn hers off as well, and now she was clawing at her face, her fingernails scratching into her skin to draw out angry red lines that produced droplets of purplish blood. Thomas tried to grab her wrists but she pushed him off. The motion caused the needle to rip loose from her vein. The tear was small, but every heartbeat forced out more artificial blood as she continued to claw at her head and face, sobbing wildly. “Get her out! Get her out! Get… her… out…”
Looks like it won't be a cycle then. Interesting that they decided to make it cheaper than its white counterpart. Guess the green seal was pretty obvious from the art on the minisite.
I suppose running a single copy of Miren wouldn't hurt, just in case I need one or two more turns to set up.
Against straight burn, this deck obviously doesn't stand a chance, but that's a risk you'll always take when playing a deck like this. That's why I like casual. You just take the beating, then ask your opponent for another game using a different deck.
There aren't really any more fling effects I could think of. At six mana the cyclops is not coming down often enough to warrant running four copies. Furthermore, I've considered the Glyph/Wall tactic early on, but walls can't hit back to cause a last few points of damage when needed or swing early to get some points in.
At the moment I'm testing with someone's suggestion of running Mogg Maniac, which would be nasty if my opponent blocks it and I play Righteousness on their blocker...
The idea of the deck is to stay alive until you can set up a lure card, and then pump a blocker with Righteousness or Hold the Line. After the carnage, follow it up with a Fling or similar effect.
This deck won't win consistently, but when it does the surprise effect more than makes up for it. My best play so far: Playing Mono-G beats, I have a Fumiko out, along with 2 Hold the Line tokens and a Lynx. I have 7 mana open. He's at 20, I'm at 6. Due to Fumiko, he swings in with two Fangren Firstborn and an unkickered Kavu Titan. I declare blockers, putting Fumiko in front of the Titan and blocking the Firstborn with my other creatures, before dropping Hold the Line and two Righteousness targeting Fumiko. He looks somewhat stunned as his board is splattered, but still notices the overkill of the double Righteousness. I shrug off his coment and tap my last 2 mana to Fling Fumiko for 27 at the end of his turn.
This is an UW aggro deck that benefits from the large amount of efficient flyers in the current Standard format. It was designed mostly for FnM, so nothing too competetive. The general idea is to swarm in early for as many points of damage, setting up a large Pride to swing for the win. Kira and the countermagic (now there's a band name :p) make for some very hard to kill critters, but even if they do manage to make something go splodey there are usually plenty of critters to fill the gap.
As long as Aragorn, Son of Arathorn remains untapped, prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures you control by black or red sources.
2/3
---
Master Skellum - The dementia master that trained Chainer. Frail of body but able to summon some of the most detailed and powerful nightmares ever seen inside and outside of the pits.
Whenever Blackwolf the Dire attacks, all creatures with power 6 or greater gain "RG: This creature gains double strike until end of turn" until end of turn.
6/5
Jaeger Ojanen, Cat Warrior - Jaeger was the father of Jedit, hailing from the same proud race of tiger warriors. He stood against the armies of Johan with Hazezon Tamar and Adira.
At the end of your upkeep you may search your library for a card with converted mana cost equal to or less than the last payed cumulative upkeep. If you do, shuffle your library.
6/3
Be weary to deal with the Nightwalker my son, for even the smallest boon will cost you more than you could imagine. —Halvor Arenson,
Kjeldoran Priest
---
Jaorahlamath, The Mind Unleashed 2UU
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard
Whenever Jaorahlamath, The Mind Unleashed becomes the target of a spell or ability, you may pay XXX. If you do, draw X cards.
One card I think might be worth considering that I missed in this article is Gallant Cavalry. Two 2/2 bodies with Vigilance for 3W seems like a good deal.
9 Mountain
9 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures:
4 Icatian Javelineers
4 Whitemane Lion
4 Aven Riftwatcher
4 Stonecloaker
4 Calciderm
2 Dust Elemental
2 Stormfront Riders
2 Keldon Marauders
4 Mogg War Marshal
2 Lavacore Elemental
2 Avalanche Riders
2 Sunlace
2 Dead//Gone
2 Brute Force
20 Island
2 Desert
Creatures:
4 Coral Trickster
4 Fathom Seer
4 Riptide Pilferer
2 Willbender
2 Ovinomancer
2 Tidewalker
2 Serendib Sorcerer
2 Shaper Parasite
2 Aeon Chronicler
2 Jodah's Avenger
2 Piracy Charm
2 Pongify
4 Unstable Mutation
4 Ovinize
Thomas sighed as he made his way up the stairs. The wound in his leg still ached, but alcohol numbed it for the moment. His hands were trembling slightly, an indication of the fact that his body needed something stronger than alcohol. With Tetra tied up in his apartment for the past few days, he hadn’t had much time for Dreaming and it was beginning to affect his body and his mind, warping his perception in very inconvenient ways and causing random lapses in his concentration.
Finally Thomas reached his floor. He couldn’t help but let out a groan when he saw that the door to his apartment was open again. Had Tetra somehow managed to break free and get out? He wouldn’t really mind, considering all the trouble she had caused him over the past few days. Still, if the security patrols somehow traced her back to him… With a weary sigh Thomas stepped inside, only to trip and stumble over a corpse. He went down with a scream. When he looked up he was stunned to find three more corpses littering his living room, along with several expensive automatic weapons. Pale as a ghost he crept further into his apartment, his mind trying to comprehend the situation. Then he heard the sobbing. The sobbing he would recognize anywhere by now.
Tetra was huddled up in the closet again, sobbing quietly. Her arms, face and clothes were covered in a mix of blood and tears. The ropes around her wrists were torn to shreds, although the ones binding her ankles together were still intact. The skin around them was red with friction. It didn’t take Thomas too much effort to put two and two together. It looked like Tetra was right, someone had come for them. Someone with enough firepower to wipe out the entire building it seemed. Finally he knelt down besides Tetra, carefully tapping her on the shoulder, ready to defend himself should she choose to attack. She didn’t. She just remained there, sobbing, completely oblivious to Thomas’s attempts to communicate with her. He shrugged. She could sit there if she wanted, he was getting out of here before anyone else came looking for them.
First he headed over to the secret compartment in the wall, pulling out his Dream machine. He couldn’t tow the entire contraption along, but he detached the ichor tank and stuffed it into a worn courier bag along with his laptop. He thought for a moment before picking up one of the weapons as well. He couldn’t carry it past the security stations at the edges of the district but while there was still the possibility that he was chased by anonymous bad guys wielding the same rifles he didn’t want to be caught off guard. He pulled a fresh clip from one of the men’s belts and replaced the spent one with a dry click. At the sound of the click Tetra snapped from her trance, trembling as she looked at Thomas.
“You… you’re leaving Claudia…”
“Yup, can’t live in an apartment littered with corpses… you’re on your own kid.”
“But… Claudia doesn’t want to be alone… she’s afraid… please take me along, you have to! Please!”
Thomas looked at Tetra and saw she was bordering on hysteria. He bit his lip, considering his options. She was an unstable inhuman monster, but she had also been able to kill four men with her hands and feet tied together. If the people that were after them really were as dangerous as she said they were, Thomas needed all the help he could get, and at the very least she could catch some bullets for him.
“Alright, but you’ll have to clean yourself up first. If those crazy clothes won’t get us arrested, the blood on you will.”
“Will you take me along? Really?”
“I will, now get yourself in the shower and get yourself clean. Afterwards you can get into some clothes from these guys. They’ll be a poor fit but at least you’ll stand out less.”
Tetra nodded, crawling out of her hiding place in the closet. Without warning or shame she ripped her clothes off as she went, catching Thomas completely off guard as she disappeared into the bathroom. He had to shake his head a few times to clear it before pulling together a set of clothes from the corpses, leaving them on the threshold of the bathroom door for Tetra. A few minutes later she emerged, clean and wearing the ill-fitting civilian clothes of the cleaners. She walked over to one of the bodies and stooped down to pick up one of the rifles, only to be stopped by Thomas.
“You already tried to kill me once, I’m not taking any chances. You’re coming unarmed.”
Tetra looked confused. “But… I… I need to defend myself… us…”
“You can defend us with your bare hands, you seem to be good enough at it. If you reach for that gun again I’ll shoot you myself.”
Tetra sighed and hung her head in defeat. “I… I will come unarmed then.”
Thomas nodded, indicating that Tetra should follow him and heading down the stairs. Once they were outside he grabbed her rather roughly by her arm, keeping her pinned besides him as they walked down the street at an even pace. “I’m taking us to a friend’s place, we can hide there. I’ll make up my mind on what to do with you later, right now we just need to get there alive.
Tetra nodded, indicating that she understood. She clamped onto Thomas, partly because she didn’t want them to seem suspicious as they walked down the street, partly because something deep down inside her was desperate for anything that felt even remotely safe. The wind howled through the street as they walked. The feeling of a gun pressing into one side and Tetra pressing into the other made Thomas feel uneasy, and he couldn’t help but occasionally glancing over his shoulder nervously. The streets were mostly quiet, but he doubted it would stay that way for long.
Near the end of the street they turned into a small alley. Apartment buildings towered up on either side, blocking almost all sunlight. As they made their way past heaps of garbage and sleeping homeless persons, the squealing of tires could be heard in the distance. In a quick reflex Thomas reached for his weapon, but Tetra reassured him that it wasn’t a Facility vehicle. Although he wasn’t entirely sure if she was right, Thomas decided to trust her for the moment, realizing that he was probably better off with Tetra on his side than without her for the moment. The smell of garbage smouldering in the afternoon heat made him want to vomit, but his stomach was empty so he didn’t manage more than a few half-hearted retches.
“If you are ill, you should seek shelter soon…”
Thomas looked up at the sound of Tetra’s voice and shook his head. “I’ll be… I’ll be alright. My friend will help me cure myself, and maybe he’ll let you have a turn too…”
“What… what do you mean? I am functioning normally at the moment…”
“You’ll see… you’ll see…”
Tetra sighed and decided not to ask again. She just wanted to be off the streets. There appeared to be plenty of holes they could crawl into, but she had received plenty of instruction on how dangerous the impoverished parts of the city were. Indeed, this very part of the city was rumoured to be so dangerous that suicidal security officials would walk in to get killed so that their families wouldn’t lose the compensation for losing a relative in the line of duty. She couldn’t see anyone, but she could feel that they were being watched by hungry eyes. Goosebumps crawled up her skin and she let out an involuntary shiver. She tried to comfort herself with the thought that she could easily fight off petty criminals and robbers, but she knew that wasn’t their own problem.
Again they turned into an alleyway, this one darker than the one before. Still, Thomas seemed confident enough and she doubted if she had any choice but to stay close to him. At the end of the alley was a door, a large, metallic thing. The green paint was faded and worn, and it looked like it hadn’t been opened in quite a while. Still, when Thomas placed his hand against it and pushed against it it swung inwards with the painful groan of rusty hinges. They were in some sort of stairwell. Tetra could swear she heard echoing footsteps but they were small, scurrying. Thomas made no indication of having heard them but started climbing the stairs.
The stairway to the third floor appeared to be missing entirely, but before Tetra could say anything about it Thomas steered her roughly into a hallway. The scurrying sound got stronger, and by now Tetra was sure Thomas had to hear it too. It seemed to be confirmed in the fact that he was beginning to show small physical signs of discomfort.
“Are you sure this is safe? I can hear-”
“The children, yes, I can hear them too. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, they’ll be docile enough… and if they do start to cause trouble we’ll always have the cannon…”
“Cannon? What are you talking about?”
“What? Oh, of course, the gun under my coat… it’s just a metaphor…”
Tetra nodded a little. She wasn’t sure if Thomas was right about the children being docile, but she was fairly sure that she could handle them if they were just children. Besides, delaying Thomas probably was a bad idea. It had been two hours since she killed the first cleaner and she was sure the Supervisor had taken action by now. She glanced out at the street through a hole in the wall but saw no sign of their typical black vans, or any other kind of vehicle the Facility might use to transport them. It eased her mind just a little. The room beyond the door at the end was cavernous, and much brighter than the hallway beyond it, stretching down to ground level. They had emerged onto a rusty metal walkway that stretched along the wall with no visible means of getting down.
The floor beyond was a chaotic mass of small huts and shacks, composed of all sorts of materials ranging from scraps of wood and cloth to metal plates and even windows with cracked and dirty glass in them. Small shadowy figures darted among them. The centre of the floor was taken up with a building that seemed a bit larger than the rest, and was made entirely of mismatched brickwork. Tetra gazed out, quite amazed by the city within the building. Thomas grinned at her amazement.
“Like it? Welcome to Muripolis, City of Rats.”
As if on cue two dozen children crawled out from their hovels, climbing onto the walls and pillars with no visible effort. Within half a minute they were on the walkway, surrounding Thomas and Tetra. They were dressed in rags, and they all wore some kind of face paint or jewellery that seemed to symbolize the rodents they had named themselves after. Some of the older kids had even made crude attempts at scarring and other permanent forms of modifying their body. They all squatted or crouched, moving as if they hadn’t walked upright in years. Most of them were armed with wicked looking clubs and knives made from chunks of wood, rock or shards of glass. They eyed Thomas and Tetra suspiciously for a few moments before a burly, buck-toothed girl emerged from the throng, idly brandishing what appeared to be a broken baseball bat with several rusty nails driven through it. Thomas did his best attempt at a friendly smile as he sunk to his knees in front of the girl, trying his best to seem harmless as he tried to make eye contact.
“Hello Scipula… think you can offer me and my friend a room for a night or two?”
The girl shook her head. “That’s not for me to decide, you’ll have to ask for the leader. You know the way down…”
Then the girl snapped her fingers, and the children on one side of the walkway parted to let Thomas and Tetra through. As if by magic someone had brought up a worn and frayed rope and tied it to the safety rail that ran along the latticework. Muttering a quick prayer to no god in particular, Thomas grabbed the rope and carefully lowered himself. Once both feet were safely on the floor, he called out for Tetra to do the same.
For her part, the construct simply leapt over the railing. Her enhanced physical structure easily absorbed the impact from the fifteen feet drop, and she dusted herself off lightly. Thomas let out a loud groan. Tetra’s little acrobatic feat hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it would make things a lot more complicated for them. Still, for the moment he had no choice but to make his way to the brick house in the middle of Muripolis and hope for the best.
Part 16
The Supervisor regarded the sterile thing in the middle of the room quietly. He couldn’t help but feel proud of his new creation, the first computer built from a human body, powered by a human mind. The possibilities seemed nearly limitless. In a sense he had invented artificial intelligence, although the word ‘artificial’ didn’t seem entirely appropriate in this case.
Sitting in the centre of the room was a metal cocoon. A glass panel in the door revealed that it was filled with an opaque crimson fluid. Suspended in the middle of it, just barely visible, was what was left of the Doctor, now striped of every inch of tissue not needed to breathe or think. If someone would drain the fluid, all that would be visible was a human torso and head, stripped of all skin and muscle. Simple machines kept the organs stable and active, pumping oxygen and nutrients into the body as needed. The head was relatively untouched, although the nerves leading to the eyes, ears and nose had been severed and a series of sockets had been placed in the back of the head. The surgery needed to put them in place had been so delicate that the Supervisor had decided to place them himself. The Chirurgeon could probably have done it as well, but her attitude towards her work had been less than perfect for the past few days, and denying her this assignment had sent a clear message.
In his mind the Supervisor had playfully codenamed Project #A4120 the Sarcophagus, although he was quite aware of the fact that that name was inaccurate. It was time to see if the thoroughly stripped body and mind of the Doctor would function as they were expected to. If they did, the Supervisor had managed to preserve one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Facility without having to worry about thoughts of treachery. If they didn’t, he would have wasted a marginal amount of time and resources on an educative experiment.
At the point where the Doctor’s spine joined his skull several cables exited the body in a bundle as thick as a human wrist. The cables ran directly into the wall of the Sarcophagus, connecting the Doctor’s brain to a more mundane piece of equipment. Two cables emerged from the back end of the Sarcophagus, snaking across the ceramic tiles and up to a small metallic desk where one disappeared into a monitor and another into a keyboard, both made of the same matte black metal as the sarcophagus.
The Supervisor slowly let his body sink into the chair behind the desk, relishing the moment. He was an inventor at heart, and the feeling of standing on the threshold of a new breakthrough always thrilled him. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to the keyboard. “Initialise Doctor_01”. The green letters shone brightly against the black background. Enter. A small bleep of recognition sounded from a hidden speaker in the back of the monitor. The command send a maelstrom of data back and forth between the monitor and the Sarcophagus.
Doctor_01 initialised.
Vital signs stable.
Neural patterns stable.
Loading command protocols ………… Command protocols loaded.
One by one the lines appeared. Everything seemed to be functioning normally. When the cursor finally appeared, the Supervisor resisted the urge to immediately push his new toy to the limits. In stead he ran the first in a long line of analysis programs. As the hours ticked away line after line, page after page of sensor readings and data analysis rolled past the screen so fast that even the Supervisor had trouble keeping up with it. After about thirty minutes he was convinced that everything seemed to be in order. He shut the Sarcophagus down, deciding that it was time to put work before pleasure. Pentos would have reached Thomas Gaelen’s apartment by now, and he wanted to be there when the first transmissions came in. He needed to know what had happened to his cleaners.
The private elevator whizzed up quietly, taking the Supervisor from his private workspace to his office. He swept in quickly, ignoring a fresh stack of weekly reports that had just been delivered. In stead he turned his attention to his computer terminal, initiating the direct link to Pentos. At once the world opened up to him as viewed through Pentos’ bionic eyes.
He could see the construct as he made his way up the stairs of the apartment building. The wood groaned under his weight. He reached the third floor in a matter of seconds. The door to Thomas Gaelen’s apartment was just slightly ajar. Pentos switched to his infrared vision. There were four bodies inside, glowing a dim blue, indicating that the bodies were slowly cooling down. Thomas and Tetra obviously weren’t there. Still Pentos stepped inside, directed to collect clues that would lead the Facility to their whereabouts.
As he stepped over the bodies Pentos analysed their injuries and damage to the surrounding, quickly reconstructing the brief struggle that had left the four men dead. He came to the conclusion that Tetra had indeed been responsible for the attack. When he had completed his scan of the room he picked up the bodies, carrying them off into the bedroom so that they wouldn’t be found by curious neighbours.
After a quick scan of the room that yielded nothing useful, Pentos went back to search the rest of the apartment. In the bathroom he found what he was looking for, a pile of synthetic silk clothes, the garments that Tetra had been wearing. He tore off a strip and brought it up through his nose, drawing air through a series of artificial membranes that gave his nose the sensitivity of a bloodhound.
With his first objective completed, Pentos waited patiently for his next command from the Facility. The Supervisor wasted no time, immediately ordering Pentos to follow the trail. Pentos replied with perfect obedience, leaving the apartment. As he stood in the hallway he drew in the air, trying to draw out the scent he was looking for. After a few minutes he found it, but it was very faint. Still, it was enough to follow, so Pentos did just that.
Meanwhile, in another room in the Facility, the Chirurgeon let out a long and weary sigh as she tried to force her eyes to focus on the long lines of equations. They disobeyed her. She tried to blame her lack of concentration on the soft piping music playing in the background, but she knew that wasn’t it. Music was the only indulgence she allowed herself, one she kept carefully hidden from the outside world. No. It was the nature of the equations that caused her focus to slip, no matter how hard she tried. Finally she gave up, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, watching the steam as it curled up from the cup of coffee besides her computer monitor. It reminded her of a time long ago, of how she would spend hours staring at the clouds, trying to make out shapes. She was young then, innocent.
The Chirurgeon had lost her innocence long ago. She had done some terrible things in her life. In the name of science… out of loyalty to the Facility… they were still terrible things. Still, until now she managed to rationalize them to the point where she could easily live with them. However, for the past few days she had found herself haunted by guilt. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the Doctor’s face as electricity surged through him, erasing him. He had been a colleague and probably the closest thing to a friend and equal she had ever had, and she had killed him… because he had been foolish and disloyal and because he had done sloppy work. He had been fully aware of the consequences of failure. However, the Chirurgeon had never expected herself to be pushed into the role of executioner. It wasn’t the first time a life had ended under her hands, but this time it left a bad taste in her mouth, a nagging feeling that haunted her even as she closed her eyes and sank into a light and restless sleep. More than ever she felt old, weary, as if time was catching up with her. Time had been catching up with her for quite some time, but for some reason she felt too tired to keep running.
Part 17
Thomas and Tetra walked quickly, trying to ignore the beady eyes that stared at them from all directions. The rats were a curious lot, but also fiercely protective of their territory. It had taken them years to accept Thomas, and now he was bringing in a stranger. Nearly everyone in the city had witnessed Tetra jumping down the fifteen foot drop with seemingly no trouble at all.
The tension Tetra had caused was palpable, but Thomas tried to look as calm as possible. He knew full well that if they chose to, the children could rip them to shreds. Between Tetra and the machine gun they could probably put up quite a fight, but the rats were fully aware of the fact that they had the advantage of sheer numbers. Thomas could only hope that their respect for him and uncertainty about Tetra’s power would keep them at bay, at least until he had spoken to their leader.
Finally they reached their destination, the only building in Muripolis made entirely of bricks. It was larger than the other hovels, although any attempt not to make it look like it was constructed of garbage and rubble like the rest of the buildings had failed miserably. Thomas and Tetra had to stoop low as they entered the child-sized palace, closely followed by the ever vigilant Scipula.
The inside of the building consisted of a single room, about nine feet wide and ten feet across. The room was lit by a few oil lamps and candles that cast flickering shadows on the irregular walls. Mismatched wooden planks were laid out across the floor. One side of the room was covered with a pile of blankets that seemed to be arranged in a crude nest. A low table standing near the far wall was arranged as a desk, complete with several pencil stubs and a stack of papers that contained the rudimentary administration system the rats used to keep track of resources.
Sitting behind the desk was the leader of the rats, a boy only a few years older than most of the children that called him their leader. Still, by their standards he was ancient, as the dangerous and violent lives the children led rarely lasted past the first few years of puberty. A long puckered scar run across the side of his face and all the way down his neck, just one of the many signs that his life hadn’t been every bit as violent as that of the other children.
Nobody knew the name his parents gave him. He had been called Reston by the other rats for as long as he could remember. More than anyone else in the gang he was a survivor, and it was only natural that he succeeded the previous leader when she mysteriously disappeared two years ago. Under his reign Muripolis had thrived. Outside of their territory, the gang had become less violent and more reliant on scavenging for their survival. Their territory itself was fiercely defended however, and any trespassers were usually attacked without warning. By choosing to be aggressive only when their territory was invaded, Reston had ensured that the rats were left mostly alone by the other inhabitants of the poverty-stricken city districts where they made their home.
Thomas had been one of the few strangers he had grudgingly allowed to travel through the rats’ territory. Tetra however was new, and newcomers were usually ‘encouraged’ to leave at their earliest convenience. It was only because of Thomas’ company that she hadn’t already been attacked. Still, unless something was negotiated now the peace wouldn’t last long.
Thomas stepped forward, signalling for Tetra to remain quiet. Just as he was about to speak Reston stood up, his beady eyes regarding him sharply. “She’s an outsider, and you’ve brought her into our city. Give me a good reason not to kill her now, or you for that matter.”
Thomas shrugged sheepishly, realizing that it would require more than just diplomacy to get what he wanted from Reston this time. He shrugged sheepishly as his left hand pulled his coat aside to reveal the weapon he was carrying under it for Reston to see. The boy shifted nervously. “Are you threatening me?”
“Maybe… or maybe I’m offering you payment…”
“Payment for what?”
“Payment for letting us stay inside the city for the next two or three days, for food and water, and for using two Dream machines.”
“You’ll have to come up with something better than that. I suppose the gun will be payment enough for allowing you two to live, but we’ll need more if you’re looking for shelter.”
Thomas nodded as he reached inside his coat. He pulled out a wad of bills, the remainder of the money Tetra had paid him for his work for the Facility. He put it on the table for Renton to count. When he was done he looked up at Thomas, nodding slowly. “Very well, Scipula will take you, but you’ll have to use your own ichor.”
Thomas nodded slowly. “Then it’s settled. You can keep the money, you’ll get the weapon when we leave.”
“I’m warning you Gaelen, you’re threading on thin ice and Scipula has been aching to flex her muscles a bit. Try anything funny, anything at all and I can promise you neither of you will leave our city alive.”
Thomas shrugged inwardly as he left Renton’s lair. Tetra seemed less at ease, and as they followed Scipula she leaned close to Thomas, whispering softly. “How can you trust these… children? They seem violent.”
Thomas nodded slowly, keeping his voice hushed. “They are, but they also have a strong sense of honour. A few years back I saved one of their leaders from a somewhat dangerous situation. Since then they’ve tolerated me in their territory, and occasionally even provided me with tips on cases I’ve been working on in return for food or money. I trust them not to touch us as long as we remain civil…”
Tetra nodded but didn’t seem convinced, even though Thomas seemed to be the only thing she had left to trust. She remained quiet as they followed Scipula, although she couldn’t help but notice that Thomas seemed to be trembling for some reason. Finally they arrived at their dwelling. It was a small tent at the edge of the city, isolated from the other hovels. Tetra and Thomas just barely fitted inside. Scipula told them that food, water and the requested machines would be delivered shortly, and that they were to stay put until then. After she left, Thomas could see the shadow of her broad shoulders cast on the canvas flap that acted as the door.
With a weary sigh Thomas sat down on the floor, which was covered with rough, uneven wooden planks. He closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts, but negotiating with Renton had sapped him of what was left of his mental reserves, and more than anything he wanted to Dream, just for a while, if only to forget his troubles. His muscles were aching, and the cold metal of the weapon he was carrying was pushing uncomfortably into his ribs. He folded his hands tightly together to stop them from trembling. Both his body and his mind ached to be connected to the Dreamweb again, although the desire had never been this painful before. Deep inside he knew that he was standing at the edge of the cliff, one step away from losing himself completely. He knew that he was supposed to care about this somehow, but at the moment he felt incredibly blank about it. He wondered if he should just shoot himself in the face right now, although he doubted if his hands could hold his weapon steady enough.
Then, out of nowhere, he felt something soft brush against his face. It didn’t feel too warm, yet at the same time it was still comforting. Thomas opened his eyes, staring at the slender hand pressed against his cheek. He followed it upwards, along the arm wrapped in the ill-fitting shirt he had stolen from one of the cleaners, until his eyes met Tetra’s. He tried to define the emotion that was showing on her face, but he couldn’t decide whether it was curiosity or concern. He wrapped the fingers of his right hand around her pale wrist and slowly pulled the hand away.
“You are ill… this is not a good place to be ill.”
“I… I’ll be fine… they’ll bring something that’ll fix me…”
“The Dream machine?”
“Dream machines, plural. They’re bringing one for you too…”
“But I am no Dreamer, and I have no desire to become one…”
Thomas laughed hoarsely, a laugh that ended in a wheezing coughing fit. Finally he managed to recover his breath. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on kid… Besides, you said it yourself, you’re malfunctioning. There’s something wrong in that head of yours. The Dreamweb can help you with that… or at least help you forget about it for a while…”
Tetra shook her head slowly. “I was forbidden from using the Dreamweb. It is dangerous and addictive.”
Thomas laughed harshly. “Forbidden? By whom? The same people who are now out there trying to kill you? Kill me? I’d say they wouldn’t really care about whether you still followed their orders or not…”
Tetra opened and closed her mouth several times. She tried to respond, but there was something in Thomas’ voice that struck her deeply. Suddenly she felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and before she realized what was happening she sunk away, sobbing quietly. Thomas let out an annoyed sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you, or Claudia, or whoever it is in there crying. Do you think it’s at all possible for you to keep quiet for just a few more minutes? I’ll make you feel better, I promise…”
Tetra nodded slowly, still sobbing. She wasn’t sure if she was actually going to take Thomas up on his offer, but she didn’t feel like arguing any further. She tried to control herself, not wanting to upset Thomas further. She could only hope that when Thomas had had his chance to use the Dreamweb again, he’d feel better. She had no idea how she was going to survive the city without him.
Part 18
The Supervisor sighed softly as he watched the world through the eyes of Pentos, weighing his options. The trail had ended just a few meters outside of the building. It was too old, and dust and filth were clogging up Pentos’ artificial nose. There were other means of tracking Thomas and Tetra, but he needed to be absolutely sure that Pentos would find them soon. He did not want to keep the prototype in the field longer than absolutely necessary. The construct stood in the shadow, waiting for its next command as the Supervisor weighed his options. He really wanted to recall Pentos, but as long as Tetra was traveling with Thomas the only other way to make sure they could be secured was sending an army after them and the longer they were out there, the greater the risk that they would expose everything.
No, Pentos would have to be the one to look for them. But where? Even though he had managed to keep them confined to one district by spreading their photos to the security patrols that watched the flow of people at the checkpoints that dotted the district’s borders, the place was a festering maze of rapidly decaying buildings and sewer tunnels that had long ago been cut off from the outside world in an attempt to curb the spread of the filth that ran rampant in this area. But it was also a home for many, including Thomas Gaelen, who had undoubtedly been forced to run for his life before. If you survived those streets, you would have places to hide, holes to crawl away in. The records they had on Thomas Gaelen showed no location that qualified. Only one location showed some potential in the continuation of the search. It was a few blocks away, located in one of the few buildings that still remained completely intact. It was an old warehouse. Like all other buildings its legitimate owner had long since abandoned it, but it had kept some of its old spirit of commerce in the many petty merchants that had transformed it into some sort of bizarre mockery of the bazaars of an oriental country from distant history. It was there that Thomas Gaelen received his costumers – people who needed someone or something but were too afraid, too weak or too stupid to look for it themselves.
Pentos set off as soon as the Supervisor gave the command. He walked as fast as he could without drawing attention of bystanders. He could do without unneeded attention for now and his goal was only a few minutes away even at this relatively slow pace. Each man, woman and child he passed was registered and scrutinized by his tactical subroutines, but they were no threats. He would walk right through them if he wasn’t supposed to remain undercover. As he turned into another alley, less than half a mile away from his objective, something in his stride changed. There were things moving about behind the crumbling walls, things that moved like they didn’t want to be heard. They wouldn’t have been heard by human ears. But Pentos could hear them. He heard them scurrying closer, slowly surrounding them. He heard that they were carrying weapons. He heard that they were getting ready to strike. Pentos heard, and so did the Supervisor. He responded with a single command. Ignore them until they attack you, then deal with them quickly, don’t draw attention and don’t leave witnesses.
The command was received and processed. Pentos walked on, waiting for whoever was out there to make their move. He didn’t have to wait long. He wasn’t even halfway down the alley when they made their move, crawling out of various holes and windows to quickly surround them. There were four of them, small figures in rags carrying weapons made of various types of garbage.
“Don’t move, we want money, food, anything of value.”
Pentos responded by calmly walking forward. The children glanced at each other, Pentos’ outward calm unnerving them. When he came within striking range, the girl who had spoken lunged forward with her weapon, a broken bottle mounted on a broomstick. He grabbed her arm, snapping it in three places as he twisted her over his head, flinging her at the nearest target. Her shriek was cut short as they both collided with the nearest wall, landing in a heap of broken flesh. The other two children turned to run, but Pentos was already upon them. The first one barely managed to turn around before Pentos’ boot caught him in the back, driving him to the ground and pulverizing his spine and chest. He picked up the kid’s club, turned around, and hurled it at the last remaining would-be robber, who was running as fast as his legs would carry him to the other end of the alley. It wasn’t fast enough as the wooden weapon caught him squarely in the back of the head. He groaned as he slumped to the ground. With all four attackers immobilized Pentos walked over to the two he had thrown into the wall. They were both dying, bone splinters having shredded their lungs. He turned around, continuing on his way as if nothing happened. On his way out he stepped on the head of the unconscious boy. It caved like a watermelon, and thus Pentos had carried out his orders perfectly. By the end of the alley the blood on the soles of his boots had been rubbed off completely on the asphalt, causing the gory trail of footprints he was leaving to fade away. He detected no other humans in the area, and he walked on like nothing happened.
He reached the bazaar without further interruptions. Unlike most of the area this place was bustling with activity. The building was six stories high, and pretty much every square inch of every floor was filled with shouting merchants with their wares on display on filthy blankets and rickety stalls. Goods were exchanged for money or other goods. The market was regulated by a group of wealthy merchants who kept control by hiring a small army of thugs and positioning them at strategic locations to cast mean looks at the crowd. Several gangs had tried to take over, but all had been pushed back successfully. By staying out of the reach of organized crimes the bazaar had become a community centre of sorts. The only real threat remaining was shoplifting, which was punishable by one broken bone for every item stolen.
Pentos stepped inside, passing two burly men with clubs to enter the main floor of the market place. He, and the Supervisor through his eyes, scanned the area for anybody who could tell him where Thomas Gaelen would be hiding. When he found no-one, he proceeded to the second floor. Again there were only smalltime merchants, most of them selling foodstuffs that just barely passed as edible. The Supervisor sent him up to the third, and then the fourth floor, but still nothing.
On the fifth floor he found what he was looking for. The word ‘management’ had been painted on a large wooden door that was guarded by two large men, both carrying firearms in plain sight. As Pentos approached them the Supervisor activated his voice box. Pentos hadn’t been designed for diplomacy, but he could talk through his mouth when needed. As he came closer to the door both men raised their weapons. The Supervisor responded by making Pentos stop and reach inside his coat, pulling out a large wad of bills that had been put in the coat for just such a situation.
“I’m looking for someone,” he said, not sounding entirely human. Still, the money he was holding was more than enough to make the guards ignore that. They looked at each other and nodded. One turned around and opened the door, ushering Pentos inside. He ducked as he passed through it. The floor of the room beyond was covered in filthy carpeting, an outrageous luxury by local standards. The room itself was dominated by a roughly hewn wooden tables surrounded by mismatched chairs. Three of those chairs were filled at the moment by the richest men in several miles around. They all looked up at the behemoth standing before him, not sure whether to look at the money or at him, just barely reassured by the armed guard standing besides him. To make things easier for them the Supervisor made Pentos toss the bills on the table. One of the merchants reached for it, quickly counting it and then nodding at his colleague who was positioned in at the head of the table.
“That’s a lot of money… what do you hope to buy with it?”
“Information. I’m looking for the detective Thomas Gaelen. He is hiding somewhere within this district, and I want to know where.”
One of the men beckoned for the guard. They exchanged words in a hushed tone that was still quite audible for Pentos. The man asked if Thomas had been seen recently, and the guard responded by saying that he hadn’t been around for nearly two weeks.
“I can tell you where he lives…”
“No, I already checked there. I have reason to believe that he is hiding from some loan sharks. Where would he hide?”
More exchanged whispers. “You could ask around at The Bloodline, it’s a dive that he visits whenever he has money, although I guess that’s not the case now… Your best bet would be the kids, although you’d have to ask pretty hard, they’re a fierce bunch… But I guess that wouldn’t be a problem for a big fellow like you. They hole up in a warehouse a few blocks from here. I’ll give you the address, but I should warn you. They’re survivors, pretty much feral and territorial too, probably too territorial for one man to handle. I’d bring a few friends and plenty of barter, and they like food more than money. You’ll need to be pretty damn persuasive to get them to cooperate though…”
“That won’t be a problem. Just give me the address of The Bloodline and the place of those kids, I’ll look for him there.”
The man beckoned for a pencil and some paper, writing down both addresses before handing it to Pentos. “I take it our business is complete?”
“Yes. Take the money.” With that, Pentos turned around and left the merchants with the cash. The Supervisor sent him out of the market place and towards the Bloodline, deciding that alcoholics would probably be easier to deal with than children.
Part 19
Thomas thanked the girl that brought the dream machines. He carefully laid one of them down on the blanket on the floor. He pointed out every piece and its function. The mask that provided the sensory stimulation. The pump that sent the ichor from the reservoir through the needle and into the bloodstream. The circuitry that provided the Dreams. He explained that they wouldn’t be fully connected to the web, that it’d just be the two of them. He explained how he’d set up a timer to pull them out in time to make sure the experience wouldn’t overwhelm her. She still seemed very uncertain, but his slow and methodical explanation combined with what she had learned at the Facility and general confusion pushed her to go through with it.
“Are… are you sure this will help me?”
“You’re pretty much messed up as it is, aren’t you? One time won’t hurt…”
Tetra hesitated and nodded. Thomas beckoned for her to hold out an arm. She pulled back the overly wide sleeve to reveal the pale skin below. He pulled a strip of cloth out of his pocket and wrapped it tightly around her arm just above her elbow, causing long bluish lines to slowly appear. Thomas held up the needle to the dim light of the bare bulb that was dangling from the low ceiling. Tetra nodded a final time to indicate that she was ready, so Thomas leaned forward and placed the needle against her skin. It slid into the vein slowly. Thomas wasn’t sure if it was the light, but a small trickle, seemingly just a little too dark to be blood flowed out from around the needle. Thomas decided to just ignore it. He helped her into the mask, adjusting the straps to make it as comfortable as possible. When he was finally sure nothing could go wrong he connected himself. To make sure the shift from reality to Dreaming wouldn’t be too harsh on Tetra he counted down slowly. “Three… two… one… start.”
Tetra’s first experience wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as she had expected. There was a brief moment of weightlessness as the mask took over, feeding her nerve system new sensory data. For a split second she saw, heard or felt nothing. Then everything came back to her. She nearly stumbled forward, but even as Thomas made a quick step forward to catch her she readjusted. She looked around, taking her surroundings in slowly. They were standing inside what seemed to be a perfect cube, five meters in each direction. There was light, but no clear source. The walls, floor and ceiling were all the same shade of grey.
“I thought we’d start out slow, see how you do. Try to move around a little.”
Tetra nodded and took a hesitant step, then another. She nodded, surprised at how accurately the Dream device translated her commands to movements. She began to walk more confidently, slowly picking up speed. Soon she was running at a considerable pace. Thomas smiled as he watched her, glad that she had adjusted. Finally she skidded to a halt. As Thomas walked towards her she shifted down into a squatting position, then pushed up with a carefully calculated dose of strength. At the apex of her flight she stretched out her arm, grazing the virtual ceiling with the tip of her index finger before coming back down, landing straight as an arrow on both feet. Thomas clapped his hands slowly in applause.
“That… felt real.”
“It is real if you want it to be. The program we’re in is highly restricted. We won’t be bending the laws of gravity or anything like that. I guess they apply a bit differently to you, but I’d rather be safe either way. Push things too far and you’ll spend the rest of your life as a drooling vegetable. Still, I think you’re ready for something a little more complicated…”
Thomas closed his eyes, and the room around them began to warp. The walls became brickwork and the ceiling and floor became concrete. A table appeared in the middle with a chair placed on either side. A small metal ball was resting on its surface. Thomas motioned for Tetra to sit down on one of the chairs as he sat down on the other. He gave the metal ball a slight push, and it rolled towards Tetra. Unsure of how to respond she let it roll over the edge to land on her lap. Thomas smiled, telling her that she could pick it up. She did so, and as she did she seemed to look very surprised. “This object is… real?”
Thomas smiled knowingly. “Again, only if you want it to be. Go ahead, try it.”
Tetra nodded slowly, holding the ball up to the light and studying its reflection. Then she began throwing it back and forth between her hands, higher and higher. Finally, in a sudden outburst, she took the ball into her right hand and flung it as hard as she could at the brick wall. There was the sound of impact, but the wall seemed unfazed as the projectile fell to the floor. Thomas blinked, trying not to look surprised.
“The program ends at the walls, so you can’t break through them. You get an A for effort though… But enough of this, I think you’re ready to take us somewhere.”
“Take us… somewhere? How?”
“I’ll give you limited control of the program. When I say so, focus on a place where you’d like to take us. I don’t recommend any outdoor settings; they require a lot of concentration which I doubt you’ll manage. Just think of somewhere you’d like to be.”
Tetra nodded slowly, saying she was ready. They stood up, and the room vanished around them. They seemed to be standing in a black void. Tetra had her eyes closed in concentration. She tried to think of a room, the room in which she slept inside the Facility, but something was blocking her attempts. Still, walls, a floor, a ceiling and furniture slowly began to form around them.
They were standing in what looked like a bedroom, although it wasn’t entirely clear if it was meant for a child or an adult. There was a large desk that dominated an entire wall. A laptop was sitting on its surface. It seemed to be the only flat area of the massive piece of furniture that wasn’t covered in piles of books. Thomas turned around slowly, taking in more shelves, most of them also filled with books but others filled with what some children would consider toys; all sorts of brightly coloured puzzles, a small globe, several models of vehicles and animals constructed out of various materials. The whole combination seemed very strange to Thomas.
“Tetra, where have you taken us…?”
“I think… Claudia used to be here… she was safe here…”
“I know. I never left.”
Thomas turned around slowly, not quite believing his ears. There was somebody sitting on the bed. She was small, probably not a day over eleven. She was dressed in what looked like a school uniform. She seemed calm, yet weary at the same time. She was leaning against the wall, hugging her legs against her while resting her chin on her knees. Thomas looked on quietly, completely overwhelmed by the sudden arrival. The girl on the bed was only slightly smaller than Tetra, her hair was longer and tied together in a neat ponytail, and her skin wasn’t nearly as pale. Still, it was pretty obvious who was sitting on that bed, talking to them.
“Hello… Claudia?”
“Hello Thomas, thanks for freeing me… for a little while at least.”
“Freeing you? I’m afraid I have no idea what’s going on right now.”
Claudia smiled softly, a smile that could only belong to someone knowing they were the smartest person in the room. She recited the textbook that Tetra had read. “’…a dose of ichor released into the user’s bloodstream triggered the release of several hormones in the user’s brain…’ I’m afraid I know little more than you do, but my guess is that whatever ichor is doing to my… our brain, has unlocked something. It would help if I knew exactly what happened to me when they started that experiment.”
Thomas nodded slowly. “You were Tetra?”
“I was, until I became a human guinea pig. Tetra is what they built out of the pieces of me I guess… the rest remained locked away somehow… out of their reach… until now…”
Tetra backed away slowly, trembling, somehow managing to look even more pale than she did normally. “You… you are not real… This is virtual…”
“It’s virtual, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. We read the textbook, we heard Thomas’ explanations. They thought they… erased me, but somehow I’m still here. Barely at first… then I began to see and hear… the experiments… the training… The missions…”
Tetra took a step forwards, her face an odd combination of determination and wide-eyed fright. Her hands were clutched tightly into fists, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. “You are the reason I failed. You are the malfunction.”
Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Claudia cut him off. “Technically, I am. I’m what stopped you from killing that night. I’m the one that tried to focus on the music. I’m the one that-”
Before she could finish her sentence Claudia lunged forward, tears of rage in her eyes. Thomas could only just stop her in time by throwing himself directly onto her, driving her to the floor. To his relief she just stared up angrily, but didn’t try to push him off. “She… is… the… malfunction… I… should… remove… her…”
Thomas held onto her firmly despite her lack of resistance. “Let’s not do anything rash now. She’s still part of you, and you could kill yourself if you damage her. You wouldn’t be the first to go brain-dead over doing something stupid in here.”
Claudia had scrambled backwards, looking terrified. “You… you can’t hurt me, I’m you! Please, I can’t help it… I… I just want to be free again…”
“Right, I think we’d better cut our little trip short.” Before Tetra or Claudia could respond, Thomas gave the command that shut both machines down, bringing them both back to reality. He quickly pulled his mask off. Tetra had torn hers off as well, and now she was clawing at her face, her fingernails scratching into her skin to draw out angry red lines that produced droplets of purplish blood. Thomas tried to grab her wrists but she pushed him off. The motion caused the needle to rip loose from her vein. The tear was small, but every heartbeat forced out more artificial blood as she continued to claw at her head and face, sobbing wildly. “Get her out! Get her out! Get… her… out…”
Against straight burn, this deck obviously doesn't stand a chance, but that's a risk you'll always take when playing a deck like this. That's why I like casual. You just take the beating, then ask your opponent for another game using a different deck.
There aren't really any more fling effects I could think of. At six mana the cyclops is not coming down often enough to warrant running four copies. Furthermore, I've considered the Glyph/Wall tactic early on, but walls can't hit back to cause a last few points of damage when needed or swing early to get some points in.
At the moment I'm testing with someone's suggestion of running Mogg Maniac, which would be nasty if my opponent blocks it and I play Righteousness on their blocker...
4x Holy Day
4x Raise the Alarm
3x Glittering Lynx
3x Kami of False Hope
Lures (6)
4x Fumiko the Lowblood
2x Angel's Trumpet
4x Righteousness
4x Hold the Line
To the head (10)
4x Fling
2x Bloodshot Cyclops
4x Boros Fury-Shield
9x Plains
7x Mountain
2x Boros Garisson
4x Boros Signet
The idea of the deck is to stay alive until you can set up a lure card, and then pump a blocker with Righteousness or Hold the Line. After the carnage, follow it up with a Fling or similar effect.
This deck won't win consistently, but when it does the surprise effect more than makes up for it. My best play so far: Playing Mono-G beats, I have a Fumiko out, along with 2 Hold the Line tokens and a Lynx. I have 7 mana open. He's at 20, I'm at 6. Due to Fumiko, he swings in with two Fangren Firstborn and an unkickered Kavu Titan. I declare blockers, putting Fumiko in front of the Titan and blocking the Firstborn with my other creatures, before dropping Hold the Line and two Righteousness targeting Fumiko. He looks somewhat stunned as his board is splattered, but still notices the overkill of the double Righteousness. I shrug off his coment and tap my last 2 mana to Fling Fumiko for 27 at the end of his turn.
4x Lantern Kami
4x Suntail Hawk
4x Mistral Charger
3x Ninja of the Deep Hours
3x Kira, Great Glass Spinner
4x Azorius First-Wing
4x Pride of the Clouds
14 Spells:
3x Glorious Anthem
3x Promise of Bunrei
4x Mana Leak
4x Remand
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Hallowed Fountain
7x Plains
5x Island
4x Suppression Field
3x Paladin en-Vec
4x Spell Snare
4x Azorius Guildmage
Legendary Creature - Human Ranger
First strike
As long as Aragorn, Son of Arathorn remains untapped, prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures you control by black or red sources.
2/3
---
Master Skellum - The dementia master that trained Chainer. Frail of body but able to summon some of the most detailed and powerful nightmares ever seen inside and outside of the pits.
Legendary Creature - Human Berserker
Whenever Blackwolf the Dire attacks, all creatures with power 6 or greater gain "RG: This creature gains double strike until end of turn" until end of turn.
6/5
Jaeger Ojanen, Cat Warrior - Jaeger was the father of Jedit, hailing from the same proud race of tiger warriors. He stood against the armies of Johan with Hazezon Tamar and Adira.
Legendary Creature - Skeleton Wizard
Cumulative Upkeep - Pay 2 life, 2
At the end of your upkeep you may search your library for a card with converted mana cost equal to or less than the last payed cumulative upkeep. If you do, shuffle your library.
6/3
Be weary to deal with the Nightwalker my son, for even the smallest boon will cost you more than you could imagine. —Halvor Arenson,
Kjeldoran Priest
---
Jaorahlamath, The Mind Unleashed 2UU
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard
Whenever Jaorahlamath, The Mind Unleashed becomes the target of a spell or ability, you may pay XXX. If you do, draw X cards.
1/3
Gerda Äagesdotter, Archmage of the Unseen