2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  Ramirez was no drunk fighter. He preferred to drink after the fight and not before it. And yet both Lenkov and Omori were no different. (They only gave powerful speeches when they did get drunk.) Ramirez knew what would happen when he got into that room. He would be fighting along side Maria, and who knows, perhaps Omori herself. So it’s no surprise as to why he got drunk before he got there. And he was right—both of them were there.

  “What!? You’re drunk too?” Ramirez asked Omori. He knew that it must be extremely serious for her to be drunk too. She only got drunk when something got to her. And given her small frame she was no heavy drinker. What shocked Ramirez is, not only did he knew that about her, but he could tell that she was drinking heavily.

  “Good. I’m glad to see that you are drunk too. I hope that you are ready for a drunken bar room brawl with a bunch of platinum VERM agents. Just remember Alex, they are protecting a Dark Core member. So I sure do hope that you are drunk enough,” Omori responded with a drunken, confident smile.

  Ramirez couldn’t respond. He was too shocked by not only what Omori said, but also the fact that there were eighteen other VERM agents there. He knew that those agents were all the VERM agents on the Hammer of Doom. And so with a very heavy sigh and an equally heavy heart, he got even more drunk. He then understood why Omori was drunk, for she could not handle the loss of life that she knew was coming.

  “You know Alex, I’m glad that you are coming with us. You were always the key to unlocking things,” Omori said before she jacked in.

  “Like what?” He asked her.

  “You’ll find out eventually. Don’t worry about it,” Omori responded. She then jacked in, followed by Maria and then Alex.

  “SIN updated. Welcome to the Gemini Dark Id facility, Lieutenant Commander Ramirez, Alexander. Your Avatar has now been downloaded,” the Dark Id AI informed him. It had a strange voice, for it was neither male nor female. Being drunk somehow made the voice sound like it was the perfect voice to symbolize the Zen moment of the drug.

  It was a misnomer to think that the Founder invented the Dark Id or the AI within it. But that was what everyone thinks. He only “discovered” it. If it exists within the quantum universe, then anybody could, in theory, discover it. No one, not even the Founder, could explain it. But the Dark Id/AI has a name that it calls itself—Gemini, in the case of Golden Hyperion; Osiris in the case of Earth. For those who knew who Osiris was, it depressed them. God of the dead and the afterlife, cut into pieces by his brother Seth, and when he was “put” back to together, his genitals were never found. A perfect allegory for the Earth. But what about the names of the other Dark Id facilities? Very few people knew each of their names, and they never mentioned them.

  “Deceptive drones detected. Graffiti tags north-by-northwest,” the female VERM agent responded. (Those type of drones could look like anything, including graffiti tags. VERM agents could use them to spy and/or track someone.)

  “Orders,” the second female VERM agent asked.

  “Monitor them,” the male VERM gold agent responded.

  “We are walking into a trap. It’s time to spring it,” Omori responded.

  “Shouldn’t we . . .” Ramirez was saying.

  “For Joseph!” Omori said out loud as she rushed into battle.

  “For my family that you murdered!” The second female VERM agent shouted out as she rushed the automatic drones. She never would admit it, but her family was concerned that she may be turning into an alcoholic.

  “Hey . . . Maria . . . how’s your baggage!?” One of the VERM agents asked her with a chuckle. He was referring to Ramirez. Maria didn’t respond since she got that off-and-on from them. No respect except from Omori.

  “Enemy detected. Unleash the swarm,” the robotic voice said out loud.

  Ramirez then came out to take on multiple corrupter drones. Five minutes into the fight Maria finally came to save him. Her love for him was put to the test as each one of those drones’ algorithms realized what she was doing. Having fought off the drones they were able to get to their so-called destination which appeared like a rebel forest camp in the middle of the jungle. Omori recognized it—an altered program of hers to represent the communications of the side that she and Maria is on.

  “Maria . . . secure that radio,” Omori ordered her.

  “Yes ma’am,” Maria Sadowayj responded. She then wave her hand over the radio which look like something from the mid-to-late 20th century. She then used her SIN to download the radio into her SIN.

  “You okay,” Ramirez asked Maria. He was concerned that there may have been some type of virus in the program.

  “Of course. Why do you ask?” Maria asked him.

  “We must move quickly! The automatic guns will activated soon! We need to hurry and get to our contact . . . immediately!” Omori barked the orders to everyone.

  “What!? What contact?” Ramirez asked someone but no one answered him. They were in to much of a hurry to get to their destination.

  They traveled on foot (nearly flying) across a desert to a small military base. It had an underground part to it as well as an arena for some unknown reason. (Lenkov would have chuckled and say that only a Roman or a Skotadian would have gotten that. But it’s not gladiatorial in nature.) As they got near to the base Ramirez heart started to sink deep into his chest at the fear of losing Maria. Could her SIN handle another so-call death within the Dark Id? He pondered to himself but it had no answer other than one of to wait and see what will happen. Only Omori turned to look at him before their last jump. (They had to run, then jump, and then they would “fly” at least 328 yards [300 meters].)

  “I have detected you. Take the underground tunnel. Your SIN have been updated,” the unknown friendly voice informed them. It had an other-worldly sound to it. Almost like it was some type of a ghost.

  “Dark Ghost, I’m glad to see that you are still operational,” Omori said with a weight coming off of her.

  “As am I, to you,” Dark Ghost responded.

  “May I ask, who is Dark Ghost?” Ramirez asked someone.

  “Ask me if you dare,” Dark Ghost responded.

  “Okay . . . who are you?” Ramirez asked him/her.

  “Oh my God,” Ramirez cried out when he felt a strong sense of death coming over him. He felt like he was in some supernatural horror movie. Whatever Dark Ghost is, Ramirez would believe that it was death itself.

  “Where’s my manners?” Omori was saying. Somehow Ramirez did not want to hear the rest, for he dreaded the response. She continued, “Let me introduce you to the Kronos of Id.” Her response nearly turned Alex’s face white. He wanted to say “But how?” but he couldn’t. He almost didn’t want to know the answer.

  “If you survive this Alex,” Omori was saying, “then I will tell you how it is that this is the Kronos of Id. But furthermore, we’ve got work to do.”

  “The defense here is not up to par ma’am,” Kronos of Id mentioned.

  “By whose standards, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ramirez just had to ask. Kronos of Id only motioned with his head that it was by Omori’s standards.

  “What can you peruse from the cyber security and all threats located at this facility?” Omori asked Kronos of Id.

  “Hauteur ad nauseam, which originates from Dark Core, has rendered the security a farce du jour,” Kronos of Id responded.

  “And the possibility of survival?” Omori asked.

  “The Moirai blinds all to the wars in the heavens and the sovereignty of the divine,” the Kronos of Id responded.

  “Meaning what?” Ramirez asked.

  “Not even Zeus can escape that which is foretold. For Moirai Thanatoio reveals the true fate of mankind, but not of Zeus Moiragetes. For she has determined that she cannot be turned by prayer or by bets,” the Kronos of Id responded.

  “Ma’am?” Ramirez was desperately asking Omori. He could not understand a single word that the Kronos of Id was saying. He was no simpleton; it was just that he w
as not smart enough to understand the Greek myth.

  “He’s trying to tell us that our fate is in the hands of statistics and not God. And thus, he cannot calculate our survival,” Omori responded.

  “I must go now for both Moirai Thanatoio and Zeus Moiragetes have commanded me,” the Kronos of Id mentioned, and then he/she/it left.

  As they were collecting data and the process of sabotaging the cybernetic equipment of the enemy, Ramirez started to notice that Omori was being more than talkative to one of the enemy Lieutenants. He then realized that there could be a romantic fling between the two of them. Could it be Joseph? But how could it be? No one ever said that he had any experience within the Dark Id. He was no VERM agent.

  “Who’s that Lieutenant that Omori is talking to?” Ramirez asked Maria.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Maria responded after she’d looked.

  “Why? It wouldn’t be Omori’s secretive lover would it?” Ramirez asked.

  “Well . . . technically I guess you could say that,” Maria responded in an almost jokingly manner. She wanted to laugh because she knew what Ramirez would say next, but she had to suppress her urge to smile.

  “What!? Does Joseph know?” Ramirez asked out of shock at the thought that Omori may have a lover.

  “Who do you think that is?” Maria responded. Ramirez was just too shocked for words. It couldn’t be Joseph! He has no training as a VERM agent. How could it be him? But as Ramirez watched them more and more, it became apparent that it was him. And then he started to miss that part that he feared that he lost with Maria.

  “I’m sorry for how I treated you earlier,” Ramirez was saying to his love.

  “It’s nothing,” Maria was saying. She didn’t want to look at him because in a small way she was still hurt by how he treated her.

  “Alexander. Forgot to salute me?” Joseph asked him when both he and Omori came near the two of them.

  “Sir?” Ramirez turned to look at Joseph in the eyes. He then saw the man before him morph into Joseph, who was at least four inches shorter than he is. Alex felt quite belittled by this man of towering respect.

  “I’m here because it’s the last thing that Dark Core would expect. Look . . . I’m going to have to make sacrifices of my people. Only four of us will survive. Use your head far more than your heart and you will make it out alive,” Lenkov was saying.

  “Sir . . . how is it that you are here?” Ramirez had to ask.

  “If your love for her is strong, then you will understand. For we are as one; for we are the same,” Omori responded.

  “Come now . . . Alexander . . . the Great . . . you don’t want to live forever, now do you? But if you and Maria were one in the same . . . could you live forever?” Joseph asked him with a smile that told him that he would follow Lenkov to the ends of the universe. As Joseph and Sayaka would put it—not for us, but for both you and your love.

  “How can you to do it?” Ramirez had to ask them.

  “What . . . serve as if though our lives had no meaning?” Joseph asked him. Ramirez only nodded his head in compliance.

  “Because Zeus Moiragetes commands us,” Omori responded.

  “I don’t understand,” Ramirez responded yet again, not being familiar with Greek myths.

  “It means that we have completely surrendered to fate. And by that we mean that we put our fate into the hands of God and do not care what occurs,” Omori responded.

  “So even if Dark Core wins, both of you don’t care,” Ramirez asked them. Both of them could only smile at him.

  “Hey Alex . . . do you know why people get drunk on certain missions? And I don’t mean what you were told through your training,” Omori asked him.

  “Because the human race is going extinct and apathy rules the land?” Ramirez asked her. He was not sure if that was the reason or not.

  “No. Try again,” Omori responded.

  “Because . . . Skotadi treats it as a gateway drug to their enforcement drugs?” Ramirez asked her. He felt like that wasn’t the answer, so he had no idea as to where she was going with this.

  “It’s everything that you’ve been told. Including those two,” Omori responded. It did sound like the truth to Ramirez, but he was still a bit uncertain that it was the reason. It didn’t explain a lot, although it did explain a few things.

  Joseph, knowing the truth (Omori was only intellectually guessing), turned it into a joke at the same time that he was telling the truth. “I always thought that it was because what was once informally known as Space Corp(oration) needed a good PR response to any and all military fiascos. And what’s the best PR response of them all? Blame it on the mercs for getting drunk. So what you two were opining about sounds like it came from a good PR team on one of those military branches.”

  “So when did Skotadi adopt it? Getting drunk that is,” Omori asked him.

  “From its very inception it allowed it, but exclusively on the grounds that it must be used as reward and punishment,” Lenkov responded.

  “And before a mission like the one that we are on now?” Omori asked him.

  “It was seen in strictly symbolic terms of rebellion,” Lenkov responded.

  “If you don’t mind me asking sir . . . what are you doing here?” Ramirez asked Joseph. Ever since he realized that a Fleet Captain “left” his ship and came into the Dark Id, he just had to know.

  “One way or the other Alex, I’m planning on getting drunk when this is over. And both reasons are the same,” Joseph responded. His response, combined with how he’d looked at Sayaka, told Ramirez the real reason.

  There was a strange, almost eerie quiet that fell upon the base. A couple times, Ramirez made some minor noises to see if there was an audio glitch. They all knew that some type of a major fight would befall them, and that it may be their last. Corrupter drones were the least of their worries, for they knew that an installation like the one that they infiltrated was a death trap for those who did as they have done. None have ever successfully returned from such a mission. Dark Core (who normally wouldn’t do it since they never came across as the religious type) felt the need to quote the Bible— “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind” Hosea 8:7 KJV. This quote in its textual form greeted all who entered the base. For in order to shut down the Dark Id, they had to wait for what would come next—the whirlwind.

  “What should we expect from the two of them?” Ramirez asked Maria later.

  “We’re all expendable.”

  “Cold and calculating?”

  “Tactics and strategy.”

  “So we’re all just pawns on the chess board?”

  “No Alex. Maybe with Omori. I don’t know. She learned all of her tactics and strategies from Joseph. So I can’t say about her.”

  “You served with her.”

  “I did not! She only trained me as a VERM agent. And the one thing that I learned about her is that she doesn’t put the vermin in VERM. She’s a good natural leader.”

  “And Joseph?”

  “Why don’t you ask him? He’s right over there. Both of you are military men,” Maria responded. There was no way that Ramirez could just simply walk over there and ask. Nice conversion starter—“Hey sir, I heard that you are cold and calculating. Say it ain’t so.” What else could he say?

  “I wouldn’t know what to say.”

  “Well how convenient . . . neither would I,” Maria responded. Her remark got Ramirez to think about it. And without him knowing it, he didn’t need to say a word.

  “Hey Lieutenant Commander,” Joseph said to Ramirez, “what did you want to talk about with me?”

  “Nothing sir. Why do you ask?”

  “It’s the way that you kept on looking at me. So . . . what’s up?”

  “I’m afraid that I may insult you sir.”

  “Nonsense. Out with it. I insist,” Joseph said with a warm, affectionate smile.

  “What are we to you and Omori sir? Pawns? I guess what I was concerned ab
out are the tactics that the two of you will use upon this day. Now, I’m no simpleton, but even I know what that quote from the Bible was implying.”

  “Are you a chess player?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Then you should know that the game of chess has other pieces than just the pawns. And you should know that the objective must be greater than one’s own life.”

  “So you are here because you are afraid that something may have happened with Omori and you want to be here in case if it does?” Ramirez responded. Joseph only smiled as if to say that wasn’t the sole reason why.

  “Well there’s that. But we are also are the bait.”

  “Sir?” Ramirez couldn’t believe that, not even if you paid him.

  “Dark Core wants us dead and we need to . . . no . . . we must knock out the Dark Id upon this world. For if we did that, then those Dark Core members would have no place to hide. And that is how we teach them what Intelligentsia Discontinuance means,” Fleet Captain Lenkov responded, sounding too much like a leader of men, something that Dark Core in all of their arrogance of power no longer respected.

  “I understand sir. And sir? Is this really a death trap?” Ramirez desperately needed to know and yet he was afraid to know the response.

  “Choose duty and death over life and let the Gods determine the rest. For the greatest of all miracles have befallen upon the human race without them knowing it. We as a species may be going extinct . . . but there’s still hope. Don’t let that hope die with you . . . and your love . . . Alex,” Joseph responded and then he turned to do his duty.