Trevor bounced on his toes. 'Things are looking better and better. Let's see if we can turn the tables on those ugly bugs. Are there tractor beams, or whatever the term is, on this Carriage?' he asked Aidme. 'I mean, can we move the bomb about, take it with us, that sort of thing?'
'Yes'
'Good! Now, this is important. The Mantis have a sort of "reverse" weapon. They suck all the energy from their opponents' vessel, even a forcefield is no hindrance, they suck the energy out of that too. Do you understand?'
'There is no record of such a device in my data bank.'
'Well make a record now.'
Aidme remained silent and Trevor turned to scrutinise the sooty-grey ball. It was the most peculiar gadget. Somehow, Trevor felt an overpowering attachment, a feeling he didn't understand, as if the ball was part of his own body, like an extra finger or arm. He put his hand out and patted Aidme, fully expecting to feel the sensation through his new body part. He felt nothing, shrugged his shoulders, and concentrated on his plan.
'I noticed the Mantis had to close their forcefield to let their own shuttles pass through. Is our forcefield the same?'
'An aperture opens in our forcefield to facilitate a passage.'
Trevor nodded, leaned back in the chair, and took a deep breath. He felt incredibly safe and secure. 'Okay. Grab that atom bomb and let's go. Can you cloak our forcefield around the bomb like the Mantis have cloaked theirs around the Cloud?'
'Yes.'
'Then do it. Whose forcefield is the strongest, do you think? Their battleship's or ours?'
'I have insufficient data to form a conclusion.'
'Well, everything so far indicates that the insects have an inferior technology to you Hollywood aliens–let's find out. Ram their forcefield. I want to pierce it, or pry it apart, or burst it, or get inside, whatever.'
The Carriage drifted silently around the Hollywood until the Mantis battleship came into view, then shot forward and slammed into the forcefield like an axe head cleaving a log of wood. The Carriage wedged fast. Green waves rippled along the insects' smitten forcefield and the Carriage generator whined as it struggled to deliver enough energy to hold the breach open.
'Keep pushing!' said Trevor. 'How deep are we? Can we get through?'
'The Mantis' forcefield is fortifying around us. Our forcefield is inferior and will collapse in sixteen seconds.'
'Keep pushing. Give it all you've got.'
The Carriage pressed forward, creeping deeper.
'Collapse in ten seconds.'
'Keep pushing.' Trevor's mind worked feverishly. The Mantis' forcefield was impenetrable from both the outside and the inside, he thought. Why else did the insects need to turn it off before they could fly through in their shuttles? Right now, their forcefield was trying to press the Carriage out. Surely there must be a fulcrum point where their forcefield would press them in?
'Are we halfway through yet?'
'I cannot tell–collapse in seven seconds.'
The generator screamed in the background and a foreboding vibration made Trevor's skin tingle.
'Release the atom bomb at the point where our forcefield has penetrated the deepest, and set it to detonate in five seconds.'
'I cannot kill a living creature or cause material damage. It is forbidden. Collapse in three seconds.'
'Don't start giving me lip,' groaned Trevor. 'I give you permission. Release the bomb, set it to detonate after five seconds, and get us out of here.'
Aidme released the atom bomb and Trevor's speculation proved correct. The Carriage had indeed managed to burrow almost completely through the Mantis' forcefield, and the liberated atom bomb was grabbed and ejected inwards like a champagne cork exploding free.
The Carriage backed out and returned to the Hollywood in less than a second.
Trapped inside the insects' forcefield, humankind's ultimate weapon of destruction detonated. The thermonuclear device released a shattering blast of energy equivalent to fifteen megatons of TNT.
Nonetheless, the forcefield contained the tremendous explosion with ease. It lit up like a mammoth light bulb, radiating light and heat like a miniature sun. The Hollywood absorbed the energy, and every gaping door in its fuselage slammed shut.
But the light bulb had a very short life. Trapped inside its own forcefield, the unprotected battleship atomised. Its forcefield imploded, sending a shockwave of released energy in every direction. All around, defenceless space wrecks disintegrated in the blast and their remains were flung into space. Further away, other space wrecks were pushed on new trajectories and the whole junkyard erupted into a chaotic shamble.
The Carriage rocked slightly but shrugged the blast off as if it was nothing worse than a gentle breeze. Behind them, the Hollywood greedily absorbed the blast's energy and honoured the occasion by turning on its outside lights in an amazing display of self-esteem.
'What happened to the Cloud?' asked Trevor, hardly daring to hear the answer.
'The Cloud is in precisely the same position and fully functional,' said Aidme.
'Hah!' shouted Trevor. 'I knew a mere atom bomb couldn't harm the Cloud. Let's get over there. Can you open the Cloud's big bay doors and park this Carriage inside? I think there's plenty of room.'
'Yes.'
Part of the Cloud's basement was reserved for cars or tractors or even a small lorry. In a trillionth of a second, Aidme completed the computations for the Cloud to accept them, and they glided in.
Trevor burst out laughing. Relief overwhelmed him; the relief of being back in the Cloud, the defeat of the Mantis battleship, the incredible boost to his ego. He laughed out loud, he laughed until tears ran down his cheeks, he laughed until his stomach cramped, he laughed all the way back to his precious chair in the control room.
He stopped laughing when he looked at the monitor indicating Russell's state of health. His body temperature had sunk below a critical level and his heartbeat was slow and erratic.
'Russell!' he called on the Zip-Linq. 'Russell! Can you hear me? What's wrong?'
'Trevor?' said Russell, between short gasps. 'So the Zip-Linq works–even under water?'
'Under water? What are you talking about? I can't see any water. You're lying on your back in one of those bare green rooms. Pull yourself together, man.'
'I'm drowning…'
'No you're not. You're hallucinating, like before. Snap out of it.'
'Hallucinating? Am I hallucinating …? Yes, of course...'
Russell chuckled; a soft sound spiced with blessed comprehension, and with comprehension came liberation. The drug in his vein had muddled his mind, but now he remembered; everything was suggestion and mind games. The imaginary water was up to his chin, he glanced at the other two and they also struggled to keep their mouths above the water line.
The vision of water softened. It was only a dream, a lie. The sound of splashing water faded. Unrestrained by real chains and metal clamps, his hands and legs stretched out. He still sensed all these things, but only as a film playing in some isolated part of his mind. Now he saw the truth; he lay on his back, sprawled across the floor in an untidy heap where the insects had dumped him.
Take it slowly, he told himself. Get on your feet.
He wobbled precariously.
Take a deep breath, he told himself. Take another. Good, and another, now stretch your limbs and muscles… The dizziness passed but his muscles and joints complained miserably.
John and Sam lay partly on top of each other, and their bodies twitched and jerked. Soon they would die, convinced they had drowned, killed by the power of their own false imagination.
'Here.' Russell ignored his own discomfort. 'Let me make you more comfortable.' He separated the married couple and turned them on their side. 'Don't drown just yet,' he urged them. 'Hang on a moment longer. I'm coming back and we're going to have some fun.'
Russell made himself comfortable in the lotus position and drifted into meditation. He entered the part of his mind where the film played and he was back in the dungeon, fighting for his life.
'I've done it,' he shouted to John and Sam. 'Look! I've broken the chains on my feet.' As he spoke, his feet floated to the surface and he waved his toes.
'Don't make waves, you idiot,' shouted Sam. She gurgled and spat water from her half submerged mouth. 'You'll drown us.'
'Sorry. Bear with me a moment.' Russell put both feet against the wall and pushed away with all his might. 'Let's see how tough the wall chains are.' His shoulder and arm muscles bulged as they joined the tug-of-war. First one chain, and then the other snapped with an explosive pop. He was free, and his sudden freedom sent water surging in all directions.
'Hang on,' he said, as his head surfaced. 'Hold your breath and I'll soon have you free, the chains are easy to break.' He took a deep breath and dived. He went to Sam's feet first and pretended to struggle with her ankle chains. They tore from the wall, then he did the same with John's. Their bodies floated to the surface and they pulled on their arm chains to lift their head and shoulders above water. The immediate danger of drowning had passed.
How real all this seems, thought Russell. How easy to forget it's all a dream, yet once you comprehend–how easy to manipulate. 'Pull the chains from the wall like I did,' he said to John and Sam.
The astronauts had seen how effortlessly Russell snapped his chains and copied his actions. They put their feet against the wall and pulled. One of John's chains snapped. 'Hah! Must be made of cheap plastic,' he sneered.
'Mine won't break,' said Sam, between gritted teeth.
John's other chain snapped, he slid under water and surfaced again almost immediately. 'Come on, Sam, use your leg muscles–put your weight behind it.'
Both chains broke simultaneously and Sam surged backwards, sending a wake in all directions.
'Well done,' said Russell. They were responding to his suggestions, and the game was proceeding well. The water level still rose, and their heads almost touched the ceiling. 'Down on the right side is a valve with a big wheel on the top.' He indicated through the water in one direction. 'And down on the other side is a sluice with a big wheel on the side. We have to dive down and close the valve and open the sluice. You two take the valve, I'll take the sluice.'
All three dived. Russell spun the sluice wheel open and turned to watch as John and Sam grappled with the wheel on the valve top, he swam across to help them. After five turns, the water stopped flowing and they swam to the surface.
'Well done,' congratulated Russell. 'Look how fast the water's draining out.'
Within ten minutes, their feet touched the floor. After another five minutes, the room was empty. Sam clapped her hands and kicked out at the rats, and the rats and snakes splashed and slithered away amongst the remaining puddles.
Sam slumped forward with exhaustion, resting her chin against her chest.
John stared at Russell and shook his head. 'I'll be damned,' he said. 'Where did you come from? What kind of a person are you? If we ever get out of this place and back to Earth, I'm going to take you to the most expensive restaurant in Washington and order you the biggest steak on the menu. You never cease to amaze me.'
'And I'll buy the best Champagne in the house,' mumbled Sam into her chest.
'I'll remember that,' said Russell, with a broad grin.
'But how did you manage it?' John wanted to know. 'I thought you were done for, and then you suddenly do a Superman stunt.'
'Yes,' admitted Russell, 'I'd almost given up, but then Trevor spoke to me on the Zip-Linq and reminded me all this is an hallucination. None of this is real. Those Mantis set the scene in our minds and our own imagination does the rest.'
Sam coughed and spat but still didn't find the strength to lift her head. 'Sounds to me like you've already had too much to drink,' she said. 'Think I'll drop that offer of Champagne.'
'In reality, this room is totally bare,' continued Russell. 'In reality, I'm sitting in the lotus position in the middle of the floor and you two are curled up on your sides.'
Shivering with cold, John reached out and felt the hard stone wall. 'I don't know who's mad–you, or us.'
Suddenly, a large square stone block receded into the wall. A gigantic green crocodile with a long row of razor-sharp teeth waddled into the room. Saliva dribbled and splashed as its head swung towards each person in turn, its pea-sized brain striving to decide who to eat first.
'Look here,' said Russell, unperturbed. 'They know we haven't drowned so now they're planting a new scene in our minds.'
Sam raised her head, stifled a scream, and shuffled away on her backside to the wall.
John joined her there, placed his arm around her shoulder, and drew her close. 'Sorry, Russell,' he said. 'Looks like you're going to be the croc's first course.'
'The Mantis expect to crack the Cloud's shield at any time,' said Russell, 'so they don't care if we die. In fact, they want us to die in pain and fear.' He strolled forward and put his foot in the crocodile's mouth.
The jaws snapped shut. Sam and John cried out, but Russell only laughed–the crocodile's jaws formed themselves around his foot as if they were made of soft rubber. Russell reached down to the crocodile's neck and pulled out a plastic nipple. He flipped the stopper off, air whistled out, and the crocodile collapsed like a giant rubber balloon.
'It's up to us,' explained Russell, 'to play the scene how we see fit. It's all an illusion.'
Fire sprang up around Russell, engulfing him in white-hot flames.
'There's a fire extinguisher on the wall behind you,' said Russell, from the midst of the inferno.
The astronauts threw their arms up to cover their face, and the smell of burning flesh stung their noses. Without questioning where the extinguishers had come from, they jumped up, grabbed one each, and emptied them into the blaze. In thirty seconds the fire was extinguished and Russell stepped forward unscathed.
'Do you see?' asked Russell. The other two looked on with mouths wide open. 'It's just a game, we can play it any way we want. All you have to do is believe, don't doubt for a second, just believe.'
Two opposite walls suddenly lurched forward, creeping and groaning towards each other, intent on crushing the three occupants.
'You said I do a Superman act,' laughed Russell. 'Okay, I'll be Superman and stop this wall, you two choose another superhero and stop the other wall.'
Russell's appearance wavered and changed. His fair hair turned jet black and a new outfit replaced his white shorts and Tee shirt. He was clothed in the famous Superman suit, complete with cloak, brazen S printed across a broad chest, and underpants on the outside. He leant with one hand against the nearest wall and stifled a yawn with the other. Gears behind the wall screamed in protest and exploded. Using one finger, he pushed the wall back in place.
'Come on, you two.' he encouraged. 'This is fun, try it. You, Sam, how about pitting your strength against the wall? This is all a dream and you can do anything you want.'
The muscles on Sam's arms and legs bulged. With a roar, she transformed into a behemoth. She hurled her goliath body against the other wall and sent it thudding back into place. In a spasm of anger, she ripped a handful of stones from the wall and crushed them between her palms as if they were made from sticky lumps of sand.
The walls faded away, the blocks of grey stone dwindled to nothing, the illusion of the dungeon diminished until everything, including the three allies, disappeared into darkness.
~*~
Russell opened his eyes. He still sat in the lotus position. He grabbed the Zip-Linq and shouted into it: 'I don't know if you can still hear me, brother, but you better come quick. The Mantis have given up on us. I expect they'll kill us now…'
'I hear you and I'm on my way,' came the reply. 'Hang on, it might get a bit cold in there...'
~*~
On board the Cloud, Trevor turned to Aidme. 'Get us over to the sphere quickly,' he ordered. The sphere appeared as if by magic and Trevor jumped at its suddenness. 'Do you call that quick?' he muttered.
The sphere had taken a beating. Its weak forcefield had been designed to protect it against the occasional piece of scrap falling from the junkyard, and had barely been strong enough to shield it from the exploding atom bomb. One side was left as smooth as a marble, and the new shuttles on that side had been blown away. The Cloud had stopped opposite the jagged opening of a damaged port.
'Is your "control" function able to penetrate their forcefield from here?' asked Trevor.
'Yes.'
'Can you turn off their forcefield?'
'Yes. It is done.'
'Good! You're learning. I expect the Mantis are squirming all over their instruments, wondering what the heck is going on. Now, I'm not going to ask you to hurt those insects in there, but I want you to turn the temperature down to freezing point. Those creatures are cold blooded and they'll become torpid in such a low temperature. They'll be as harmless and slow as slugs.'
'Estimated time until freezing point is seven minutes,' said Aidme.
'Good. Now, can you locate Russell, John and Sam?'
'Yes.'
'We have to protect them some how; I don't know…lock the doors so the Mantis can't get in…make sure the Mantis can't turn the air off…or gas them…or electrocute them?'
'I have isolated their quarters.'
'Good. That's exactly what I meant.' Trevor nodded, things were going well, he picked up a pencil and rolled it between his palms. Somehow or another he needed to board the Mantis' sphere and his spacesuit was still laying in an untidy heap where he had cast it–with empty air tanks and a flat battery. 'Is the Carriage equipped with spacesuits?' he asked.
'Yes.'
'Come on. Answer me properly. Where?'
'Hanging in the gangway.'
'Good! Good! Good,' said Trevor, hurrying down to the Cloud's basement where the Carriage was parked. 'Show me where these spacesuits are.'
The only objects in the gangway were the ten small rucksacks hanging along one wall. Russell grabbed one and examined it carefully. It was the size of a sealed-shut sandwich box.
'What's this?' he asked, slipping the sack on his back.
'A spacesuit.'
He slipped the sack off again for another inspection. 'Is the spacesuit in the sack?' he asked. 'How do I open it? How does it function?'
'Replace the rucksack on your shoulders and adjust the straps firmly.'
'Then what?' asked Trevor.
'It is ready.'
Trevor scratched his head. 'I'm sorry, but I don't understand. The only thing I've put on is a rucksack. How does it work?'
'A protective film of ethereal substance envelopes you automatically as required.'
'Ah! So if I step outside, this thing will automatically enclose me in a protective suit?'
'Yes.'
'Can I breathe?'
'Yes'
'For how long?'
'Approximately thirty hours.'
'I can breathe but can't eat or drink. Is that it?'
'The substance is impenetrable.'
Trevor grabbed three more rucksacks and made his way to the Cloud's port. He wondered what would happen if he sneezed inside the suit, but refrained from asking, certain that such situations were suitably catered for.
'You're sure this spacesuit will work?' he asked.
'Yes.'
'Okay then. I put my trust in you. Close the airlock and open the porthole.'
The door behind him closed and air pressure leaked away. A friendly "peep" sounded from the rucksack, and his body was engulfed in a layer of something warm and clammy. The porthole opened and he stood in the vacuum of outer space, breathing sweet, fresh air.
'This is wonderful,' he said. 'I've lost a bit of sensation with my touch, but otherwise I'm free as a fart.'
'The suit is operating normally,' said Aidme.
Trevor measured the distance between the Cloud and the sphere, guessing it to be about a foot. 'Here we go then,' he said. Holding his breath, he leaped across.
He shot into the sphere's docking room, bounced against the smooth rear wall, then against the ceiling, and finally grabbed a jagged piece of metal attached to the floor to bring himself to a standstill. A new bruise marked each collision but the spacesuit suffered no damage.
Ignoring his clumsy entrance he glanced at his watch, the seven minutes were up. 'Are they frozen stiff yet?'
'Yes.'
'Then bring the Cloud in close enough to plug the hole, and let's find Russell and the astronauts. You lead the way.'
The Cloud pressed against the jagged hole until it made an airtight seal. Aidme established air pressure and gravity in the airlock, and opened the inner door to the sphere.
~*~
Sam was the first to rouse. A long deep groan followed her from sleep into wakefulness.
'Hallo, Sam.' Russell helped her sit up. 'Had any good dreams lately?'
'Where are we?' Sam rubbed her eyes and squinted at the dull green room, then she twisted and stared up at Russell. 'I've been dreaming I was a muscle bound freak.' She rubbed her brow and drew in her legs. 'Good grief, Russell, what a dream I've just had. You wouldn't believe it. You were there–John too.'
John opened his eyes and blinked. 'Christ almighty!' he said. 'What the hell is going on?'
'It's okay,' said Russell, and helped John into a sitting position. 'Nightmare?'
'I've got a hangover worse than a nightmare. Where are we?'
'Try to understand,' said Russell. 'All of us have had the same dream. Our experience was pure hallucination; it is the Mantis' trick of mind games–so realistic it would have killed us. We would have drowned in the certain conviction of our own false reality.'
Sam nodded and staggered to her feet. 'I realised at the end,' she said. 'Come on, John, stand up, try to move.'
John picked himself up and stretched. He hobbled a few steps, limping on his left foot. 'They want us dead,' he said, 'and they want us to die in agony.'
Russell offered John a supporting shoulder and together and they shuffled forward.
'This has been a different kind of hallucination,' said Russell, 'to the one we were exposed to in our apartments. There we moved about in a kind of daydream, imagining everything we did and saw and ate as if it were real. This last trance was pure fantasy. That's why we could manipulate it so effectively. What we see around us now is reality.'
'Not much to look at, is it?' John tramped his feet and walked around the bare green room unaided. 'I guess I owe you an apology again, I'm sorry.'
'We're not much to look at either,' said Sam, straightening her soiled shorts. 'I suppose they'll simply put an end to us now, we're nothing but a dangerous nuisance to them.'
'All we can do is sit and wait,' said Russell. 'Trevor is on his way.'
They fell into silence, waiting either for salvation or execution. The minutes ticked by. Sam sat on the floor with her knees tucked into her chest. John shuffled backward and forwards, gazing at his feet. Russell leant against a wall, studying his fingernails.
Without warning, a segment of arch opened, and there stood Trevor with a huge smile on his face, three sandwich boxes swinging from his hand, and a strange grey ball hovering around his left shoulder.
The two brothers embraced, laughing and rocking while tears ran down their cheeks. John and Sam crowded close, and the brothers pulled them into their hug. No words or introduction were necessary.
'Here,' said Trevor at last, disengaging himself. 'Put these rucksacks on. They're little trinkets I picked up in the Hollywood.'
They slipped the rucksacks on.
'It's a spacesuit,' said Trevor, before they had a chance to ask. 'When we step out of this room, you'll be automatically cloaked in a skin as thin as cling film, as tough as diamonds, and as flexible as silk. Don't ask me how it works because I don't know–but it does work.' He pointed to Aidme. 'This here is my new buddy and I'm not sure who found who. His name is Aidme and we're still in the process of getting used to each other.'
'Buddy?' said Russell, squinting at the ball. He prodded it with a finger, found he couldn't move it, and peered closer. 'Solid as rock. What does it do?'
'Amongst other things, it says my mind is an undisciplined jumble of unintelligent thoughts. But without his help I wouldn't be standing here now. He's a real gem, a guardian angel…
'Hey,' said John, 'let's not hang around here chatting, let's leave.'
Despite their eagerness to escape, curiosity sent the four humans to the sphere's control dome. In the below freezing temperatures, their suits sprung to life and engulfed them in a warm, clammy skin, invisible to the eye and in no way hindering their movements. They crept along the curved corridor. Confident there was no danger, Trevor led the way, and walked straight into the control dome without hesitation. At least twenty Mantis were gathered there, some had fallen, others were still on their feet–all were motionless and frozen stiff.
'I have disarmed an automatic defence system,' said Aidme.
'They must have set it before they froze to the spot,' said Russell, coming alongside Trevor. 'How did Aidme know about it?'
'Like I said, he's a real gem. He's far superior to any alarm or sensor I could have built into the Cloud. He's a fantastic, wonderful, clever little chum and I'm hoping he can get us home somehow or another.' Trevor patted Aidme and asked, 'Can you search the Mantis' databank and find out where we are in the universe?'
Aidme replied instantly. 'They have a map of the universe. I have identified our location and where your planet Earth is situated.'
'Can you store that data for future reference?' asked Trevor.
'Yes. Done.'
'Is it possible for us to be transported back to Earth using their equipment?'
'No. This sphere is only a receiving outpost.'
'Then let's get out of here before the cavalry turns up.'
Aidme instructed the Cloud to accept John and Sam, and the two astronauts, too exhausted to register their surroundings, stumbled their way to Trevor's apartment. They showered and collapsed into bed.
Russell joined his brother in the control room.
'Aren't you going to catch up on sleep?' asked Trevor, patting his brother on the back. 'It's good to have you back, that was a close shave.'
'I never doubted you once,' said Russell. 'I knew you'd find a way of rescuing us. I am tired, but I need a minute to enjoy the luxury of feeling safe before I can sleep.'
'I repeat,' said Trevor, rubbing his tired and swollen eyes. 'It was a close shave. Let's make a big pot of strong tea, and then you can tell me your story.'
Russell recounted his adventures in a dreamy voice, and Trevor nodded as he listened. He smiled, he shook his head, he clenched his fists, and every so often he asked a question. When the story was finished, he recounted his own adventures. Silence filled the control room. Both young men wanted to say more, but for now, they were as empty as the teapot. Within thirty seconds, the air was filled with the sound of gentle snoring.
~*~
One by one, the little group gathered around the kitchen table in Trevor's apartment. Breakfast consisted of the last remains of food salvaged from the Wayfarer space shuttle. They picked at the food in melancholy silence.
'Look at us,' said Russell. 'The four glum chums!' He pinched crumbs from his lap and put them in his mouth. 'The Mantis will be after us in force now. Do we simply run away and lose ourselves in space, or do we make a stand here and fight to the death, or do we try to get back to Earth?'
'I vote we go home,' said John. 'I know we'll be taking the fight back with us, but don't forget, the earth is under siege and is doomed to die anyway.'
'I also vote we go home,' said Sam.
'Me too,' said Trevor.
'That's why we're so gloomy,' said Russell, looking at each of them in turn. 'We all want to go home, but none of us think it's possible.'
'I don't know how fast this contraption can fly,' said John. 'But here's a few facts to chew on: light travels fantastically fast, at something like three hun