I was standing behind the black metal baluster of my balcony in the Hostel of the Fated, as the huge golden sun was slowly rising on the scarlet horizon beyond the ocean that spread before my eyes. I was feeling somewhat weird knowing that this ocean used to be part of the Offirian deserts; not so long ago, it was turned into a sea by means of elemental magic and terraforming experiments. It had proved impossible to find out by whom and why.
A strange song was echoing all around from hidden headphones, repeating a strange refrain:
The black tower in Alkmyre
faces the highest mountain top.
As dark clouds hide the sky,
naked branches crack like bones.
The melodious music with the ambiguous lyrics gradually brought me in a brown study: I have known many aspects of evil so far, I have fought it all my life, I have had quite a few victories; yet, no matter what I do, it always seems to prevail in the long run, one way or another. You can't really exterminate evil; it changes form and returns, again and again. Besides, “good” often proves to be nothing but a pretense, a cover for evil. Are all things evil inside, indeed? I wondered, just a few minutes before setting out on my new mission.
As soon as the song ended, the departure signal sounded loud. We all left our temporary accommodation in the Hostel of the Fated and silently embarked on the oval-shaped aircraft that would take us to our new home. I was feeling rather anxious for I had no idea about our exact destination. I only hoped I could stay there long enough to find out what was exactly happening there. According to the information gathered by my precious ally, Arion of Tifereth, there was an interstellar slave trade taking place beyond the boundaries of the Palladian Empire: “Thousands of people go to planet Offir every year, in search of their destiny, as it is often reported. Supposedly, they go there to work; however, they never come back and nobody hears from them anymore. Actually, nobody knows what hides behind all this but I have the impression that something uncanny is happening on Offir, the fifth planet of the white star Melian. I don't think the Palladians have anything to do with it but we had better look into it and find out the truth”, Arion had explained in a firm voice.
That's why I had ended up on that small planet, which seemed to be completely cut off from any civilization. So far, I had seen no sign of the Palladians there; most of the planet was desert, there were no cities, no important first materials for the Empire to plunder, nothing. Officially the planet was completely uninhabited, yet it actually throbbed with human life. People arrived to Offir from different solar systems; they all came from lower social classes, they had no future in their home planets, and they travelled to Offir because they expected to find a permanent occupation and a less stressful life. Strange but true...
After an one-hour-flight, the aircraft landed and we all disembarked taciturn. As soon as I came into view of it, I was astounded to recognize an ancient ship -a vessel used for sea travel thousands of years ago. However, this one was never bound to cross the oceans; instead it rested there, among the dunes of the endless Offirian desert. I marvelled at its incredible size, prow and stern melting into the morning haze. Its numerous decks shone like silver and all its lights were on, glowing bright through the innumerable square portholes. On its black hull, the name of the ship, Destiny, was written with sizable red letters. Everybody stared in wonder but nobody uttered a word. Not a sound was heard as we proceeded in line towards an open gateway.
Recruitment on the ship proved to be a lot easier and faster than I had expected: We were only asked to submit a simple identification paper. Of course, I presented forged papers, my hair was dyed blond and I was wearing cheap, casual clothes. Yet, I could see right from the start that I needn't have taken any cover measures; it was obvious that personal identity did not matter at all in there. Right after, we were all provided with the same beige overalls, which would be the only type of clothing for us from then on. Strangely enough, all workers were allowed to keep some of their accessories, as a symbol of the self they were going to forsake -and this is what I had counted on before deciding to undertake that mission. So, I went aboard the ship called “Destiny” wearing my Alvesten bracelets which protect me from all kinds of external mind control and the Belt of Queen Cyane, which looks like a fine ornamental belt but it actually increases mental and physical powers.
By blood froze as I realized what followed next: All future workers had to go through a mind conditioning proce-dure, defined as an “instantaneous educational program”. The other recruits seemed to adore the idea but I had a strong feeling of disgust from the first moment my eyes fell on the implant ejection. I really wished I could avoid it, since such implants affect not only the physical body but the astral one as well; however, I decided I had better go through it because I didn't want to attract any attention by causing trouble so soon. Besides, this would give me the chance to learn the whole story right from the beginning. Anyway, my body is already full of Palladian implants and, under the present circumstances, one more won't make any difference, I reckoned but didn't manage to actually appease myself.
As soon as the doctor in charge saw my Alvesten bracelets, he got curious and started examining them closely with his eyes and fingers. He looked impressed at their complex star pattern but he said nothing. He tried to remove them, he soon found out it was impossible for him to do so, and I got scared that he would suspect their true utility. Yet, it was obvious that he had never seen anything like that before, so he could not at all suspect that these bracelets neutralize all kinds of mind manipulation and implant effect. He took some notice of the Blue Mystique too; however, judging that it wouldn't interfere with my performance at work, he didn't bother any more. Eventually, he let me proceed without any questions and I could barely conceal my relief.
….
Novices were led to a department at the lowest part of the ship. It was a dull green environment, where we started working immediately. There were hundreds of persons around me, each one at their own post, performing exactly the same tedious, repetitive tasks with remarkable eagerness, quickness and perfection.
A certain picture caught my attention at once: It covered part of the ceiling and showed two snakes of undefinable length, one pitch black and the other fiery yellow, intertwined in a complex pattern. I recognized the primeval symbol of the two opposite cosmic powers that fight each other eternally for the domination of the universe: fire versus void.
At first I had some difficulty in operating my robotic arm, which soon proved to be building some kind of nanochips. I began to worry as soon as I realized that the other newcomers didn't seem to have any problem with their work, as if they had already been well taught how to make the arm function correctly and at maximum speed. Undoubt-edly, that was due to the mind conditioning program, which also served as instant education.
However, the initial impression of ideal organization was soon superseded by annoyance, since I could see no real reason for labouring like this; after all, that type of work could also be done automatically. Of course, work has always been a basic method of psychic vampirism, I thought and shivered at the faint suspicion that occurred to me for a moment, but I suppressed it immediately.
Anyway, for the time being I had no other alternative but go on working conscientiously, hour after hour. I could occasionally hear a few words spoken by those of higher rank, who had the additional duty of supervising the novices, making sure that everything went like clockwork.
It's hard to tell after how much time I started feeling confused and worn out; I could no longer think clearly, yet I kept on working mechanically, like an automaton. Do this kind of work from dawn till dusk for a couple of weeks and your brain gets soft, I mumbled to myself.
It got even worse when I noticed that all the other labourers maintained more or less the same pace of work, while I was getting slower and less accurate. Had I not been wearing the Belt of Queen Cyane, I wouldn't have been able even to figure out what I was supposed to do.
“This is your first day here, right?” a woman's voice rang metallic next to me.
“Yes,” I answered tiredly.
“You are making mistakes, you know, and you are rather slow!” she remarked, full of concern.
“I' m sorry...”
As I turned and faced her, I was surprised at her young age; she had a light silver complexion, long snow-white hair and big purple eyes -typical features of the much afflicted Azenkurian race. Apart from the beige overalls, she was also wearing a fine gold necklace with a round carmine gem in the centre. I could tell from the look in her glassy eyes that she had been in the ship for a long time.
“It's alright, you will catch up soon!” she reassured me calmly.
Apparently, my poor performance had not aroused any suspicions, since not all subjects of mind control are equally receptive; however, day by day the implant effect gains ground.
“Who are you? How long have you been here?” I dared ask.
“My name is Helena and I have been serving the Destiny for five Offirian years. Due to my exceptional services, the bio-computer has determined for me another 996 Offirian years of life of board,” she recited, as if mesmerized.
“This equals about 300 Palladian years!” I said in disbelief.
“It is achieved by brain reconstruction in successive young bodies. This is how the High Priestess rewards those who serve her loyally...”
“The High Priestess? Who is the High Priestess?” I exclaimed in surprise. I didn't expect to hear anything like that and I didn't wish it either.
“This is of no importance,” she snapped, obviously annoyed. “It doesn't matter who you serve, what matters is that you serve well!”
I looked at her dumbfounded, barely believing I was hearing those words.
“Just keep in mind: The more efficiently we serve the High Priestess, the more years of life we get as a reward, and not only on this ship!” she concluded in complacent frigidity.
“Not only on this ship? Where else?” I wondered but the supervisor had already moved on.
I got back to work with a sense of nausea, thinking that I had to get out of that weird galley as soon as possible; besides, I could feel I was running out of time and energy. Anyway, there was no reason for me to stay there any longer, since I had already found out a lot of what I wanted: Hard labour drained life force from the workers with every move they made and the psychic vampire who received it was a so-called High Priestess. As about the “reward”, without doubt it was a mind uploading procedure which resulted to virtually immortal biological marionettes. The workers were actually building the nanochips that might eventually replace their own brain cells.
In the meantime, work was getting more and more complicated and required knowledge that I just didn't have. Suddenly, there was nothing I could do; the robotic arm no longer moved; in all probability, it had been blocked by some mistake of mine -which was unacceptable for any worker. Helena stood next to me again, and didn't look happy about what she saw.
“What are you doing here?” she asked grim.
I stared at her numb, as she fixed the robotic arm with a quick motion of her hands and it started functioning again. I smiled timidly and got back to work. The supervisor glanced at me scornfully and walked away. I turned round instinctively and watched her touch her gold necklace softly; I immediately knew that this meant trouble. I focused all my attention on her, concentrated harder, and I could now hear the telepathic communication she was having:
“Excuse the disturbance, High Priestess, but I must confess my fears,” were her first words.
“Make it brief,” ordered the High Priestess stern.
“I think there is an intruder in my sector!” announced Helena hesitantly.
“I know!”
“What should I do?”
“You? Nothing! I will deal with this problem, personally. Clear enough?”
“Perfectly clear, Lady Chimaera!”
….
On hearing the witch's name, I woke up with a start in my cabin in the Zephyrus which, in the meantime, had been resting on the dark side of Muse, the first moon of Offir. I sat up in my bed breathless, trying to put myself together again after the abruptly terminated astral projection. It had lasted several hours, in a rather thick astral carrier, and I was on the verge of exhaustion. In fact, I wouldn't have been able to maintain it for so long if I hadn't been wearing the Belt of Cyane.
I should have been feeling satisfied since I had returned with all the information I needed; instead, I was full of apprehension. I stood up and ran out of the room at once. A few moments later I was in the bridge; my heart sank when I saw there was no one there. I called Arion's name several times but I got no answer. My heart was pounding like a drum, as I sensed that something had gone very, very wry. Just then I heard a strident laugh behind me; I turned round at once and the blood ran cold in my veins.
“Oh, no! This can't be happening!” I cried as an incredible image was taking shape before my eyes.
“Oh, yes; it can, my dear,” responded Lady Chimaera ironically.
The part of the room before me was already changing fast into the witch's den, separated from the rest of the bridge by a spectral, transparent partition that gradually rose up to the ceiling. The place on the other side looked like an old garret full of magic tools, thick books and various concoctions in odd-shaped bottles. Lady Chimaera was facing me with a triumphant mien. Arion of Tifereth was standing right beside her, looking at me with an air of complacence.
“He is mine now and I had no particular difficulty in persuading him”, said the sorceress arrogantly.
“You are affecting his mind!” I cried.
“So did you, Sandra, so did you!”
I heaved a sigh of disappointment, knowing that a powerful sorceress like Lady Chimaera could easily enchant any man she wished; yet I would have never expected that my Arion would fall a victim to her sinister charm.
“What do you want?” I asked her, as calm as possible.
“Just to show you how insignificant you are, Sandra Nox! You didn't think you could spy on one of my work-sites and get away with it, did you?”
“Where are you keeping him?”
Lady Chimaera smiled sarcastically and came closer.
“You know where my place is; come and get him if you can!”
I stood there speechless, watching her chuckle mali-ciously as she turned and embraced Arion, who accepted her affection with pleasure. For a moment I hoped that the dimensional dome would be completed, transferring me into the witch's den just like it had done with Arion, but no; it only began to melt away, until I was left there all alone, with my head spinning. At that moment, there was no jealousy in my heart; there was sheer terror. Although he could not suspect it in his daze, Arion was in extreme danger.
Sometimes I tend to forget it, but there is no such thing as magic; there are secret hyper sciences hidden under the guise of magic and witchcraft. Anyway, it was most fortunate that the Artificial Intelligence Unit of the Zephyrus had located the origin of the witch's message: it came from Alkmyre, the fourth and smallest moon of Offir. Just like the other three satellites, it has a habitable atmosphere; yet, Lady Chimaera has been its only inhabitant during the last millennium.
….
The black tower in Alkmyre
faces the highest mountain top.
As dark clouds hide the sky,
naked branches crack like bones.
Walking up the narrow path
among the ashen trees
I leave behind ancient sculls
rotting in the foul winds.
I repeated the rhyme again and again, so as to prevent myself from thinking that I was heading for the witch's den. Sending an astral copy of mine would not be a good idea, since I was too tired to reattempt something like that so soon. I had no other alternative but go there in the flesh.
I walked all the way up the rising path towards the foggy mountain top, near the north pole of Alkmyre, under a never dawning sky. My heart leaped as I finally came in view of the imposing dark tower that loomed up to the heavy clouds, its vaulted turrets playing hide-and-seek with the roseate haze. Thick shafts of lightning flashed around the old edifice, occasionally illuminating its huge rhomboid front windows and the weird-shaped gateway.
Before long I reached the stone bridge which connected the rocky mountain with the witch's tower. I paused and stared at the two sizable front windows that reminded of gigantic glaring eyes; beneath them, the arched gateway resembled a monster's wide-open mouth, its long, pointed metal teeth shining ominously in the flash of lightning. The cold wind made me shiver as I started to cross the ancient bridge with my laser gun in hand, knowing that things would get really nasty from now on.
As soon as I entered the sinister gateway, I faced the heavy stone portal that led inside the tower. After an instant hesitation, I lifted my weapon and got ready to fire at it; however, right at that moment the portal opened slowly with a loud squeak. I stepped in with rapt attention and found myself in a completely empty hall; there was nothing, nobody waiting for me in there -which I considered rather odd. At the far end of the room there was a narrow spiral stairway that obviously led to the upper floors. I paused and breathed the musty air for a second; I could sense no sign of danger, just a strange stillness.
I was heading for the stairs, when I heard a soft thud behind me. I turned round instantly and stared at the shadowy figure that had just appeared at the open portal. Then, a clear man's voice echoed in the dusk: “Go back, Sandra! Go back while you still can!”
I refused to believe it at first, but there was no doubt: That was my companion, Arion of Tifereth himself, who seemed to have come out of nowhere. He was now standing there, at the threshold of the tower, staring at me with cold, soulless eyes. In his hands he was brandishing a powerful laser sword, and his fighting stance showed that he was ready to attack.
“Arion, what are you doing?” I cried out, but he stayed silent. In fact, he acted as if he had never met me before, which made me feel sad and helpless. I could not remember being in a worst position ever before.
Next moment he assaulted me, furious like a wildcat. I stepped aside just in time, and his laser beam scorched the fusty air. His movements were incredibly fast and accurate, often giving me the impression that his feet did not even touch down. I did my best to avoid conflict with him; I only tried to defend myself, as he attacked again and again frenzied, his loud martial cries reverberating all around. Once again he proved to be an excellent fighter, but this time he wasn't fighting for ideals or liberty; he was just serving the most powerful psychic vampire that has ever existed. I had to fire two warning laser shots at him, which grazed past his wavy red hair. “Arion, stop!” I cried breathless but the paid no heed. He just got ready to counterattack, and he looked even more determined now. I barely managed to dodge his successive strikes for some never ending moments; then, with an incredible twist of his body, he turned his luminous blade aiming at my waist and I hardly had the time to scream “No!”...
Next moment, I opened my eyes hesitantly, looked around carefully, but there was nobody there. The witch's guard seemed to be gone, spirited away. “A hologram! It was nothing but a high-density hologram!” I soliloquized shocked, having just realized it was only hot air I had been struggling against. Still, it was a clear message from Lady Chimaera, telling me to go back while I still could. However, there was no way I could possibly turn back now.
….
I rushed up the stairs at once, getting more and more impatient with every step. When I reached the top turret, I found the black metal door provocatively open. Entering the spacious hexagonal garret cautiously, I immediately noticed the characteristic symbol of two snakes I had seen on the Ship of Destiny; however, this one was three-dimensional, enclosed in a crystalline sphere which hovered in the air under the vaulted roof. Right under it, there was a massive altar made of black marble carved with bizarre relief magic seals. The walls were covered with wooden shelves full of sorcery tools, bulky books, bottled potions, as well as sculls and bones of various humanoid and human beings. Outside the narrow, latticed dormers the whole sky kept flashing with tremendous lighting.
“You are here at last, Sandra Nox!” announced Lady Chimaera in a sonorous voice, her long blond hair slightly waving at the graceful motion of her arms. She was wearing a long purple velvet garment, plenty of sparkling jewels and a black cloak with a star-spangled finish. Arion was standing next to her, holding an odd-shaped firearm in his hands. And this time he was not a hologram.
“What have you done to him?” I demanded to know, aiming my laser gun at the sorceress.
“What he has always wanted, of course, just what he has always wanted!” she replied provocatively, and touched his shoulder tenderly. I could no longer contain my wrath and sought to fire at her at once. She tended her right arm towards me and then -nothing. No laser beam came out of my gun. The triumphant look on the witch's face meant that she had just blocked my weapon with her psychic powers. Yet I tried again, in vain; my gun was nothing but a burden now and I threw it down in dismay.
Next moment Arion moved in front of the witch with a light footstep, aiming that dreadful weapon at me. He looked more attractive than ever in his tight green uniform, his lips half-open in an arrogant smile, his green eyes shining as never before.
“Be careful! He hates it, when someone annoys his mistress!” crowed Lady Chimaera with a sarcastic smile.
“His mistress?” I exclaimed, hardly believing what was happening.
“Keep in mind, Sandra, he is no longer who you knew!”
Arion assaulted me with a ferocity I had never seen before. Once again, the Blue Mystique helped me react promptly and avoid the enemy's mortal beams with relative ease. He kept firing at me furiously, pushing me back towards the entrance. Just then, the black metal door slammed closed behind me and I had to perform an endless set of acrobatic jumps in order to dodge the enemy's successive attacks. His moves were extremely fast and accurate, avoiding to damage anything in the room. All at once he was too close to me, determined to finish the duel as fast as possible.
In the meanwhile, the witch had withdrawn to a corner and was enjoying herself to the fullest, as I was getting more and more desperate. The belt was helpful indeed, but this couldn't go on for ever.
“You think I would have let you reach my tower if I considered you a worthy opponent, Sandra?” shouted the sorceress scornfully, as time seemed to have frozen. “Besides, you have something that belongs to me!” she went on. She meant the Blue Mystique and she was right about that: Very long ago and very far away, she used to be the omnipotent Queen Cyane and the belt belonged to her. But it was mine now and I had no intention of losing it, Arion or my life.
Next instant I jumped high into the air so as to evade another furious attack of the enemy; then I turned aside and swept his weapon off his hands with a fast side kick. As I was landing on my feet, I saw he had already picked up his firearm from the dark purple floor. I rushed and pounced on him immediately, striking him hard in the face. The unexpected blow made him lose balance, topple back, bang his head against the marble altar and lie there stunned. For one long moment, there was absolute silence in the room.
“Arion?” I cried and ran to him. “Are you all right?” I asked but got no answer.
After a never ending moment, he opened his eyes and looked at me in surprise. Obeying an irresistible urge, I bent over and kissed him passionately for a couple of magical seconds. All of a sudden I was tossed into the air, landed against bookshelves and I collapsed on the floor together with some heavy volumes, while Arion was already aiming his weapon at me. He fired repeatedly, with the same insane look in his eyes. Strangely enough, this time it proved to be quite easy for me to dodge the thick azure beams as his marksmanship seemed to have waned a little -maybe because he was still dizzy.
We both stood still for an instant, as we clearly heard the witch uttering one of her dreadful spells. Her unintelligible words were still ringing in the ionized air, when I first noticed those pools of an odd, whitish liquid oozing all over the place.
“Ectoplasm!” I uttered in abhorrence, because I knew: Ecto-plasm is created when an extra-dimensional entity is about to materialize. Such a sorcery requires huge amounts of energy, but that was no problem for Lady Chimaera. Therefore, it would be only a matter of seconds until some hideous demon materialized in that room, under the witch's commands.
Arion raised his firearm again, always aiming at me. He fired at once and I sought to take cover behind the black altar, as he went on shooting like crazy. I hardly managed to duck just in time and evade the mortal beams that scorched the air several inches over my head. His next luminous beam was not at all near me and I wondered about his continuing lack of marksmanship.
As I turned my head, I was surprised to see that Arion's laser had struck the crystalline sphere above the altar, actually destroying the mystical seal inside. For a couple of endless seconds, I watched the two spectral snakes stir as if they were coming to life; they slowly moved in opposite directions, separated and finally disappeared from sight. Simultaneously, all the white pools of ectoplasm melted away fast.
Lady Chimera screamed in terror and the room resounded with her shrill cry of pain, as Arion fired again, this time against her. For a moment or two, she twirled in a spasm of incredible intensity; then the sorceress fell silent, wrapped herself in her black mantle and vanished in an ethereal green cloud.
“She... she is gone!” I stuttered in astonishment.
“She'll be back! A powerful psychic vampire like Lady Chimaera won't perish so easily!” said Arion in a firm voice.
I turned and faced him in unspeakable relief. He was back again, the Arion I knew. I ran to him and hugged him tight, happier than ever.
….
“The three-dimensional seal ensured the witch's pact with two rival demons, one of the void and one of the fire”, explained Arion, as we were crossing the stone bridge, having just abandoned the tower. “Lady Chimaera owed her extraordinary vampiric powers precisely to that pact...”
“Which was undone, thanks to you!”
“For the time being, she has lost everything: her precious pact with the two demons, her physical body and lots of energy.”
“And she has also lost control of her subjects,” I inferred satisfied.
“She will eventually regain everything; she will probably need a considerable span of time for that, but she will return,” he concluded with certainty.
The only thing that I failed to find out, was what had happened exactly between Arion and Lady Chimaera during the time he was her prisoner. He sustained he had no recollection of that, since he was not himself while under her influence. It was the bump on his head but mostly my kiss of love that brought him back, he said.
For the time being, I preferred to content myself with that explanation.
After that soul-racking experience, I decided to stay away from Offir for a long time. I don't really know what happened with the ship called Destiny.
According to recent information, some of the slaves got away of their own volition.
Some others didn't.