*
The jetty had been no trouble to get across. There were literally no signs of life. A quick sweep of my lancer's thermal imaging revealed that there was not even a worthy heat signature visible within the buildings. I was however uncertain of the effective range of this antique.
The entrance to the building was in effect a series of columns supporting a stone overhang. True to Ascension's blend of the ultra modern with the classical, it was not merely a matter of walking through the columns and you were in , because there was a meter thick armoured glass partition separating the end of the columns from the beginning of the building
A message was engraved into the glass entrance which read, For Those Who Seek Enlightenment, Ascension Can be the Only Cure. In between each of the columns there were lecterns of crystal with pages from famous literature impressed onto their surfaces.
In order to pass through the glass it was evidently necessary to go through the comparatively small entrance. Unfortunately this would require us to figure out a way of opening the door.
Our tiny forms reached the door undisturbed. It was taller than us by several feet. There was a small flat slab of sandstone raised aloft by a pole of the same material that drew my interest. I walked over to it in the belief that this would be our way in. I carefully placed my hand upon its cold surface. In a flash a screen transposed itself upon the surface of the slab, it seemed to be projected from nowhere. There was an image of the building ahead of us now flowing along the stone. Superimposed upon the image, in white lettering, were the words, Access to Chorus Heights is restricted at this time. The text was marked as interactive so I pressed it.
‘I am sorry citizen,’ an automated voice boomed, ‘but Chorus Heights is currently off limits to the general public.’ We both spun around in unison knowing with an inevitable certainty that this would draw the attention of any nearby infected. ‘This restriction has been autonomously enforced by the Chorus Heights AI. This enforcement is the result of a biological quarantine procedure in effect throughout Ascension. All citizens are advised to remain indoors, seek shelter and await further instructions.’
My heart was once again set racing and I could hear it drumming in my ears. My vision narrowed and I desperately searched out the enemy. But none could be seen. In fact throughout the course of our entire movement across the Commercial District there had been nothing to see but shadows. It seemed almost as though we were projecting our own phantoms upon a desolate landscape.
After several minutes it became clear that we were not going to be confronted by any of Ascension's monstrous creations. I turned and said to Aeniah, ‘is there any way of bypassing the lock-down?’
After a moment of silence Aeniah replied, ‘I think I might have a way.’ She strode over to the slab and rolled back her sleeve. With her exposed wrist she rubbed her naked flesh onto a small increment in one the upper corners of the slab. The image on the screen changed to something that more closely resembled a user interface. It seemed as though Ascension's systems were in some way programmed to respond to Aeniah's commands. After several moments of collapsing windows and fluttering hands some text appeared upon the screen and stated simply Access Granted, Welcome Aeniah Corinthia.
It was those words which caused me to fully realise my suspicions. Ascension knew who Aeniah was. The systems onboard the Eternis System's vessel had called her by a different surname. I knew immediately that Aeniah was not who she seemed to be. Although when I came to think about it, she had never seemed entirely normal, in fact she always seemed to be out of place.
I was about to confront her about my suspicions, force her to tell me what was going on. But I realised where we were and thought better of it. I would ask her later, I would ask her before we left Chorus Heights. With these thoughts whirling through my head I had hardly noticed that I was alone amongst the columns, Aeniah had already walked inside. I rushed forwards, mindful that by myself I was a sitting target. The glass doors slowly closed behind me. I heard the thud of their two sides gently impacting upon one another.
I could not see Aeniah anywhere. I looked to my left across the huge, multi-levelled expanse of the reception area. There was floor after floor of galleries above my head, each positioned in a slightly different angle than the others. I looked right and saw a desk. But still I did not see Aeniah.
I rolled my wrist towards my face. I clicked on the comms to open a channel. ‘Aeniah, where are you,’ I whispered. The comms simply rolled to channels of static. There was no reply. There was also nothing that could have taken her away. This could only have meant one thing, that one of the intelligent infected was here. I remembered Blue Dawn’s categories. Most infected lost their mental faculties, but there were a minority who had retained their intelligence. In short, I was frightened out of my wits. Indeed if a single one had retained its intelligence then there was no telling what technology it would have at its disposal.
Aware that I had to find supplies for the mission, I decided to continue. I could not run throughout this building to find her, simply to fall into a trap. The supplies had to be prioritised.
Sean would have a connection to Aeniah, I suddenly remembered, and so he may know where she was. ‘Sean, Aeniah's gone, do you have any idea where she is.’
Sean's voice came through the static on the comms. ‘Yes George, Aeniah is on the forty-second floor,’ there was something in Sean's voice that made me nervous. ‘As far as I am aware she has travelled there voluntarily, but that does not mean that there is no danger posed towards you.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ I asked, but there was no reply on the comms. In fact the entire system seemed to go dead, there was no longer even any static.
I spun around searching for something, anything that would bring light upon the situation, but there was nothing. I ached everywhere; I just did not have the energy. I hurt everywhere, I felt like, no I had, been thrown across a room, shot at and then frozen. My groggy self reflection slowly ended with fear. Idiot, I thought, I was standing around day dreaming in the aftermath of an apocalypse being chased by hordes of infected. Even for me, that was stupid.
With a sudden realisation I remembered that the desk I saw earlier was probably designed for the receptionists or managers to administrate the complex. At the very least there should have been a map of some description.
I hopped over the top of the desk and crashed to the floor. Another stupid move. I had to keep reminding myself that I was not an action hero, I was just some guy, and I should have known better than to vault a desk wider than my leg span.
Curiously there was still no noise. This city was dead. There was nothing left living here but the trees. I wondered where the bodies were, where all the dead had been left to rot. It seemed as though the Commercial District had been untouched by the quarantine controls Blue Dawn had affected. The corpses would not have been preserved in the vacuum since this section of the station had clearly never been depressurised. Still there should have at least been skeletons. Sean had said that there was a ton of movement in the city centre and I wondered why there was nobody here.
This was not really relevant right now so I turned my attention back to the desk. Underneath the top that I had just vaulted over, there was a bank of screens. I thumbed along the options menus. The system was too complicated. I was just about to give up when saw out of the corner of my eye a green woman. It was a holo of the Chorus Heights' AI. The visual was only in the shape of a woman but overall there were few distinct features.
‘Good afternoon citizen, may I help you?’
‘Yes, please...um, where exactly are the elevators,’ I stuttered.
‘The elevators are located on the second gallery inside the transport mezzanine. Is there anything else that I can help you with?’ The green figure of a woman stated all of this without emotion.
‘Can you tell me anything about the quarantine?’ I asked, wondering whether or not the system was even capable of understanding the s
ituation.
‘Of course citizen. The quarantine has been continuously implemented after several citizens experienced symptoms similar to that of a viral infection. The quarantine level was extended nineteen days after infection to encompass the remainder of the Commercial District. The Commercial District lost network communication shortly afterwards. The quarantine will remain in effect indefinitely. Is there anything else I can help you with?’
‘No, that will be all,’ I replied. The green lady inclined her head and disappeared. Still there was silence all around. With effort I began to move towards the stairs that would take me to the second gallery.
I had risen onto the first floor and was circling around the gallery towards the second level when I heard the sound of somebody frantically running up the stairs. I could hear their breath catching as they drew in air. There may have been more than one, but I could not tell. From my position I was blind.
I ran. My legs picked up their pace and I felt the hunger fall away, only to be replaced by that oh so familiar feeling of terror. I wound around the curved gallery stairs and onto the second floor. As I sprinted up the final stair I saw the overhead sign that indicated the transport hub.
The sign exploded in a shower of sparks. Whatever was chasing me was no ordinary infected. That thing still retained enough of its demonic intelligence to operate an energy weapon. I fled in the direction of the transport hub with super-human speed. A shot flew past me and exploded against a glass mobile which disintegrated into a rain of deadly shards and fell towards the mezzanine below.
The transport hub was just through the arch ahead of me. ‘Summon lift,’ I screamed to the ever watchful AI. A green figure floated next to me synchronising its refresh speed with my running rate.
‘Of course citizen. I notice that you are in some distress. Weapons discharge has been detected, the police cannot enter a quarantine zone, would you like me to take executive measures?’
‘Yes!’ I screamed, ‘for the love of fate, do something.’
I was nearing the lift now, but I could see from the symbols above it that it was still a considerable distance from me. I could hear the breath of the infected clearly now. I heard the AI's voice behind me. ‘Attention criminal, you are in violation of Ascension Citizenship terms. Desist immediately or executive measures will be taken against you.’ The infected merely snarled and fired another energy bolt towards me. I threw myself down and the bolt whizzed across my head and exploded against the door of one of the lift platforms. The door did not budge and inch.
The infected was going to get me, of this I was sure. I had nowhere left to run and the lift had not arrived. I turned around and raised my lancer. To my horror I saw not one, nor two, but closer to ten of them. They were moving with a speed that even the uninfected could not have achieved. I was going to die.
Behind them rose a curious floating object. It looked a little like Sean, with a blue eye in front of it. But the device was sleeker, longer and much more durable looking. From the underside of its body a mass of beams emerged and struck my pursuers, cooking them so quickly that they dissolved upon the impact. The creepiest part of the entire ensemble was that the device made absolutely no noise, and so the sound of flash-fried flesh was all the more audible.
The device erased the infected with little effort and casually descend back to wherever it had come from. The AI appeared again. ‘Congratulations citizen, your assailants have been dispatched with. You are now safe. Please proceeded to your destination.’
As if on cue the lift arrived and the doors opened. I was still rather stunned by the display of power that the system had put on. Without really caring I punched my floor number into the machine and waited for the doors to open again.