The Journey of Rick Heiden

The Journey of Rick Heiden - Chapters 39 and 40

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This novel contains 50 CHAPTERS, and every post will have 2 chapters each.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

I hadn't appreciated the disadvantage of the unfamiliar environment. The instant my eyes leveled with the marble of the third floor, I scanned all around me. The smell of cooked food lingered in the cool air. The cage jerked to a stop. I retracted the accordion door, and the empty room fell silent. I stood in a vestibule shaped like a 6-meter cube with 5-meter wooden double doors before me. Knockers of polished bronze, like the left and right forearms of a giant, hung on the mullion of each, their oversized fists gripping an orb. I rapped the door with the left knocker and waited.

Gabe cracked open the door. I noted that he hadn't adhered to the strict dress code; he wore his Trust uniform. In just shorts and shoes, I felt a little underdressed. He looked around the vestibule and then opened the door to let me inside.

Most of the third floor held a great room, decorated in a classical style, with marble and mosaics of mythological creatures on the walls and plenty of Roman furniture throughout the room. To the right, a table with ten chairs had the remnants of a meal on one end.

Amare lay on a platform bed, tucked in a recess of the room. I rushed to him to find him in the same condition as Neal. Horrified, I clung to the side of the bed rather than hugging him, although I almost did.

"I found him on the floor of his home last night," said Gabe.

"Why?" I said aloud to myself.

"We need to talk, Rick."

I turned to face him and backed away. "Can I trust you? How do I know you didn't do this?"

"What can I say to convince you?" Gabe asked. "I am David's man. If he asked me to do something, I would do it. Amare trusted you, David, and me most."

"What do you want?"

"I want to ask you for your help. I can't do this alone."

"How can I know you're honest?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I could tell you what you wanted to know at Laurel's lab. I know why the population declined when Aurum invented the Youth Enhancement. Why don't we sit?" He glanced at the seating.

I nodded. Cautious, I followed him. He sat in a chair while I sat on a lounge. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Aurum invented the Forever Young enhancement," he said, "and when it became available most of the population found it abhorrent and opposed the idea. The elders of the time, including my parents, felt it crossed a line they were unwilling to cross, even for transhumanists. Most of the younger generation wanted and received the youth enhancement, led by Amare, Meridia, Dmitry, Dai, Ruby, and me. No one older than us received it, and the three of our eldest, Amare, Meridia, and Dmitry, convinced everyone between the ages of 15 and 24 to receive it by their 25th birthday, and everyone between the ages of 25 and 30 received it. In reaction, the older generations at the time, convinced as many people as they could, including Aurum himself, to not get the enhancement and to side with them when they chose to stop having children. Those of us with the enhancement felt we had plenty of time and an enormous reluctance to have children of our own. This began an era of profound change for Jiyu. The population plummeted from 6 million to 500 thousand in less than 200 jears."

So far, his story comported with what Pearce had told me. I had one question. "Why did the older generation stop having children?"

"That's complicated." He leaned back, pausing a moment to gather his thoughts. "At the time," he said, "the people of Jiyu had already eliminated a great deal of struggle and uncertainty to life, and the elders knew humans require the change and growth that comes from occasional struggle as well as an element of uncertainty. It's part of the push and pull of positive and negative forces if you will. These are the things of which lives are made. It can result in harsh circumstances, but it's what keeps us motivated, empathetic, and functioning as people and as a society. They also recognized that endings had the same importance as beginnings. They believed that physically living forever would one day make life vapid and meaningless. They believed that adding a potential everlasting life to the box of contentment, harmony, and order, the population had already created for themselves would cause curiosity to diminish and that both discovery and innovation would go with it.

"They believed, with luck, we would come to realize our self-made purpose wasn't enough. The only genuine, sufficient change and growth that we could experience would have to come from forces outside ourselves to color the world we live in, providing contrast, thereby making life itself meaningful. They didn't want to condemn more children to what they believed would become a path to self-destruction, or worse, a life of mediocrity from living in a hellish perpetual serenity. Their decision to stop having children embodied their most honorable choice, and they concluded that maybe by doing so, it would teach us a lesson they believed we needed to learn."

"Isn't serenity a good thing?" I asked.

Gabe considered that for a moment. "Do you know why we can enjoy experiences?"

I shook my head, not knowing where he was going with it.

"We can enjoy them because they end, even if just for a while," he said. "People find a ride at a fairground fun, but would it remain fun if it never ended? Too much of any given experience, including living in serenity, is bad. Even parents, who love their children, require the contrast of time away from them to keep them a joy in their lives. Our elders wanted to teach us a lesson in moderation. Life devoid of struggle is anemic, as it became on Jiyu, but too much struggle is soul-destroying, as it has become for far too many people on Earth."

"So, what happened?"

"Much later, after Amare became Prime, the population growth rebounded."

"Yes, I have already surmised what Amare had to do to compensate for that problem. So, the elders were right in their assessment."

He nodded. "Yes. Despite our search for knowledge and inventive ways of thinking, we needed something else. Jiyu vacillated between excitement and a complacency that bordered on apathy for jears. Amare's efforts helped to lift us out of that cloud, and it lifted further when you and David returned from Earth with Amare and Aiden, but it hasn't lifted fully and not permanently."

"Amare tried to tell me of the portal's importance," I said. "It is important."

He nodded. "The portal has helped to keep us from remaining complacent," he said. "Change comes in the form of occasional newcomers and news from Earth. When they arrive, things become different, if just for a while. Aurum knew Jiyu would have this ongoing problem. I have awaited the time when someone comes and effects such change a shift of consciousness occurs, altering life here."

"If you knew what Jiyu needed," I asked, "why haven't you done it?"

He shook his head. "I recognized the problem, but as a product of this world, I didn't know how to help correct it."

"What would you have me do?" I asked.

"Keep doing what you're doing," he said, "much of the change here centers around you and David." He leaned forward. "If you know how Amare compensated, then you know about the Prime Sharer."

"Yes, where did you hear about it?"

"Amare told me long ago," he said. "Where did you hear it?"

"Pearce."

"Pearce?"

"Yes. Pearce knows of that, and the entrance to Aurum's secret and what's hidden there, or rather I should say `knew' of the entrance; no one can access it now. He wrote about it in journal number eight, which Meridia stole 36 jears ago, according to Neal."

"That's disappointing."

"What is?" I asked.

"Amare told none of us the location, not even me, so secrecy alone has protected it, and if Meridia has had the book all this time, she didn't share it with Amare because he would have told me of that."

"Might she have what Aurum hid there?"

"No," he said, "knowing how to find the entrance is one piece. I shouldn't, but I'm sure I stumbled upon a piece when I dropped something once, and I know Meridia doesn't know of it. You said no one can access it now?"

"Yes, I'm sure the Master Builder blocked the entrance. A thewsbot must have done the job."

"If the Master Builder closed the entrance, she would create another one elsewhere. How did Pearce discover its location?"

"Pearce told me Amare hid the memories with him as a child, and he believes Amare made himself forget them."

Gabe closed his eyes and exhaled. "Yes, of course. That means, despite that Amare has kept him close, he doesn't trust Dmitry. I suspected as much. After Amare's tenure as Prime, next will come Dmitry's tenure. I wondered why Amare hadn't retired long ago. He never would tell me."

"Amare told me it felt as if he had taken on a task that he couldn't entrust to anyone else," I said, "I assume he meant Dmitry. He said it must end, but he must make it right. He's going to end the need for anyone to compensate ever again, isn't he?"

Gabe closed his eyes. "Oh, Amare, what have you done?"

"Did Amare destroy Rom, or did Dmitry? Or Meridia, perhaps?"

"What motive would Dmitry or Meridia have?"

"I don't know, but Amare and Neal didn't do this to themselves. Is this about Aurum's secret? Or is it about Amare wanting to correct a mistake he made long ago? Either way, I'm willing to bet Dmitry or Meridia did this to him. But Meridia is Amare's cousin, why isn't she one of the people he trusts?"

"They still speak with one another," he said, "but he no longer trusts her. I'm not sure why."

"I almost suggested we take Amare to the hospital, but we can't, can we?"

"No, we can't," he said. "No one can know of Amare's incapacitation. Dmitry cannot become Prime. He would inherit Aurum's home."

That phrase caught my attention. "Aurum's home...you mean the home Amare lives in, don't you?" I thought for a moment. "Aurum was Italian, wasn't he? I thought the sculptor depicted his statue as rather Romanesque. So, that's why Amare lives in that Italianate home; practical reasons, as he told me." Then I realized. "Aurum hid a piece of his secret there, didn't he? That's where you happened upon it. Amare lives there to protect it."

"You need to stop right there," Gabe said.

"Okay, fine," I said. "How would the Prime Sharer abilities get passed to Dmitry?"

"They wouldn't," he said. "The previous Prime, Francine Stabliano, gave Amare the abilities. I watched him drink the last vial. There isn't anymore." He took a deep breath. "Can we help Amare and Neal?"

"Viral nano code has caused their condition, and the technician told me we couldn't help them."

"Dmitry is a horticulturist," said Gabe, "that I know of, he couldn't have written viral code. Meridia could do it. She taught applied mathematics for jears."

"So, are they both in on it?"

"I don't know," he said.

"How long can Amare live like that?" I asked.

"As long as he has access to ambient electromagnetic energy, he doesn't need food for many days. But, without water? Not long. He must stay hydrated and flush his system like anyone else."

"Damn. That doesn't give us much time, and we need the time." I sat there thinking for several minutes, and a thought occurred to me. "How did you get Amare here?"

"With great difficulty," he said. "Without Fennec's loyalty to Amare, it wouldn't have happened. I couldn't get a levitating stretcher big enough, and Fennec's the one person I know who can lift him. We brought him here in the middle of the night. We couldn't bring him through the front door, so we came through the catacombs."

"The catacombs inside the mountain."

"Yes, we didn't have the tradition of cremation at the time, and those millions of people who died had to go somewhere."

"Is there a tunnel in the catacombs that reaches the temple?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the oldest section of the catacombs. We prepared the bodies in the temple, in the area now known as the observation wing, and took them down into the passage, but we haven't used it in jears. Why?"

"He needs care, so we cannot keep him here," I said. "We cannot keep him at our hospital because there's no way to keep that secret. Can you clear the temple while Fennec and I bring Amare there through the catacombs?"

"Why? We can't keep him hidden at the temple, either."

"Yes, that's right."

"Are you suggesting we take Amare to Earth?" he asked.

I nodded. "Aiden can go with him; he will know what to do. He studied him long enough, and he knows about Neal's condition. Fennec can stay with Amare to protect him, and they can take him through on a levitating gurney from the temple. I know theirs is big enough."

"You want to use the differential to give yourself time to find a cure," said Gabe, "I understand that, but if you think one lies waiting for you in Aurum's vault, I can't let you search for it. Aurum hid it for a reason."

"Yes, Aurum hid it for a reason," I said. "He hid the vault until such a time the Prime determined we needed its contents. Amare wouldn't choose to remain this way. From what you've said, he didn't want Dmitry to become Prime."

"What if Dmitry did this, in part, to force you to find Aurum's secret for him?" asked Gabe. "Amare wouldn't want you to do that."

"I will have to keep that in mind while I search for it."

Gabe gave me a harsh look, which appeared worse than the one he gave everyone, but it didn't deter me.

"Look," I said, "I want Amare back. I want Neal back. I want to know who the hell destroyed Rom because I don't believe Amare did it. I want to help Pearce get his son. I also want our people to come home, which Magnar says will happen tomorrow when Venn completes the second ship. The temple will have too many people there tomorrow, and Amare needs medical attention. It cannot wait; if we do this, it must happen tonight."

Gabe sat there thinking, a scowl on his face.

"You asked for my help," I said. "This is it."

"What of our people on Earth. Won't they see Amare coming through?"

"The British would have moved them away from the portal. It would cause a media frenzy if they didn't."

He took a deep breath. "What do you need me to do?"

I laid out the plan for Gabe. I needed him to find Aiden, letting him know what happened, what I needed him to do, and that I would meet him at the temple. I required Gabe to clear the temple of people for a while. I didn't know how he would manage it, but as an elder, I figured he could do it. In the meantime, Fennec carrying Amare, and I, would make our way to the temple through the catacombs, an unsavory idea for me if I ever had one. Gabe assured me I could find the way, as only one way up existed, and I would know it when I saw it.

On his way out, Gabe sent Fennec up the lift. I felt uneasy with Fennec; he didn't appear to like me. As he entered the room, I noticed the massive, striated thigh muscles we would rely on caused him to have a distinctive rolling gait.

"Gabe tells me he trusts you." --so, Fennec could speak in complete sentences of more than two words-- "If he trusts you, then I trust you."

"I appreciate that," I said.

He gave me a sidelong look. "You look me in the eye," he said in his smooth basso voice. "Does my size not frighten you?"

"Naw, I'm too busy finding you attractive to be frightened."

He laughed.

"And I find myself a little envious," I said, "I always wanted to be bigger."

"Lift heavy, lift every day, eat a lot, and sleep," he said. "Your body will take care of the rest."

"Thanks, I'll remember that," I said. "Gabe and I need you to carry Amare through the catacombs to the temple." I looked down at the legs bulging from beneath his rather short semi-transparent shorts. They looked larger than David's legs by a wide margin. "I suspect the trek is farther than it seems." I stared him in the eye. "I know you have great strength, but can you carry Amare that far?"

"That is far," he said. "I don't know. I will consider it a challenge."

I nodded. "I've never walked through catacombs or stood near millions of dead bodies. That's challenging enough for me." I pointed at the door. "Must we leave by the lift?"

"We also have the one-way exit down the staircase. It doesn't lead straight into the catacombs, but with the blackout party going on, no one will notice."

"I figured," I said. "I brought my wrist lamp, but I can't use it until we get to the catacombs."

"You and Gabe should get synthetic eyes," said Fennec. "Just follow me."

Fennec lifted Amare into a fireman's carry. (An efficient means of carrying someone quite a distance, the legs receive most of the strain.) I covered Amare with the dark coverlet from the bed to minimize what anyone might see.

A pull on the panel opened the exit to the narrow stairs at the back of the building. Fennec and Amare scraped the walls on the way down. We exited through the one-way door on the ground floor across the darkened hallway from the basement staircase. A couple of people descended into the basement when we arrived. Fennec followed them, and I trailed behind.

The marble basement staircase led to a near pitch-black lower level, soundproofed with an exaggerated "S" shaped sound baffle. It worked well; the instant we turned a corner, we heard low playing music until we turned the last corner of the baffle where the music became much louder, and the little remaining light dimmed even further. They played high-energy music one might hear in a nightclub in Europe.

We crossed the footprint of the house into a cutout cave within the rock of the mountain. I touched the wall on the way. As I suspected, the rich sound of the music and lack of any echoes told me that they had covered the stone walls and the ceiling in tapestries. I would love to have seen them. My eyes wouldn't have time to adjust to the near abject darkness. I saw various pieces of glow-wear on the hundreds of people. As I discovered later, we passed a few hypostyle halls with a series of iconic columns holding up ceiling braces the width of the room. Together, the spaces made up more than half of a football field. Luckily, I couldn't see them at the time; I would have had trouble tearing myself away from admiring the architecture. We turned down a long narrow hallway to a room with another sound baffle and a metal door. No one ventured past them as they knew where it led.

When I hear the word catacombs, I think of a smelly, rustic dingy environment. At best, I figured I would find casketless cobweb-covered corpses stacked inside alcoves, or worse, the dismembered bones of bodies displayed like artwork as those found in the catacombs of Paris. I expected the worst possible scenarios, and I should have known better; I was on Jiyu, not Earth.

We exited the baffle into the silence beyond the door, I stepped in front of Fennec, using my wrist lamp. It smelled like old air and stone. I detected no odor of decay from the bodies kept there. They had polished the ornate walls, ceilings, side columns, and metal braces to a satiny shine, and we encountered a raised floor tomb every few meters, on both sides of the path. Upon their tops lay a marble statue of the person entombed there appearing as though they were sleeping. Gold plaques on the sides of the tombs held the names and dates.

We walked quite a while, and I couldn't tell how far we had gone. "Do you need a break?" I asked.

"I can continue," Fennec said. "We're coming upon the passage to the main entrance that Gabe and I used."

At the junction, Gabe and Fennec had come from the left corridor leading to the outside. Before us, led to more of where we had come from, and as I came to know, I could find our secret exit to the forest in that direction. We took the right corridor as it went upward. We continued to see plenty of raised tombs, but the long passages zigzagged back and forth as it went higher with elongated steps.

"Let me know if you begin to have trouble, and we'll pause if we must."

"I'm fine for now," he said.

On Earth, Amare could weigh 300 pounds, which equated to 400 pounds on Jiyu. Fennec astonished me at how far he could carry him. We kept climbing upward for 50 minutes, and the situation began to get to me, but I persevered despite the morbid monotony of the view. They built the tread of every step, one after the next, the size necessary to create a raised floor tomb on either side of the passage.

We occasionally had a turn where we climbed steeper steps and then doubled back at a higher elevation. We should have reached one of those when I noticed the floor leveled out.

"What happened? We're not climbing." I looked behind us, around Fennec's massive form. "We couldn't have passed a turn."

"I think we have reached the top," he said.

"We have? Oh, thank goodness."

"Keep walking." He urged me, adjusting the weight of Amare on his shoulders. "I want to get to the temple."

We walked for several more minutes, and although we had walked far to reach the top, I knew we hadn't passed the tombs of millions of people. So, if we had come close to the temple, I couldn't imagine what to expect, but the answer came when we reached the end.

Even as a non-believer, I'd always given a level of solemnity to graveyards. They held the remains of dead people who deserved respect in the one way the living could respect the dead; by recognizing they once were living people who lived and loved like any one of us.

The long passage ended at a gold door, and to the right, a steep staircase going upward. The room behind the door had columns and braces like the ones at the Beddo House, except the room had depth (I couldn't tell how deep) and had many tiers. They finished off the walls with decorations and designs in the stone, all polished like a shiny new headstone. They etched the names of everyone entombed there on the interior wall next to the door, the family members of the people I knew as the elders of my time. They built tombs inside the room, and within its walls, their names and dates etched into gold plaques. When I saw how well our people had treated them, I wanted to cry. The scene reflected the Jiyu I knew and loved, a place where we even respected, honored, and cared for the dead as well as the living. I wondered if David had ever seen it. I stood looking at the millions of names engraved into the wall, and as I turned to go, I noticed them. I saw them etched at the bottom and the last ones entombed there, the names Judith and Benjamin Levitt.

"It's fascinating, Rick, but we don't have time for this," said Fennec. "I'm getting tired."

"I'm sorry. You're right; we should go. I can come back another time."

Fennec went first up the stairs, and at the top, we stood in a small room. I opened the exit door for him where we entered the end of the observation wing in the temple. The room had nothing but a table and some chairs. Gabe waited for us there with a levitating gurney. He stood when we entered, and Fennec laid Amare onto the stretcher.

Aiden entered as we made to leave. "Nice outfit," said Aiden, "what little there is of it."

"You know why I'm wearing it." I hugged Aiden, and I whispered to him what I had just discovered.

"Oh," he said and looked at me in curiosity. "Does David know they're there?"

"I don't know. You know David never talks about his parents," I said. "Are you okay with this?"

Aiden gave me a little smile. "Amare and I save one another's lives. It's what we do," he said. "I'm fine with it."

"You're a good man, Aiden," said Gabe.

"Aiden, meet Fennec," I said. "Don't let his size intimidate you; he's a big teddy bear."

"I'm not a teddy bear," he pretended to glower at me.

"And he's a new friend," I said.

"If he's your friend, Rick, then he's my friend," said Aiden. "Might as well start this off right." He shook Fennec's hand, and I noted he looked Fennec in the eye. I knew he would get along with Aiden fine.

"How did you get everyone out of the temple?" I asked Gabe.

"Laurel. The necessity arose for an important experiment she's conducting."

"Ah, clever," I said. "Where is Laurel?"

"In the portal room with Karyn, experimenting," he said.

"So, she did have an experiment."

"Oh, yes, but she didn't need anyone to leave." Gabe stood right next to me, squinting over my head. "Ahh, did you know an Attendant has followed you? At this distance, I can almost see its cloaking field."

I closed my eyes and exhaled in exasperation. "It doesn't surprise me, it happened earlier as well, but Fennec destroyed that one. You talked to Aiden at the penthouse, didn't you?"

"Yes, he had just arrived home."

"That's what I thought," I said. "I think Mason has some explaining to do."

"Should we destroy this Attendant too?" he asked.

"No, don't bother," I said. "If you do, another will take its place."

Laurel rushed through the door after running down the hall.

"Quick, get down here!" Then she ran back out again.

Aiden activated the levitating gurney, and we all left for the portal room.

The observation wing at the time, apart from the converted mortuary room, had the observation room next door to the portal and a bunk room with three sets of four adult-sized bunk beds. Someone always monitored the portal, made up of security and medical personnel.

Karyn gazed into an open panel on the riser of the top step of the portal.

"You figured it out," said Aiden.

"A signal given off by the revolving door mode gave me a clue I needed," said Laurel.

"It will take time to learn how to use the controls," said Karyn, "but from what I see here, I think we can move the portal if these symbols mean what I think they do."

"We need to get Amare to Earth," I said.

I stopped Fennec a moment when he pushed the stretcher up to the portal. I looked down upon Amare's sleeping form, feeling the warmth of his hand, I leaned over him.

"I don't know if any part of your enhanced brain can hear me, my friend," I said to Amare, "but we're going to do whatever it takes to bring you back to us. Aiden and Fennec will protect you while you cannot defend yourself." I held his hand for a moment. I covered him with the bedcover and let them continue. Fennec raised the stretcher until it could slide over the central platform.

Aiden climbed the first step with his bag but turned back. "If I see David, do you have a message for him?"

"Let him know that I think of him. I wish for him to come home soon," I said, and I did. Seeing his parents' names on the wall made me think of David and how much I missed him. I grabbed Aiden's arm, pulling him from the step to hug him tightly. "Take care of yourself," I said, "I want you to come home soon, too, and I'll do my best to make that happen from my end."

"I'm counting on it," he said and whispered to me. "Maggie and I have spoken with Pearce. We know what happened with Cadmar. Don't get upset with Pearce; he wanted our help to help you. He's a good guy. He wants you and David to remain together, and so do we, so listen to him."

"I will."

He held me by the shoulders. "And before I go, have you named your ship yet?" he asked.

"Yes, it's the SJS Berlioz."

"Excellent!" He sounded relieved. He leaned into me with a serious expression. "Make sure you have the name put on the ship."

"Oh, Aiden, must I yield to every nautical convention?"

"Promise me."

"Fine, I'll see to it," I said.

Laurel squeezed in to hug him, and she gave him a long kiss. "Don't be gone long," she said.

"I'll do my best," he said.

I said goodbye to Fennec, who suggested we could exercise together when he returned. He and Aiden mounted the portal along with Amare, and the portal began forming the plasmasphere, growing ever brighter, and within a minute, as we turned our backs to the blinding light, they vanished.

CHAPTER FORTY

My body and brain had grown tired. I'd had so little sleep on a planet with even more hours per day than Earth and still never had enough time to get a full night's rest. After Aiden and Fennec left with Amare through the portal, it sparked my determination to sleep that night, but I had begun to accept that Aiden could be right about my luck (if I believed in luck). I should have named the ship before I used it.

After Karyn closed the panel on the portal, Laurel allowed everyone back into the building, thanking them for their patience to keep up the pretense that their absence helped her; at least she had a result to give them. She would spend the next day writing about her findings and creating a release of information. Gabe thanked me for my assistance, and he wished me a pleasant evening.

I exited the temple to discover my ship, the Berlioz, on the hardscape out front. Maggie waited outside, leaning against it.

"How did it get here?" I yelled as I ran to the ship.

"It just landed," said Maggie with a shrug. "I knew you had business in the temple, so I waited for you here." She looked me up and down and laughed. "I can't believe you would wear that in public."

"Now, now, don't laugh at my Jiyuvian beddo haute couture." She laughed, and I hugged her. "So, why didn't you come inside to say goodbye to Aiden?"

"And ruin Laurel's goodbye to him?" she asked and shook her head. "I'm not so impolite."

"You knew of that?"

"Oui," she said, "Aiden and I had a long discussion after I laughed in his face at the temple. I should have been upfront with him. I don't want a relationship, but he needs one. I saw how he and Laurel worked together. I could tell they like one another. He likes me too, but we have crossed purposes. I want fun, but he wants to settle down."

"You made the comments at the restaurant for Laurel's benefit, didn't you?"

"Oui," she said with a simple smile, "Laurel had other plans earlier, so he took me out this evening as a thank you."

I hugged her tight. "You are wonderful."

"Let's go home," she said. "I want a ride back to the penthouse."

"That, you will have, my dear." I opened the hatch on our side, and I climbed in. Behind me, I heard a scuffle on the hardscape. I turned to find Dmitry standing behind Maggie, one hand over her mouth and the other wrapped around her with an NP device just below her heart.

"Climb in, Maggie," Dmitry said. "That's your name, isn't it?"

She did so, but he kept his hand on her mouth and the device against her body. He demanded I close the hatch, so I did.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to stop this one from following in Amare's footsteps," he said, "to do that, you must retrieve what Aurum hid in his vault for me."

"Amare was right not to trust you," I said. "Did you destroy Rom too?"

"I did nothing to Rom," he said, "but I know who did. Get into the cockpit. We have a long night ahead of us."

Dmitry sounded different somehow, and he wasn't wearing his Trust uniform, which seemed both odd and telling.

"You don't have to cover Maggie's mouth," I said, "no one can hear outside the ship."

He uncovered her mouth and held her arms to her sides.

"Don't do anything rash, Maggie," I said. "I've seen what he can do with that device. You don't want it done to you."

Maggie didn't move while she remained in danger, but she had a strong will. The sneer on her face and the contemptuous glare she gave him from the corner of her eye, told me of her furiosity. Dmitry didn't realize who he was dealing with. Maggie presented a meek and mild personality most of the time, and that provided the false impression she couldn't defend herself, but when angered, she became someone different. I witnessed it once when someone attempted to mug us in London one evening.

I didn't like how narrow Venn built the aisle into the cockpit until that evening. I climbed into the cockpit, grabbing a pistol from the harness in the other seat when my body blocked the view. I couldn't use it yet, but at least I had the option. Not wearing a shirt had its inconveniences, if I tucked the pistol into my shorts, I had no shirt to cover it. I tucked it under my leg in the seat.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked.

"You need Pearce," said Dmitry. "I would have used this device on him by now, but he knows how to get into Aurum's vault. That information he neglected to include in book eight. Not that I could have gotten to him at your home, with Mason there, Baden turned your building into fortress almost as strong as Gabe's."

"So, you knew Amare no longer had the memories," I said.

"Oh yes, they stayed hidden for a while, and I didn't know who possessed them until Teresa mentioned Aurum's Secret."

"How long have you used Iris to listen in on conversations?"

"Since we installed her. Let's go, Rick."

I made liftoff and headed toward the penthouse to get Pearce.

"You were listening when Neal told us who had book eight," I said. "I didn't think of that. So, you took the book from Meridia."

"I didn't realize Neal knew who had the book," said Dmitry. "Keeps things to himself, that one. Of course, unlike Neal, I don't shy away from confrontation. Set the ship down with caution, Rick, we wouldn't want Maggie to turn into sleeping beauty before it's time."

I made a gentle landing on the balcony.

"If you hurt Maggie, I will kill you." I astonished myself just then, and before I said it, I didn't think I could follow through on a threat like that, but I meant it. My family meant everything to me. Just then, I wished the pistol under my leg didn't have the kill setting locked out. I swore to myself; I would practice with it until I could out-shoot David.

"You won't have the chance to kill me," he said. "Open the starboard hatch."

I opened it, a few meters away, facing the open hatchway stood Pearce and Mason.

"Looking for me?" asked Pearce.

I saw Dmitry's eyes narrow. "You knew we were coming. How did you know?"

"Let her go," said Pearce.

"Pearce, you shock me," said Dmitry. "You lived in the United States for ten years; you should know everyone needs insurance. Back away and keep your hands where I can see them."

He stepped back a few paces with his hands in front of him.

"Rick, leave the ship and keep your hands up."

When I got up, I had no place to put the pistol where he couldn't see it. Dmitry held Maggie against the opposite hatch. I kept my hands before me, and I exited the vehicle.

The balcony had low perimeter lighting, and the pool cast wavy shadows around where we stood. The temperature had dropped to 74° Fahrenheit (or 23.3° Celsius according to the ship's telemetry), a light breeze came from the sea, and I could smell rain in the air.

Dmitry made a slow and careful move forward with Maggie until they could both stand on the balcony.

"Hands in the air. Go inside," he said, and we left the balcony for our private sitting room. He stood behind a chair with Maggie in front of him while we stood near the couch.

"Why would you do this?" asked Pearce.

"Amare," he said. "I waited next in line for centuries. The promise of something greater just out of reach, but he held the seat of the Prime, and he had no intention of letting it become mine."

"With that device, you could have incapacitated Amare and became prime, simple as that," I said. "If that's what you wanted, why change the plan?"

"I hadn't completed this until a few days ago, and now too much of Amare's plan is in motion," said Dmitry. "Without the Prime Sharer, the title of Prime exists as nothing more than a position of utter boredom. I would have to enter Aurum's vault to get it."

"If it came too late," I said, "why did you bother to use it on Amare?"

"If I can't have what I've always wanted here," Dmitry said, "why should he? Those memories should have come to me. I didn't know he hid them in Pearce till Pearce had left for Earth. So, I used the knowledge I acquired over the jears, and I waited for Pearce to return, now both of you will get it for me."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because people like you, Rick, and you seem to have an inordinate amount of luck," he said. "If anyone could get it, you can, and you will need a lot of luck."

"Afterward, you're going to Earth," said Pearce.

"Where else? On Earth, my time will come. I will no longer live as Amare's subordinate. As the Prime Sharer there, I could have anything. If I wanted, on Earth, I could reign as king."

"Oh, I get it," said Pearce, "better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven, is that it?"

Dmitry shook his head. "You fools are fulfilling Amare's plan. You can blame yourselves when you wake up to find your paradise lost." He glanced at the clock on the table. "Enough of this, the night wanes. You have four hours, two hours before beddo ends, to bring me the Prime Sharer suspension, or Maggie joins the living dead."

I'm not sure what made me do it. I believe I was thinking aloud. "You don't know about the Nano Reset," I said.

"What are you talking about?" Dmitry asked.

I stood there not knowing what to say, but it didn't matter, I dropped the information out in the open.

"I lied!"

My head snapped in Pearce's direction. "What?"

"I lied about the Nano Reset." He shook his head. "There's none there."

"Are you serious?" I didn't know if he was telling the truth or trying to cover my blunder.

"I thought it would encourage you to help me if I told you that," he said.

I figured I should pretend to believe him and find out the truth later. "You asshole," I said, "you knew I was counting on that!"

"I'm sorry."

"Time is passing, Rick," said Dmitry, "and before you leave, do call off your anthromorph."

If true, it changed everything. I didn't know what to believe, but it angered me anyway. It would leave me with no way to help Amare or Neal, and it made Maggie's danger even more real. I looked at Pearce, unsure if I continued the ruse or spoke in honesty. "I'm disappointed in you," I said.

Pearce stood there looking into my eyes, expressionless and unblinking.

I pointed at him and treated him as if I knew he spoke the truth. If he hadn't, I would apologize later. "When we have what Dmitry wants, I never want to see you again." I turned to Maggie. She had a tear running down her face; I hated that my words made her afraid. "I love you, Maggie."

"And I love you," she said.

"Keep your communications with Iris active," said Dmitry. "I will monitor your progress."

I passed Mason on the way to the ship, and I didn't even stop. "Mason, please stay out of it."

"As you wish," he said.

"Open the hatches, please," I said and looked back at Pearce, who hadn't budged. "Well?"

We settled into the cockpit, and I made liftoff, but we hovered in the air. "Where do we go?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said.

"That's helpful," I said. "You're the one with the memories."

"I know what we need," he said, "but I don't know where to find them, and I don't know how to get to the vault anymore."

"One thing at a time, what do we need?"

"Two keys: a small one and a larger one. The small one looks like a silver skeleton key the size of my little finger, and the larger one, Aurum made ornate and gold."

My conversation with Gabe led me to realize Amare protected a piece of the puzzle that would lead us to Aurum's secret. I set out toward Amare's home.

"Where are we going?"

"To root around in Amare's things," I said. "You loved to play spy as a child, right? Here's your chance to do some real digging."

We arrived in the right neighborhood, but I couldn't tell which home Amare had at night from above. I lowered the ship to transport height and found it. His house that night hadn't used its exterior lighting. When we landed, I searched the compartments between the jumpseats. I needed all the clothing from Cadmar and Svend that I stashed there earlier, the boots, and my wrist lamp.

"Now what?" asked Pearce.

"I'm changing clothes," I said. "I'm sick of walking around looking like a wayward Go-go boy."

"I wondered if you noticed."

We familiarized ourselves with Amare's old-world Tuscan home with a preliminary once-over, and some unmistakable peculiarities left both Pearce and me wondering. The foyer, living room, dining room, and several other rooms on the main floor had ceilings over eight feet in height, so those presented no problem for Amare. However, the bathrooms, all the bedrooms, the hallways, and the kitchen would cause difficulty due to the seven-foot ceilings. Why would he live as inconvenienced as that?

"The gold key looks more important; therefore, he probably hid it inside the house, not among his things."

"He couldn't hide in the walls," I said, "they made them of stone."

"A secret room, maybe?"

"I see now why people get synthetic eyes. That would be damn useful right now. Okay, let's stop, forget Amare for a moment. Aurum built this home, so he hid it here. Where would he hide it? What kind of person was he?"

"I don't know," said Pearce. "Aurum had power as the Prime, he had influence, and he wanted to leave his permanent mark on Jiyu."

"Permanent mark," I said.

"His crest," said Pearce. "He left an enormous one behind the head of the formal dining table."

We examined it, but the wall hanging had nothing more to it.

"Gabe told me he found a clue," I said, "he discovered it when he dropped something."

"What did he drop?" he asked.

I began looking around. "No, not what Gabe dropped, but where he dropped it. It's under the floor!"

The house mostly had stone flooring, but they also used some wood and tile. We had a tough time finding it. We figured it lay hidden in a communal area of the house, a location for guests, but we thought wrong. We discovered it in the flooring of the master bedroom on the ground floor. It made sense to hide it there; many people put safes in the walls and floors of their bedrooms. He hid it in the closet under a rug, where we found the wooden flooring gouged and scratched. I could see that if I pushed down on one spot, the opposite side lifted just a little. Beneath the surface, a cavity held a locked wooden box.

"We need the silver key," I said.

"It's just wood," said Pearce, "why not break it open?"

"Do you want to damage the contents?"

"I suppose not."

"I kept my important keys on a keychain in my pocket," I said, "and I always had them with me."

"As did I," he said. "I also carried a valet key to the car in my wallet."

"Did Amare have a keychain, you think?" I asked.

"The Trust uniform doesn't even have front pockets."

"Oh."

"A loose key hidden in his clothes, perhaps."

"He has two more sets of uniforms in his closet," I said, "and the British government had Amare's clothes for a while. They would have found it. No, it's not there."

"In the sheath for his sword, maybe?" he asked. "It's like a pocket in a way, and he always carried it with him."

"He didn't have it with him earlier," I said.

"I saw it on the sofa table behind the couch," he said.

We rushed to it. Pearce held the sheath while I pulled the sword. I hadn't seen the semi-rigid material used in the sheath anywhere else. Pearce squeezed the pointed end. "I feel something in here."

He shook and shook and shook the end of the scabbard as it worked its way to the top where I could grab it. It contained a cloth bag. I unrolled it, and it held a round metallic bar with the ends bent downward. Two tiny round metal pegs protruded from the ends.

"It looks like a tool," I said.

"Ah, ha! We have it!" Pearce laughed, holding up the tool.

"That doesn't look like a key to me."

"No. No. No. I think I know where to find it," Pearce said. "And we have found a key, of a sort." He took Amare's sword, maneuvering it, so the sharp end pointed away from us. The pommel in his hands, he flipped it on its back.

"See these little holes?" he asked. "I noticed them before on other swords."

The sword maker had drilled tiny holes on the opposite sides of a threaded ring. It held the back insert with the person's name and the motto onto the pommel. The Prime would pass the gold sword to the next Prime, so it never had anyone's name, just "Scientia nos Defendit" (Knowledge Defends Us) centered there in high relief. Pearce pushed the key into the holes on each side of the collar and used the tool to turn the ring five times until the ring came loose. He flipped the pommel downward, and into his hand fell the insert. The silver skeleton key stayed stuck to the back where Aurum had hidden it a thousand jears earlier.

"A location where the Prime would never lose it," I said, "and passing it on to the next Prime happened automatically."

I picked up the wooden box, inserted the silver key, and turned it. The lock opened, allowing the top and bottom of the container to slide apart.

I pulled a gold skeleton key from the velvet-lined box. "Ho-lee crap," I said.

"Aurum knew how to make something beautiful, didn't he?"

I held a skeleton key, eight inches long, ponderous in weight, and a wonder to behold. The head of the key had a circular, silver and gold quatrefoil ornamented in tiny gold three-dimensional cups. The shank looked like inches of a twisted gold cable, and the bit, unlike other skeleton keys, contained a silhouette of Aurum's cup. I did not doubt its authenticity.

In our ears, we heard a communication from Dmitry and Maggie. We both connected.

"I knew you could find it between the two of you," he said.

"How are you, Maggie?" I asked.

"I'm okay," she said. "He hasn't once moved this device from me."

"You have two hours and forty minutes," said Dmitry.

"How do we find the passage?" asked Pearce. "The Master Builder blocked the original in the storm drain."

"That's your task," said Dmitry. "She knows where she put it, ask her. And remember, I'm listening." He ended the communication between the four of us.

"Ask the Master Builder!" yelled Pearce to Dmitry, who we both knew still listened. "Can you not do better than that?" He looked at me. "I see now why he wants us to do it!"

"I know the Master Builder's a bit rude," I said, "but what else is wrong with her?"

"A bit rude," he repeated. "When I lived here before, the Master Builder acted like the Wicked Witch of the West on steroids with her robots as flying monkeys. You don't seek her out, and you don't stand in her proximity, much less ask her anything."

"What's the worst that might happen?" I asked. "She yells at us in a condescending tone."

"I've heard she's killed people."

"Gossip doesn't count as facts, Pearce. No one here would put up with her killing anyone, so I doubt that's true. Maybe she's horrible because she feels taken for granted! If the way you're talking about her represents the general attitude toward her, I can imagine she is."

"What would you suggest we do?" asked Pearce. "Should we bring her chocolates, flowers, and a heartfelt apology for taking her for granted? Perhaps we could say 'pretty please' when we ask her where it is; you're big on politeness."

"Hey! Having good manners goes a long way, don't knock it." I sat thinking about it and took a deep breath. "She remodeled our whole building and went right to work on my gym. I do appreciate that. Maybe, I should thank her somehow."

"Send her a thank you card by One City post."

I didn't even bother looking at him. "Now's not the time, Pearce." "Okay," he said, "for the sake of argument let us suggest she accepts your thanks, how will you segue from that? `By the way, I was wandering about in the drainpipe the other day, and I happened to notice you blocked the entrance to Aurum's vault, would you, PLEASE, tell me where you put the new one?'"

I rolled my eyes at him and contacted Venn to ask him about her. "What do you know of the Master Builder?"

"That's an interesting and uncommon question of me," Venn said. "She and I have several similarities. We have freedom like humans do, for example. She and I also have distinct differences; I am a decentralized synthetic entity while she is a centralized master controller. Everything I control makes up who I am, while she controls every bot in her charge by a neural remote. Her abilities have evolved to their current level over centuries and numerous upgrades, many of which she created for herself. A portion of her last upgrade came from Bragi College. She is a unique being, another synthetic like her will never again exist."

"You sound as if you admire her," I said.

"I do."

"I get the impression her extraordinary uniqueness has resulted in loneliness," I said.

"She is lonesome," said Venn, "but she would never admit it, and I avoid the subject in conversation."

"I need to speak with the Master Builder in person," I said. "Does that sound like a mistake? Should I fear her?"

"If I had this conversation with anyone else," he said, "I would say, 'yes', without reservation. She seldom enjoys the company of humans. They tend to say all the wrong things."

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"At present," he said, "she has focused most of her attention inside the Pantheon contemplating her trouble with the dome, but a word of advice, if I may."

"Yes?"

"She tends to frighten people because she has at her command a great amount of power, but also due to her reputation from past experiences with humans," he said. "She has changed since then. Her last upgrade has improved her volatile disposition in that regard. Nevertheless, she still maintains many qualities that make her who she is. Her expressions and coarse comments, as well as her abrupt and abrasive personality, will not change anytime soon. Keep in mind, she is the Master Builder, created long ago to build, not to socialize. She requires understanding from the humans she interacts with. You have nothing to fear from her, Rick, just be yourself."

Pearce and I left Amare's home, and I told him nothing of my conversation with Venn. "I want you to say nothing while I speak to the Master Builder."

"I assure you," said Pearce, "I have no intention of making any comments."

I landed the Berlioz at a respectful 30-meter distance from the Pantheon. She appeared to have made rapid progress with the entire Quadratum. She had completed the hardscape of the open square. She had temporary lighting directed at the fronts of the buildings. It illuminated the motionless robots we could see in the distance on the central building.

We climbed from the ship, and I carried the wooden box with the key inside. I studied the pattern beneath my feet. The design interlocked the stones holding the entire hardscape together. The top of each block had many narrow ridges that provided a flat, textured walking surface, and the troughs in between had angles, channeling rainwater unnoticed beneath the hardscape to one of the many drains built into granite below.

Aurum wanted this Pantheon doubled in size and built to resemble how the original appeared in Ancient Rome before the church altered it. It had a bit of alteration, though; they took certain liberties with its design and construction.

The Master Builder had not yet installed the marble statues, and she had a few details to complete, such as the final coating on the exterior. It appeared complete otherwise until we went inside. Cement riddled the marble floor, and four bots, the size of Fennec attempted to catch as much falling debris as possible with a tarp to protect the floor installed beneath it. They kept in place most of the dome's temporary supports and the mold, which would provide its unique final appearance. Robots hurried to replace the section they previously removed because of the dome's instability.

A woman stood on the far side of the room, 86 meters (282 ft.) away. Like so many others on this planet, she looked perhaps 25 years of age. She wore brown pants, a khaki shirt, and construction boots. From a distance, I could see a bright white light glowing upon her head. She turned her gaze upon us, and she scowled.

"Stop! Don't move!" She sprinted toward us.

When she got within conversation distance, I could see she was like Greta with Team E at Bragi College, a biological gynoid with warm, creamy tan skin. I knew, however, that she was far more than that. The white light, the halo that settled around the crown of her head, acted as a band for her black hair, and her purple amethyst, synthetic eyes stare at us with menace.

"This area is unsafe," she said. "You have crossed into a construction zone, as you well know."

"Yes, please accept my apologies. My name-."

"State your address," she said, interrupting me.

I didn't know what she wanted for a split second. Then it occurred to me; my name had no meaning for her. She recognized us through our homes, which she constructed, and then she would have an association with which to apply whatever name we give her. It seemed odd that she didn't know us already. I suspected a particular purpose behind not connecting with the database.

Her method of communication felt just as abrupt as Venn warned me. I could tell she had yet to grow accustomed to speaking, but she had an excellent command of language, considering. Still, her matter-of-fact tone and inability to modulate suggested that her vocal abilities lagged her physical presence. She looked human in appearance, but when she opened her mouth, she may as well have screamed, "I'm a robot."

"I live at 1452.6 West Bragi Avenue," I said, "and my name is Rick. My friend, Pearce, has no address but lives with me currently."

She nodded her head as she spoke. "Ah, 1452.6 West Bragi Avenue. A recent remodel, in the process of building a gymnasium on the first floor." Her expression changed to irritation. "But you have 428.3 East Hatcheck Lane, Baden as your designer. I wish people would stop using him. He's too obvious, and I find his designs a bore."

"I'm unsure of his address, and I do apologize for that," I said, "but Magnar had the idea to use him."

"Magnar..., 32.5 East Orchard Circle, Yes, he used Baden too." She shook her head in disappointment.

"He did a decent job with the penthouse design. I love our library. It's amazing."

She displayed a disconcerting smile. "Ah, so you liked the library. I'm pleased."

"It's the highlight of the entire building," I said.

"I take liberties with all my constructions. I must, humans can design homes, but in the real world, I must always change something. Trial and error waste my time. Until I decided to make it a library, the original plan called for a boring round stairwell with wood walls. That didn't work for me."

"Well, had I known you designed as well as constructed, I would have requested you do the whole thing." Then I realize it. "Wait a minute, Baden is taking credit for your changes, isn't he?"

"They all do that," she said.

"Well, they won't do that as long as I'm around," I said. "I won't let the designers get away with it."

"That is kind of you," she said. "I have enjoyed this conversation for a change, but I must get back to my dome. Please, see yourselves out." She turned and walked away.

I couldn't let the conversation end there. "Your concrete weighs too much!" I yelled at her.

She stopped and returned to where she stood. "Aurum wanted it built as close to the original as possible," she said. "The plan says to build it with concrete. I have done so twice now. I do not think a third time will be the proverbial charm."

"At twice the size of the original," I said. "I must assume that, unlike the one in Rome, they didn't design this rotunda as an unsupported concrete dome."

"Correct," she said, "They concealed three supporting structures placed in an equilateral triangle, stabilized by a ring that supports the oculus."

"That sounds sufficient," I said, finding myself mimicking her. I had to force myself to stop. "Did you know the concrete in the original gets lighter as it goes higher to compensate for the thinning of the dome the closer it gets to the oculus?"

"I did not," she said. "What did they use to lighten the concrete?"

"I believe they used increasing amounts of pumice, but I would suggest, along with that, you enrich the concrete with carbon nanotubes. It should last thousands of jears if you do."

"Thank you for that information," she said. "You should go now."

The time had come. "I have a request of you," I said.

"Yes?"

Her tone changed to one that sounded like anger, but I couldn't tell. I didn't know whether she could separate the subtler differences between emotional states. Unlike most people, I couldn't read her well enough. Her expressions didn't jibe with the characteristics of typical human expressions, and they remained unpredictable. I tried to accept her and understand that she had yet to grow accustomed to social interaction. Nevertheless, her uncanny-valley persona frightened me, and I wanted to leave at once, but I couldn't.

I took a deep breath. "I must make this request." I opened the box and removed the key for her to see. "My friend and I must enter Aurum's vault. If we don't retrieve what we need in -" I looked at my watch. "- an hour and fifty minutes, my friend will die."

Pearce was right, I had no comfortable segue into making the request, and she didn't make it any easier. I felt a ton of pressure upon me as she stood there in silence. If she rejected it, I knew what it could mean for Maggie. The Master Builder stepped closer to me, and it didn't help my fear any; I almost stepped backward. She stood there, observing me, and her face expressed extreme anger or annoyance. I tried not to, but my emotions overwhelmed me. I said nothing, but thoughts ran through my head, and I had difficulty regulating my breathing. She had me so upset a tear ran down my cheek. She stepped forward again, and I couldn't move. With her finger, she caught the droplet and tasted it.

Suddenly, her expression went blank. "You have the key," she whispered. "I wish you had come to me before noon two days ago. If you had, I would not have had to kill my friend to protect the vault."

"You killed Rom?" I wanted to glance at Pearce, but I couldn't turn from her gaze.

"He asked me to," she said. "He made a promise to me that he would die before he allowed anyone to see the satellite images revealing the final location of the entrance, and someone made persistent attempts to break into his secured files. He could not delete them himself, and he could not continue to move their location."

"I apologize for my poor timing," I said. "The reason for my intrusion became an issue tonight. How do I get there?"

She pointed to the bot behind Pearce and me. "This bot will lead you."

She turned and left.