Chapter 53

After the initial drop, of a depth James couldn’t gauge due to the lack of lighting, James distinctly heard the sound of gears working, and the slight sound of machinery. There was a slight feeling of a breeze, and he realized, situated as he was, that they were moving downwards in a slow spiral. James tried to sit up, to look past the confines of the chair and peer into the darkness, curious to see what was happening, but the chair held him fast.

“Dagger,” James called out into the darkness. “Are you there?”

“I’m still here,” the robot responded. “Do you have a need of me?”

“Can you turn a light?” James asked, half-jokingly. Instead of responding with words, James’ question was answered with action. A bright light filled the area.

Positioned as he was, he couldn’t see to either side, or the ground, obviously. However, he could see the world above him. He could see the ceiling growing further and further away. And he could make out worked stone, lined with metal workings, as far along the walls as he could see. It was clear the floor was descending, down and down, to the workshop proper.

“The chair isn’t just a chair.” James said aloud, doing his best to mimic his dad’s voice and tone from the recording. “Yeah, no shit.”

It was one thing to hide your workshop behind a secure door. It was a whole different level of security, to have it underground, accessible only by moving the entire freaking floor.

Around and around the world slowly spiraled, giving him a 360-degree view of the walls. It was clear they were heading downwards in a spherical column. If he had to guess, it was on a rotating, drill-like platform. Had his parents put this in? Or had the government put it in at their request? The house, after all, had been a part of their new assignment when they’d been offered the job to work with the government here.

Another question, he figured, he’d ask his dad once he reached the warehouse proper. For now, he figured, all he could really do was enjoy the ride.

“Any chance you can play some music?” James asked Dagger, still uncertain where the robot was. He knew Dagger was on his left side, judging by the source of the light, but that was all. And with the room spinning and spinning, he had no idea what his orientation was anymore to the door that had led into the room. All he knew was he was definitely below the house.

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“Certainly,” Dagger said, and then a moment later, the creature began playing music. Circus music. The type that James had come to associate with merry-go rounds from childhood.

“Seriously?” James asked a moment after the music started playing.

“You didn’t specify the type of music,” Dagger said, as the music continued to play. “I figured it was appropriate.”

“You figured wrong,” James said, “try again.” Apparently, the AI of the robot had inherited part of his father’s humor.

“Very well,” Dagger responded, and as asked, changed the music. This time… it was a showtune. One James was pretty sure came from the Jurassic Park films.

“I hate you,” James muttered, though he figured the epic music at least captured the moment better than circus styled music. A sense of discovery, of excitement. Not creepily dressed clowns, children, cotton candy, and unsafe rides.

Either way, he didn’t have to listen long, as the spinning slowed, and the walls began to open up on either side of him. Above, as the platform came to stop, James heard grinding, and the ceiling a good thirty feet above him disappeared, as the hole from where the floor should have been, mechanically closed with two, sliding, halfsphere plates of metal.

The holoscreen reappeared before James as lights flicked to life all around him.

Welcome to the workshop. The message said. Then, the screen flickered off, and James felt the chair shift, releasing him. Quicker than intended, like an animal freed from a cage, James got out of the chair. At first, it had felt comforting when it had closed in around him, a feeling he was used to from the immersion pods after all. But being trapped in the chair the whole descent, unable to shift and move, had caused him to panic slightly.

After he was clear of the chair, his panic subsiding, James was finally able to take in his surroundings. And the first thing he did, was literally pinch himself. The pain, actual pain, and not digital warmth, confirmed to him that he was actually awake, and not in immersion. Which did little to help his mind process what he was looking at.

He was in a workshop that seemed to be close to the size of a football field. All around him, robots in various stages of completion stood, or sat, or lay. Screens and monitors lined the walls, and there were various robotic arms on wheels that moved too and fro, conducting various tasks, grabbing materials from bins here and there, to take other places. The workshop, even now, was alive with activity. His parents were at the government facility and had been for a long time. And yet, their workshop was still… working. Was this their doing? Were they controlling everything down here, remotely, from where they were? More questions in his mind. More things he needed answers too.

James looked at Dagger, and knew it was time. Time to get in contact with his parents, and finally ask them everything that he wanted to. Time to finally learn the truth from his parents. Time to learn how long they had been working on this. How long had all of this taken. And, more importantly, how much of this did the government know about.

“Dagger,” James said, pulling his eyes away from a half-completed robot that stood nearly ten feet in height, “it’s time to make a call.”