A fist sized orb whizzed into the room. It had a bright blue hexagonal crystal giving it the appearance of a floating metal eyeball. “Follow me.” It said flatly.
Through the door he found a long tunnel in both directions. The walls were shaped and smooth just like the room. The tunnel was less than twice his height. There were light crystals on either side every few paces. Doors were spaced down each side far enough for dozens of rooms similar to the one he just left. Similar side tunnels led down dark voids. The lights prevented him from seeing with his dark vision. “It’s nice showing you’re your wealth, but how about turning the lights off so I can see better.”
“I have instructions to keep the lights on near us.” The golem said.
He looked back and saw the far lights winking off. “How can I watch for threats if you keep me blind and unarmed? Is this some kind of impenetrable fortress? Are you going to kill a knarklaw if it shows up? I mean it’s possible you could fly down its throat and choke it.”
“This laboratory is predator free.”
“What’s a laboratory?”
“Village of trying new things’ is the translation for new test subjects.”
“What’s a test subject?”
“That information is classified.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“You tell me words then won’t explain them?”
“I was instructed not to use dogmatic terminology with you. I have no specific programming for this task. I am adapting.”
He quit asking, he didn’t think this thing would give him a better answer. They reached a door with strange symbols painted on it. He jumped back as it slid open with a loud hiss and whine. There was a small room barely a pace square. The eye golem flew into the room. He followed. The door shut. The room shook slightly. “There is no food in this room.”
“This is called an elevator. It is used to . . .” The door opened.
A female covered in a dark grey hooded cloak entered the room and stood beside him as the door closed. She had no noticeable reaction to his nudity. He felt nothing from her. No thoughts, no presence. He was close enough to touch her but it was as if she was not there. What the hell is she? She pressed a circle on the wall then the room shook again.
“Drone. Go help Cinder, and tell her I am claiming this one.”
“Yes.” The golem whizzed through a hole in the ceiling and was gone.
Still facing the door she said, “Most new test subjects cower in fear or stare in wonder at the sight of an eye-drone. Does it not amaze you?”
He shrugged.
“I guess living with Kytheras makes eye-drones seem mundane.”
“What have you done with my golem?”
“Thank you for confirming his identity.”
“Don’t you dare touch him!” He grabbed her sleeve.
“Let go or I will break your arm. Then Cinder will punish you for having to patch you up again.”
Her voice sent shivers down his spine. She was not giving a threat, she was explaining reality. He released her and took a step back.
“Good. You are stubborn, but not completely stupid.”
He grit his teeth and held his tongue.
“I was concerned when I confirmed a golem teleported here with you. But Kytheras is a known quantity.” Her head turned. With the lights on he could only see a dark void under the hood. “You should be more worried about yourself. If Kytheras thinks you are useful in finding the Cradle then you should be safe for now. But if you were only a way to disguise his return then you are immediately expendable.” The doors opened and she stepped out.
He followed her down another tunnel with rows of lights and doors. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“How long have you known Kytheras?”
“Why should I tell you anything?”
“Have you known him for many months? Maybe years? Has he put effort into training you? Has he sampled your blood? Has he tested your arcane abilities?”
He scowled but wouldn’t give her an answer. Her correct guesses wore at him. Her being completely unreadable just irritated him more.
“If Kytheras put effort into you then you are likely safe for now. If you just met recently, we need to know us so we can defend you. Can you tell me, so I can prepare properly?”
He didn’t know if he could trust her, but what did he really know about Kytheras’ goals. It was Kytheras that sent him on that suicidal run to the Altar, “You were right. I’ve known him for about two years.”
“Good. So we won’t have to activate the titans, this time.” She led him through a door into a room filled with large strange machines with all sorts of dials and controls.
“What is all this?”
She took his right arm as a rag appeared in her other hand. Her touch was cold. She wiped down the inside of his arm. “Insert your arm, palm up.” She gestured towards a machine with hole in it.
He did. Something seized his arm and he smelt burning as his flesh felt like it was being scorched from his bones. He snatched repeatedly as the woman ignored his cries of pain. His arm finally came loose.
She grabbed his arm with a stone grip, and wiped it down again. “It does sting a bit.”
“A BIT! Are you trying to have me for a meal?!” The pain quickly dulled and he saw a row of five symbols etched into his forearm. “You could have at least warned me.”
“Warning test subjects causes pointless delays. Besides, the procedure is almost over before a confused brain can process how painful it is. I’ve had the same thing done.” The rag disappeared and she pushed up her baggy sleeve and pointed at each symbol on her arm. “Eight, zero, nine, four. I am test subject eight thousand ninety-four.” Taking his arm she pointed. “Five, zero, zero, three, two. You are test subject Fifty-thousand thirty-two.”
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His senses were razor sharp but even when standing this close to her he could not pick out a scent and say that it was her. “What are you?” He said without thinking.
She took a step back and slowly lowered her hood. Long black hair hung down to her shoulders around her slender face and pale skin. Tall furry ears sprung up off the top of her head. One of them was bent about half way up. “I am one of the mixed races. Guris or animal people. Unlike you, I cannot change my shape.”
He ignored how she knew he was a poly and decided to press the more disturbing question, “No. I mean how come you have no scent. If I couldn’t see you I would not know you are there at all.”
“Oh. That.” She pulled the cloak open and revealed her nude slender body. A long row of black gemstones stones and dark golden metal were imbedded down her breastplate. Over a dozen scars that looked like stitching marred her flesh. “You don’t have a word for what I am. You could say that I am dead.”
Except for the scars, her skin looked smooth and firm. Her breasts were quite large handfuls and… Focus. Damn it’s been too long. Don’t get distracted. “You’re pretty lively, for a corpse.”
“I was in an experiment that was, less than successful. Only my mecromail keeps my body functioning.”
“Mecromail?”
She pointed at the metal set gemstones stuck in her flesh. “Mecromail are arcane powered tech, like the light crystals. Only much, much more complex. Those that wear them are called Mecromancers. We have powers similar to sorcerers and shaman but orders of magnitude stronger. Cinder is a Mecromancers as well. You will be a Mecromancer too, if the procedure is successful.”
“So you want to make me a walking corpse?”
“No. The eleventh mecromail must be fully functional. It would be unacceptable for you to constantly dedicate vital resources to biological maintenance, like I do. You would be terminated if your implantation meets the same outcome as mine. Then we would have to search for another test subject.”
“How many test subject have there been?”
“The eleventh mecromail specifically has had two previous attempts to implant it. They were failures, obviously. More broadly, test subjects are numbered in sequential order. You are number Fifty thousand and thirty two.”
“Fifty thousand? Where would you even find that many people?”
“This program has been active for over five millennia. We also take genetic samples and impregnate many others in the breeding programs. Test subjects must meet specific requirements. With such a low population pool to draw from, selective breeding is necessary. You are the descendant of a breeding program we canceled a few centuries ago.”
“I think I understand what you mean. Kytheras tried explaining genes to me.”
“Kytheras was the result of experimentation as well. His was deemed a failure do to his stubbornly uncooperative nature.”
“Lots of failures. Are any of the procedures successful? Or is this place just a butcher’s block?”
“There have been successes. Cinder is one of them.” She gave a sly grin, “I watched your interrogation. I would suggest not antagonizing Cinder. She has a bad habit of, accidently, damaging test subjects if she gets upset.”
“You are just full of good news.”
“You requested to be told the truth. Do you wish me to lie instead?” Her voice took on a flowery tone. “Everything is perfect and your life will be steak and gravy from now on.”
“No. No. Please stop, whatever that is.”
“You are a most interesting test subject.” She smiled. “Have I sated your curiosity for now?”
“I want to know what this place is. How was it built? What happened to those who built it? What happened to the surface? All of it.”
“Five millennia ago this world was invaded by massive insectoids. The anterra that plague the Deep Dark were one of the invader species. Our civilization had great wisdom and power. This laboratory was just one of several facilities built during the war to develop weapons to fight the invaders. But in the end, we failed and the civilization fell. All the people you have ever met are descendants of the survivors. There are pockets of people living on the surface, but much of it is wastelands filled with unstable arcane and the creatures that have been warped by it. This world is slowly dying and none of the people really know it.”
Things were worse than he had ever imagined. He stood in stunned silence.
“Cinder was correct. You do not like the answers.”
“I... thank you. It’s…just a lot to take in.”
“Do not fall into despair. You may be the key to changing that future.”
“Me?”
“That will be covered in your orientation.”
“Orien..?” His stomach growled. “I was told there would be food?”
“Yes. But you must shower first. I might be dead, but you smell like a corpse.” She took his arm and forcefully guided him to a smoky looking door in the corner of the room. After a short argument with her confirming that there was absolutely, positively zero chance of a slime coming out of the pipes, he finally relented let her show him how to turn on the water.
Cleaned and clothed in a loose fitting light grey shirt and shorts she led him to a nearby room. He found the way her fuzzy ears would occasionally twitch amusing. Two plates sat on the small table she led him to. One smelled enticing with white plant cubes, a chunk of cooked fish and a piece of bread. The other looked like a mound of thick green snot. “I thought you said there were no slimes in here.” He joked.
She pushed the slime plate to him. “Eat.”
The aroma from the other plate made his mouth water. He had to fight his instincts to grab that plate. But he had agreed to play nice and he was good on his word. He took a tentative bite of the snot. It was tasteless and sticky, but edible. He had eaten far worse looking and smelling and tasting ‘food’.
She pushed the other plate towards him. “Now this.”
He grabbed the fish and took a huge bite. It was tender, flakey, and by far the most wonderful food he could remember putting in his mouth. The plate was empty before he realized it and he was using a scrap of bread to soak up all of the remaining juices. It took everything he had not to beg for more.
“The first plate was a nutrient supplement. You can survive off it. The second was real food, grown here in our golem run farm. Would you like some more?”
He nodded carefully not wanting to seem too eager.
In a few moments a large eye golem, with a tray built on top of it, hovered in with another plate. She said, “I will give you a schedule for your physical, mental and arcane training. If you can meet the daily goals you will eat real food. If you don’t, you will eat the green goo. If you fail for more than two days in a row I punish you. If you try to abuse this system you will only eat green goo. Do you understand?”
He nodded, staring down at the now empty second plate.
“That is all you get for now. You were malnourished and injured when you arrived. Eating too much will just make you sick. Do you have a name or shall I call you by your number?”
“I am Zagreus Shadowbane.”
She hesitated for a moment then said, “My name is Lilithana Gurista.”
“Lilithana?” His jaw dropped. “You mean Lilitha Gurista? The Goddess of Death?”
“I am known by that name to your people. But title of goddess is over rated.”
“I know you’re not a goddess but you do have powers don’t you. That mecro-stuff. Can you show me?”
“I can punch you hard enough to break several bones but that would cause unwanted delays.”
“Is there nothing else you can do?”
“My power could harm a mortal. But knowledge is power, so I will teach you something. Have you ever heard the term resonance cascade?”
“No.”
“A resonance cascade is caused by gathering a massive amount of arcane in one place, then releasing it in a specific way. This causes a tower of glowing arcane to project into the sky. Once it reaches a critical mass, the tower of energy collapses into a single point. People die, cities shatter, mountains crumble, there is nothing left but a smoldering crater that can be many kilometers wide. It is an unstable and unpredictable weapon.”
“Something like that exists?”
“The slimes that remnants fear so much are spawned from the toxic residue from resonance cascades. Your people suffer because of the weapons that we used in the war five millennia ago. The most warped regions of Endrala were blasted into nothing in an attempt to kill the invaders.”
He knew there would be much more knowledge like this. But this is what he came seeking. He accepted it as best he could.
She rubbed her chin. “Your name is not local to the region you came from. Where were you born?”
“Dartalous.”
“That is over a thousand kilometers from the Altar you used. At least double that using the most direct tunnel routes. Did Kytheras guide you to the Altar or did you meet him near it?”
“Where is Kytheras?”
“Cinder is having a difficult time tracking him. His programming had some flaws so he can be quite, annoying. Did he treat you well?”
“It was like having an unsleeping guard and guide.”
“I hope you realize that Kytheras could easily find enough food to supply many people. Your malnutrition must have been intentional, so you would be more motivated to make a desperate run for the Altar.”
“He has only helped me.”
“Kytheras is completely goal oriented. You are nothing but a tool to him. Hopefully our methods align this time.”
“I hope so.”
She led him out of the room.