“I guess you’ve heard about the Quantum Particle Reactor,” Malin said.
Adam nodded. “Your people put it into operation about fifty years ago, right? One of the last pieces of information the rest of the world received from you before you completely confined yourself to this island.”
Malin confirmed it with a gesture. “And it was deliberate,” she said. “Thanks to the Reactor, the Empire found a concentration of unknown energy located in a singular quantum space—which is the same as saying that it is in a place outside the physical realm, in a sort of parallel dimension. They named it Kappa, and it is only detectable in areas of the planet where the soil is rich in heavy metals. Weird, isn’t it? These areas were called Kappa Points. Although the real revelation was discovering that, when interacting with crystallized minerals, the radiation decomposed like light passing through a prism, altering time and space at that Point.”
“Holy...” was all Adam managed to say.
“And so, these came,” Malin showed her bracelets, “Quantum prisms that act as a key for the Kappa Points.” Unfolding her Auriga’s holographic map, she pointed at one of the many flashes that appeared there, marked with coordinates. “You go to the nearest Kappa Point, specify another Point as your destination, and in the blink of an eye, there you are, half a world away, squatting on your haunches and about to vomit your guts out.”
Adam raised his hands, asking for a moment to process so much information.
“The discovery of Kappa radiation gave rise to new sources of energy and rocketed our science to where we are today,” Malin said, rubbing her bracelets together. “Although my rulers are not known for being charitable with their discoveries, not even with their own people. There are only a hundred Auriga out there, and only the military authorities of the Imperial Council have access to them—and so are we, who stole it.”
“I’m sorry, but in this case, I’ve to agree with your rulers,” Adam said. “Imagine the disaster that quantum transporters could cause in the hands of thieves… or terrorists!”
“I know. That’s why they’re priced more than all the resources of a city on the black market. Of course, your heart must be in good condition, otherwise… Let’s say that you would want to have a medical team waiting for you on the other side, ready to give you CPR.”
“Right. That’s why the bleeding from the ears,” he said.
“Actually, the bleeding is more from an irritated eardrum than from blood pressure,” she explained, “and the irritation is caused by this quantum radiation.”
“Something similar to what that Tau radiation produces, correct?” he pointed out, trying to tie up the loose ends.
“Exactly.” Malin snapped her fingers. “And that is precisely the topic of our next class.”
A muffled hiss like airplane engines, although much lower, drifted toward them, a sound Adam immediately recognized. Malin dragged him back into the shadows.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Don’t let them see you,” she whispered.
And before he could ask, ‘Who?’ above the streetlight poles, five soldiers flew by on propeller wings on their backs; all dressed in an olive-green uniform, like the one Juzo had worn.
“Grenadiers with Daedalus thrusters,” Malin pointed out. “Pre-midnight patrols.”
Another squad of soldiers flew a few streets ahead, and Adam related it to the little white lights he had seen before, like groups of fireflies flying over the city between those huge chimneys. Those flashes were nothing but the flashes of those Daedalus.
He wanted to continue observing his surroundings, but she grabbed his arm and inserted other coordinates back into his Auriga.
“We’d better move,” she told him. “Okay, ready for our next stop?”
And before Adam could say ‘No!’, that he wasn’t ready to endure that electrical whirlwind again and that he might never be, the bracelets whistled, and the torment began again. The electricity in his body, the pain in his muscles. And then, nothing.
----------------------------------------
Distortion of the senses, acute suffering, and dizziness—three things Adam had to endure to materialize again.
This time, he didn’t appear in midair or fall flat on his face; this time, he did it with his feet on the ground, and although he swayed like a drunk; as if falling flat on his face would be inevitable upon returning to the world, he regained his balance.
His eyes were closed, but he saw flashes anyway. His head was spinning, and his skin burned as if he’d been whipped all over his body. His eardrums were ringing; they would surely bleed again. And his heart… His heart was racing, but not as fast as it had been after the previous jump.
“See?” Malin helped him just like last time. “The first crossing feels horrible, the second one not so much anymore.”
Adam wasn’t very sure about that. And the moment he stopped feeling the pungent smell of ozone piercing his nostrils and began to pick up a deep smell of wet grass, he opened his eyes.
It was still night, and the wind was cool and blowing hard.
They were alone in the middle of nowhere, in a beautiful meadow that stretched beyond the limit of the visible, full of hills that went up and down, with trees and shrubs scattered here and there; all under a night sky covered with thousands of stars, and a small but radiant silver moon shining over them from the horizon.
Wherever they were, they were a long, long way from a city; he was sure of that.
The other thing he was sure of, although he wouldn’t admit it, was that Malin had been right. This second time, the violent electric shock hadn’t felt as strong, or at least, his senses had recovered faster than the previous time.
Wiping the small trickle of blood from his ears, he looked around the peaceful landscape. In the distance, about six hundred feet or so away, there was a small cabin. An old wooden house about to collapse. There were no lights on, and no one was to be seen nearby; it looked abandoned.
“This is the last Kappa Point on the mainland heading east,” Malin said, and pointed past the cabin. “The next one is already out to sea.”
He cleared his throat. “And where are we?”
“This is where the Edda Peninsula begins.” Malin pointed east again. “From here to the ocean is Eddanian territory.”
“Knowing your leaders, they must hate sharing Pannotia with other people,” Adam pointed out.
“You have no idea how much!” she answered. “The relationship between them and us is a guide on diplomatic friction. For that reason, we won’t take a step forward. I don’t wanna enter another region and face more charges than I already have for leaving mine.”
Adam looked around. Besides the cabin, there was no other sign of civilization out there, not even a road, let alone a paved route. “Unless they have satellite surveillance, I can assure you that no one will notice if you trespass here and now,” he smiled.
“The Eddanians don’t have satellite surveillance, but if we were to make a step forward, I don’t know how, but they’ll know. Trust me.”
Adam voiced a ‘Whoa!’ with the eyes.