Beyond The Impossible

The Mindscape

Noriko Null emerges from a door that leads to an empty road. She looks at the asphalt beneath her feet and at the office building next to her, and for a moment she thinks this is Earth.

But several things don’t add up. The signs are written in Modern Olympian, for example, and there are no cars: the closest thing are the self-driving electric chariots in the parking lots. Cars aren’t the only thing missing: there is nobody here. It looks like a major city, but it’s a ghost town.

She wanders around for a while, trying to piece the puzzle, when something notices her presence. It’s a crude mockery of a human, a rotting corpse still somehow able to move. It slithers out of a chariot, and it’s not alone: several vehicles hide similar monsters, as do the buildings. It doesn’t take much for a crowd to form, and Noriko quickly realizes three things.

One, they all have the same face. Two, they’re slowly walking towards them. Three, she can’t summon the Genius Gun or any of her weapons.

<That’s just great. Trapped inside my mind with zombies. Now I’ve seen everything> she says, starting to calculate a strategy to get away from them.

That’s when she hears an engine running. The zombies react to it by running to their hiding places, and Noriko can certainly understand why: the sound isn’t coming from an engine. Her jaw drops when she sees a mechanical horse approaching, shooting fire from its nostrils. The strange robotic animal is the personal steed of a shirtless man who wouldn’t look out of place in Ancient Greece.

<I stand corrected. Now I’ve seen everything> she tells herself.

<That’s a new face. Are you alive?> the man asks her.

<That’s some debate over that. I’m looking for a previous Nexus host; the Scribe called him “Subject #6”. Is that supposed to be you?>

<I haven’t heard the term in a long time. That is what the Scribe called “Subject #6”> the stranger answers, pointing at one of the many identical zombies hiding from him.

<I… see. Listen, I know this is awkward, but do you know how to leave this place?>

<That’s impossible. It is the will of the gods that keep us here, girl.>

<The impossible is kind of my thing. And my name isn’t “girl”, it’s Null> she points out, making her silver eyes shine to underline her position. The man answers by turning his own eyes turn silver.

<You’re a Nexus host as well?> she asks, suddenly feeling weak. Her body becomes transparent for a couple of seconds, as if she was fading from existence, before returning to normal.

<Are you alright, Null?> the stranger asks her.

<Do I look like I’m… I’m… oh not again> she says, her image now repeatedly glitching until she loses consciousness and her body falls to the ground.

 

Infirmary of N07-Naraka

The real Noriko Null is on a medical bed, wearing a hospital gown and an oxygen mask. There’s a tube connected to her arm and her head is kept still by a metallic frame.

<I’m not really comfortable with this> Kari Zel admits. She’s the only one wearing a hair net and a surgical mask. Neither Vesta or the Lampyrian doctor Liralia need them, since they’re not capable of carrying any bacteria that could harm Noriko… or so Liralia says: Vesta has to trust her on this.

<Are you 100% sure we have to do this?> Vesta asks.

<Your friend’s brain is swelling because of the laser blast she took. Unless we relieve the pressure, she’s going to die> Liralia explains while she disinfects Noriko’s forehead. She pulled back her hair, revealing the exact point where she took the hit. The wound itself isn’t very big, but the skin inflammation around it is expanding. The Lampyrian looks at the cranial drill she’s holding with the other hand, but she hesitates doing anything.

<What’s wrong?> Kari asks.

<Full disclosure? This is my first craniotomy. And this is definitely a one-of-a-kind brain.>

<Well, this is a one-of-a-kind situation. But this isn’t Noriko’s first brush with death, she’ll get through this. I mean, she has to, right?> Vesta says.

The awkward silence that follows speaks more than a thousand words.

<Let’s get started> Liralia says, activating the drill.

 

Temple of Zeus Agoraeus

When Torn and Quantum get out of the temple, they still don’t have any idea of what their discovery really means. And while neither of them wants to admit it, they’re more concerned by what happened to Noriko than by whatever archeological marvel they uncovered.

<What are we gonna do?> Quantum asks, adjusting the helmet of his environmental suit.

<About what?> the demon asks.

<The Lar underground city. What do you think? There’s no way we can take everything with us, but we can’t let the Oracles have any technology they may find down there.>

<Then we destroy the city.>

<Wait a second, you can’t do that!> Lily rushes in to join the conversation.

<Quantum can destroy a planet. We’ve seen him do it> Torn answers.

<I mean you shouldn’t. There’s so much we don’t know about the history of my people, the Lar city could tell us so much!>

<Not to mention the fact that if they went to the trouble of hiding the city in a parallel dimension or whatever that place is, there’s probably something very important there. Maybe even the Key of Heaven that we’re looking for> Quantum adds.

<Then we must take back this planet from the Oracles. We did it on Myridia> Torn reminds him.

Right then, something attracts their attention: a bright light in the sky, a ray of light visible for miles streaking towards the city. Followed by another one. And another dozen. And yet another one.

<We may need the entire team for this> Quantum says.

 

Palace of the Government, City of Eralal

Lampyrian politics are complicated. To account for a lifespan of just two years, there are no career politicians: the planet is run by a loose coalition of oligarchs, representing the most powerful families of Lampyria. Elections are nearly unheard of, since any attempt to run a campaign would mean dedicating an incredible amount of time to it, at least from a Lampyrian perspective.

Only three such representatives are gathered in the Palace when a human female materializes from a beam of light. She’s wearing the traditional white uniform, with the symbol of the Sun on the heart.

On Earth she would be described as ethnically ambiguous; here, she’s just an alien.

<Who runs this place again?> she asks, placing a small breathing mask over her mouth: the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere is greatly reduced indoors, but it’s still far from ideal.

<That would be me. My name is…> one of the Lampyrian women begins to answer.

<I don’t care. Do the heathens of this planet listen to you or not?> the human interrupts her.

<Yes, I am the First Chief. How can Lampyria be of service to a servant of Apollo?> she asks; the human’s rude attitude rubs her the wrong way, but she knows better than to anger the gods.

<I am Sister Shaina, Oracle of Apollo. In the name of the Unconquered Sun, this planet is under my direct supervision, effective immediately. Are there any questions?>

<Yes, I don’t…> the First Chief starts to answer. She can’t finish the question, however, because Shaina points her finger at her, blasting the Lampyrian with a laser that cuts through her skull like it was nothing. As her dead body falls to the ground and her fellow oligarchs scream, Shaina doesn’t show any emotions.

<Alright, question time’s over. You know the drill: nobody can leave the planet without my approval and all non-Lampyrians on the surface must report to the nearest temple. Anybody caught trying to escape, or to hide a human, or to worship any god who isn’t Apollo or Zeus, will be executed on the spot. Remind me again who is in charge of this dump?>

<That… that was the First Chief> one of the Lampyrians timidly answers, looking at the dead body whose blue blood is forming a large stain on the floor.

<Uh. Nevermind, you’re the new First Chief now. Call your generals, the Lampyrian armed forces have a new mission> Shaina says, dismissively gesturing towards the oligarch who dared to talk.

<We don’t have a communication network, it will take time to…>

<Are you trying to ask questions?> Shaina asks, checking her fingernails: they’re glowing, ready to blast away another brain.

<N-no, ma’am, no questions. We will instruct our troops.>

<Good. These people must be killed on sight> she says, creating a small hologram over the palm of her left hand showing the faces of Quantum, Kari Zel and Torn.

<And these must be brought to me alive> she concludes, creating two more holograms with her other hand. They’re showing Vesta and Noriko Null.

 

The Mindscape

Noriko Null slowly regains consciousness, feeling cold. She’s still in the city, as far as she can tell, but she’s laying on the roof of a skyscraper.

<What happened?> she asks, checking to see if she still has her clothes on: luckily this time she’s just missing her leather jacket. The second thing she notices is the mechanical horse getting closer, curiously inspecting her. And as if things weren’t already weird enough, the robotic animal is missing half of its head, leaving exposed the internal circuitry.

She’s not alone: the stranger who rescued her from the zombies is sitting close to her, and he’s working on her jacket by carefully removing the forcefield projector sewed inside it.

<You should turn it off sometimes> he says.

<Turn what off?> Noriko asks, getting away from the creepy horse.

<The Nexus. You keep it running continuously, don’t you? It makes you think too much. It’s very annoying distraction.>

<Okay, first of all, I’m the Nexus expert here, not you. Second, stop going through my stuff> she says angrily, snatching the jacket away from her hands.

<And third, who the hell are you anyway?>

The stranger stands up slowly. He’s much taller than her and built like a world-class athlete, something made more clear by the fact that he’s just wearing a skirt.

<Diomedes, son of Tydeus. King of Argos, Calydon, Argyripa and Metapontum. Hero of the Great Trojan War and Host of the Nexus> he proudly declares, making his silver eyes shine.

<I guess somehow the last detail didn’t get into the Iliad. Where exactly are we supposed to be?> she asks, looking at the city.

<This is Calydon. Or rather, a representation of my memory of it, reconstructed by the Mindscape.>

<Right. I guess that… what’s this?> she interrupts herself, touching something on her forehead: it’s a piece of metal that’s been forcibly inserted there.

<Your virtual representation is heavily fragmented. You’re lucky Horse was here, without his circuitry I wouldn’t have been able to repair you.>

<Please tell me you didn’t actually put horse parts into my brain…>

<Parts of a virtual horse installed by virtual hands into a virtual representation of your brain? I did.>

<This makes no sense. This place isn’t real, right? The worst thing that can happen is I wake up.>

<Not exactly. If you’re in the Mindscape, that means the Nexus is not recognizing you as the host; as far as it’s concerned, you’re already dead. Unless the Nexus can restart, it will delete your entire personality to prevent data corruption and go into sleeping mode, waiting for a new host.>

<Fine. How do we restart the Nexus then?>

<We don’t. How long has it been since the Great Trojan War?>

<I’d say a couple thousand years.>

<That’s how long I’ve been trapped here. There is no way out, I’m sorry> he tells her, putting his hand over her shoulder. She looks into the distance, pausing for a few seconds.

<So you’re saying it’s a software error. What if we write a patch?>

<You want to reprogram a Drylon device? Not even two Nexus hosts would be enough to do it.>

<Who says we have to stop at two?> Noriko asks, with the half smile of someone who just found a worthy challenge.