The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

Paschal had been mysterious over the past few months, very mysterious. He had spent countless hours running sophisticated simulations in his laboratory, using the combined Artificial Intelligences of the six Pyramids in an effort to create a coherent mathematical model, and test its validity against known data flows.

Then, as the model gelled onto a coherent and stable system that allowed him to predict what he needed to, he began designing an apparatus to explore the phenomenon. Project T, as he enigmatically designed it, progressed at a satisfactory rate.

The first prototype took an entire room, with cables and wires everywhere, and was an energy hog, but it gradually improved to become a miniature that could first be carried around, but finally was self-sustaining and auto-propelled. The time for the real, practical test came. He moved the prototype into an empty tessaract, and set it into automatic mode, and waited.

It took a second for the target to be recognized, scanned, duplicated in a data array, and materialised. The process then stopped. The object, rather small, was easily picked up by Paschal, and brought back to the laboratory for comparison with the original. After five hours of intense comparing, the diagnostic was clear; the quantum signatures were identical to the closest gluon. Paschal had created a duplicator, but a very special duplicator.

His next step was straightforward: duplicate the duplicator! And it went well since the copy was indistinguishable from the original. By the end of the week, Paschal had one hundred of these duplicators. Finally the royal family would be freed of the obsessive task of duplicating food! The interesting thing is, a duplicator could keep a three-dimensional map of an object, however complex, in its holographic memory. The nature of the memory structure was such it could contain an infinite number of objects, be it a bench or a filet mignon dish, right beside each other without any memory ever interfering with another.

The next step was the crux of the project. Duplicators that could travel through time and send back to the tessaract what they had been sent to hunt down and duplicate. A duplicator would track an object through time itself and constantly scan for similar objects. The advantage of this was that each object would get an ID number and reference count that would indicate duplicate objects had been found. Paschal knew that many objects were created to almost identical form, and he did not want to collect millions of identically shaped objects.

The first task Paschal did was to scan the Royal Library; then he moved into the General Public Library found in one of the Tessaracts. He let the duplicator do its work, and, five days later came back to check on it. By then it had completed the full scan of the billion or so books found in it, the scrolls and the other documents. The duplicator was ready for its real mission, but before that, it transferred its index into a thousand copies of itself. Paschal then sent it and its crucible siblings out on their search mission, and he waited.

At first, for almost two hours, nothing happened. Paschal was worried, but then things changed. A scroll appeared on the table. One of the explorers had found a unique scroll. He took it reverently and began reading. It was the original copy of the Elvin Constitution! Then other documents began appearing, ever older and the more precious.

He called up on the Librarian and explained what the few scrolls laying around the table were and where they came from. He then directed the man to create an Archaeological Library division for his Public Library, as more and more books, scrolls and other documents would come to light as the replicators fanned through time.

By then the table was filling up at a regular pace, and the number of documents numbered in the hundreds. Paschal also created mile upon mile of shelves adapted to specific medium; movie reels; book; maps; slides; scrolls; pictures, CD, DVD, cylinders, vinyl, 72, 45 and 33 rpm medium. Nothing escaped his scrutiny.

"Old man, you have your work cut up for you. This is the Time Archive. It will fill in with everything we lost over time from the ridulian sheets of the First Settlers to the last book printed using a press. Note, you need assistance already, but things will get hectic soon. As we near the Cataclysm, the number of documents recovered by these machines will increase, and then explode when they pass that wall of ignorance. Be ready!"

"What is their progression rate?"

"Backward in time, they progress at one year per second when there is nothing to duplicate; the rest is variable. It covered almost seven thousand years without producing anything new in two hours, a testament to how exhaustive the Royal Library of the Elves was. But then things have been piling up. It's now nearing the Cataclysm and its progression will be severely hampered as the duplicators begin exploring more avenues of data. Be ready!"

"How many must I ask for?"

"I've already asked for ten legions of Elves. Thorsten won't miss them."

Just then a pile of movies appeared, labelled by manufacturer and title.

"I better let you organise the work, old man. Remember, we want to be able to find anything quickly! Oh, by the way, I also have a hundred mages to help out. Sometimes, magic is the only way out of a bind!" said Paschal laughing as he walked out of the sorting area.

Paschal made it back to his laboratory and began planning his next move. How could he save as much art as possible? There were sculptures, paintings, frescoes, buildings, and even archaeological sites. He had space to put everything in the same tessaract the Archaeological Library was being assembled, but there was something a bit more concrete in a painting or a sculpture. The duplicators would have no problem, but was everything worth keeping? Paschal decided that he would send the next batch of duplicators in the architectural museum and the last one in the painting and sculpture gallery. From there, he could then send them out back in time to hunt down the originals and others of similar origins.

The easiest to set on their way were the painting and imagery horde of duplicators. They were set to duplicate any painting, sketch, plan, or other types of illustrations bypassed by the Archaeological Library collectors. The next ones sent out on their mission were the architectural collectors, for which Paschal had a little favour. As an afterthought, he added a last horde: engineering marvels collector.

There, to handle things, he needed a complete legion of mages. Nestor gladly supplied Paschal with the one thousand and one hundred mages required, as he just had a new batch of companion mages to place.

By then a week had passed and Paschal decided to pop into the Archaeological Library to see how things were going. As he entered the tessaract layer, he was met with a beehive of activity. There was a constant stream of books materializing on the table, where the Mages quickly classified them, before being labelled and then moved to their proper bookshelf by Elves. The entire process spoke of a well-oiled organisation. Spotting the Librarian, Paschal walked up to him.

"So?"

"So what, my nightmare prince? Don't tell me there is more?"

"Oh there is, but it's not for you. I doubt you would appreciate classifying buildings, bridges, paintings, and sculptures."

"No thank you. I have enough of this mess!"

"I thought this would be a dream come true. If you aren't happy, old man, I can find someone else, you know! I thought you liked a challenge!"

"I like a challenge, but this is a nightmare come true!"

"You seem to have all well in hand. Does the staff perform to your expectations?"

"I can't complain. And as we progress and the load increases, the number of helpers is also increasing, barely keeping up with the load."

"At least, they aren't sleeping the last war off! Most are fresh out of the General Hospital and this is a step in their rehabilitation before they return to military service."

"What I do not understand is where so many people can have learned dead languages?"

"The stay in the stasis chambers is never lost. They get linguistic dumps."

The Librarian blinked and wondered about something, but did not dare voice it aloud.

"You wish to go into one of these chambers but you suffer from claustrophobia. I can arrange that. You will not even know you spent time in one, and, big benefit, your claustrophobia will be cured. As for learning all the languages, I suggest you work with classes of languages rather then try to learn all of them in a go. You can spend a few weeks in a stasis chamber, old man, and you will get out of it a lot better. The spider web that clogs your mind will have been cleaned up."

"How did you know what I wanted?"

"You seem to have forgotten Harp, old man. Are you sure you aren't suffering from more then old age?"

"Who could forget that little monster?"

"I'll tell Harp what you think of him! He'll have a good laugh," Paschal said, as he walked out.

***

In another part of Thebes, Harold was strolling around, deep within a silent hallway. He had felt the call for months, but had never given to it. Today, he decided to walk out and let his steps guide him wherever they wanted, and he found himself deep in the bowels of the city. He couldn't help but marvel at its complexity, wondering where he was going. As he entered yet another room, it lit up as all the others before had, and he found himself in a vast rotund. Around the periphery of the room were flat polished surfaces, which reminded him vaguely of those he had seen in the Royal Library of Kantar, so long ago it seemed. There were hundreds of them, all neatly aligned, all dark, and all shiny, testament to the passage of the janitors and the constant check the follow-up teams made on already cleansed up area.

As he walked around the rotund, he noticed that some desks reacted to his presence, while others stayed dark. Not wishing to activate anything by mistake he decided to sit in the centre chair. Barely had he put his posterior on the seat that he heard a voice in his mind. Recognizing telepathy for what it was from his passage through the Pyramids, he relaxed and listened.

«Who are you?»

Harold knew by instinct this was not the time to be modest!

«Harold, Thor, God of the Forges, Pharaoh Horus of Atlantis, father of the Heir of Atlantis, King of kings, Liege Lord of the Wolves, the Equines, the Trolls, the Dwarfs, the Centaurs, the Pegasuses, the Unicorns, the Elves, the Humans, the Fairies, the Dragons, and Primus Legatus of the Legions!»

After what seemed an eternity for Harold, and was certainly an eternity for an artificial intelligence, there came a reply.

«You are recognized. What can I do for you?»

«Identify yourself.»

«I am the Artificial Intelligence of this place you call Thebes. I sense it is slowly being revived. Much must be done before it is ready, but I can guide you in finishing the work.»

«We would appreciate it. However, the best to benefit of this would be the Architect, Imhophet.»

«Imhophet is here? Then yes, he should be brought to this place immediately. I sense him! And Merlin! And most of the Guardians! But I do not sense the Heir?»

«The Heir is leading a mission outside of Thebes presently, accompanied by four powerful mages. His power is such they benefit from his protection, not the other way around!»

«I understand.»

«Can you tell me what room this is?»

«It is the Central Command Room. All around you are stations that must be occupied by those of Atlantean blood to function.»

«I noticed some are activated by my mere presence while others stay dark.»

«Some are already functional. Others require that another station be active to function, and probably others need last-minute components to be added. The Architect should know.»

«The Architect is rediscovering Thebes as we are. Seventeen thousand years is a long time to span in ignorance and sleep.»

«Seventeen thousand years you say? Yet you do not make your age. In fact, if it were not for the mental signature, I would say it is not the same body.»

«It is not. Born anew, reborn many times, we know death as we know life. Eternal flickers of a flame near extinction, we are bond to the Wheel.»

As Harold finished the sibylline sentence, the Artificial Intelligence gained access to knowledge long locked into its crystalline structure.

«Ask the Architect to visit the first Room where the Heir was revealed. There, he will gain access to the Plans he so desperately searches, for there, on these walls, using his nature, these plans will be revealed.»

«I will tell him. Thank you. Is there a quick way to return here?»

«You can port directly here now that you know where to look. But for those new to this Room, use the portal to the right of the exit. You know my name.»

«Before I leave, are there many other rooms like this?»

«The sick bay, the Map room, the Shields room, the Weapons room, and the Engines room, to name the most important. You are sitting in the Heir's chair.»

«Thank you, I will bring the Heir and his guardians here as soon as convenient.»

Harold stood up, a bit dizzy and walked to the portal. He thought about getting Paschal right away but decided to wait and talk to him over dinner that night, so he figured he should get to his suite. Barely had he made his choice that the portal activated and he found himself in his living room, in the portal that had been hidden behind a wall.

He walked in and met Annabelle, who was busy reviewing troop deployment in the kingdom, or what was left of it.

"My dear, I found a room that will make Paschal have an orgasm!" he said.

"From the noise coming from the nest every night, I don't think our son needs any more of those! I'm surprised it hasn't fallen off yet!"

"Maybe you are right, but you know boys: never enough!"

"I know. And from what I hear, Ian is competing with the older boys as to who will seed the most bitches and mares! I wonder when Alexander will begin?"

«As soon as he will have bonded with a dragon, my queen,» replied a young red dragon boy that was on guard duty in the Royal suite. «He needs to gain shifting capabilities to mate with other species, and that can be only acquired by bonding with one of ours.»

"The dragon is right, Annabelle. Anyway, I gather the next clutch is due soon?"

The guard, which had walked in the room while talking to the queen, answered verbally this time.

"Yes my lord. The next one should be hatching within a day or two. I suggest bringing Alexander to the Queen mother of Dragons."

"We will do so. Anyway, I have a visit to make to her and I also have to visit the Matriarch. I have put that off long enough. I was hoping to visit her in the company of Ian, but the expedition in the Amazon is taking longer then I thought."

Amethyst walked into the room and spotted Annabelle.

"I wonder about one thing," she said. "Are there any orcs left in the vicinity?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm taking no chances. And we know this isn't over by a long shot. It's rushing to its conclusion, but we must be ready for all eventualities. What brought this question about?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of them."

"I agree. And they proved a lot more versatile then we thought so we will need to be more prepared next time!"

"What else can we do? Short of blowing up the kingdom, there is nothing we haven't tried."

"I don't think we will need to resort to the Atom God; and however advanced the Orcs are, I don't think they will be ready for that either."

"You assume they aren't being manipulated by external forces."

"Like?"

"Maybe there is a soul-eater? Or black mages?"

"I would not dismiss the soul-eater hypothesis, but a black mage would probably have to fight to stay alive and not finish in the orcs' crock-pot."

"Unless he has shape-shifting capabilities!"

"May I?" intervened the dragon boy.

"Certainly," replied both women, wondering why a guard would interrupt them.

"To acquire shape-shifting, as I explained to Her Majesty Queen Annabelle, you must bond to a dragon. All known living dragons are accounted for and are bonded to Atlanteans or unbounded adults bond directly to the Crown of Atlantis by the vow of Fealty. So it is very unlikely that a black mage has bonded with a dragon. Anyway, the only dragons that would have been interested in such a bond would have been black dragons, and there are none left, thanks to Merlin."

"Do you have another option?" asked Amethyst.

"The black mages are masters of illusion. It could disguise itself as an orc. I say it because it could be a male or a female. Given that orcs are, apparently, patriarchal in nature, and very phallocentric, I think the disguise would be a male orc."

"How did you come to that astounding conclusion?" asked Harold.

"Have you seen a single female orc outside of their nest? Their fighters are males, exclusively males. This is typical of patriarchal societies. And they value size, given their commanding officers regularly seem to be the biggest of them in the genital department if not it the brain department!"

That comment brought a roar of laughter from Diamondcutter and Harold, and a blush from Amethyst.

"Men! Always examining each other to see who has the biggest!" said Annabelle, making Amethyst blush even more.

***

Evening brought most of the royals to the canteen of the Royal Guards, held for the week by the 3522nd Dog Centurie, the 16th Centaur Centurie, the 525th Equine Centurie, the 12th Unicorn Centurie, the 8524th Wolf Centurie; the 989th Dwarf Centurie, the 2284th Elvin Centurie, the 10th Dragon Centurie, the 192nd Legionnaires the 9th Pegasuses Centurie, and the 4th Mage Centurie to name a few. The sky above Thebes was so crowded it required constant air traffic control, and Harp had assigned specific air corridors for Dragons and Pegasuses. Patrols left the giant city every minute, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, while the area around the city was used extensively to train freshly incorporated centuries and legions. Inter-species coordination and inter-species commands are the norm. It did not surprise anyone to see a Centaur command a combined Pegasus, Centaur, Equine and Unicorn unit that also included foxes, wolves, dogs, and other Canines. In fact, the unit's attribution to a specific species was more a question of the Centurion's species then its composition.

Enron was the first to walk in the canteen. Everyone that crossed his path greeted him with welcoming comments, and he replied in kind. He picked a table containing mostly foxes, converted to a nice silver fox, and joined them for a quick snack of raw meat before leaving the pack to move and join a group of Equines and share with them some alfalfa; he finally returned to his Elvin form to eat a quick dessert of crème brulée, before taking his seat at the Royal Table and await petitions, reports, and other interventions. This had been the ritual for all the royals ever since they had acquired shape-shifting capabilities. He watched Thorsten do the same, followed shortly by Typhoon, and then Harold and the others. Not a single unit was left without at least a visit from one or more of the Royals. Consolidated daily activity reports were brought to their respective attention, and orders for the night were given out.

The roll call sheet, nailed against the wall near the mess hall, indicated it was Timor's turn to handle the overall shift, assisted by Bush Tail Fox, and Viola. The three sat near the mess' entrance, and received the command shift reports, of which there were a few thousands, even if the previous overall command team had already consolidated them. Things were particularly heavy that evening, as it was also the Rotation of the Guard, which would occur promptly at vespers.

As vespers was rung across the city, an extraordinary ceremonial, at last for the first-time observer, began. First, since everyone had finished supper, all food was banished by magic. Then the double doors, wide enough to let in four Pegasuses side by side, were flung open. The units in the room stood, slammed their right foot, paw or hoof on the floor, and stood, aligned, with their Centurion in front. Then a 'Present Arms!' resonated across the giant hall, which had each unit present its weapons for inspection by one of the Royals, according to the weapon type.

The ritual inspection progressed as drums beat in the background until all units were dully inspected. Once all was fit according to the Royals, the next part of the complicated choreography began. Each unit began walking out, again following the tempo of the drums; meanwhile, the replacing unit moved on a parallel path. As the respective Centurions met, the leaving Centurion gave the Order Sheet for the Guards, which comprised the latest royal orders for the night shift, and a report of the week's activity to the replacing Centurion. Meanwhile the units stayed in place while maintaining the steps. Once this exchange of information was completed, the two centuries resumed their movement, one to leave, and one to take the vacated area. The entire procedure repeated itself one unit at a time. At first, the ritual took a short time, but as the number of sentient species rescued by the Atlanteans rose, so did the duration of the entire process. It now took an hour to do the whole show.

The final phase of this complicated ritual was the First Inspection. The Royals inspected each unit before it took its duty. As the Royals stood in front of their table, the new Centuries stood still, and the background drums went silent.

"Dismissed!" said Harold, in a sharp and crisp voice that rang across the silent room.

The order was followed by the smash of right foot, paw or hoof on the rocky floor, and yet no one moved. The Royals knew what to expect. They formed in two lines and began walking toward the exit as the drums rolled at every step. As the last royals passed in front of a unit, it fell in step behind the procession. Ten minutes later, the first Centurie in the procession followed the Royals to their suite and dispersed at the door; the others had left the procession as their members took to their duty for the night, and others moved to the barracks for the night.

"I wonder why all the ceremonial?" asked Harold for nth time. "I never figured it out."

The other royals sniggered, knowing quite well the reason for it all. Pharaoh meant Emperor, King of Kings meant Emperor. But no one in his right mind would tell Harold that. The man was too simple still, too much the ironsmith he had been chosen to be by the Diviners. The other royals weren't that blind, but none would ever raise the question either. So Harold kept his illusions, and could not yet fathom all the importance of the rituals he had become the centre of over the years. Anyway, Harold's simplicity endeared him to his people and bound them to him even more then any Oath of Fealty would ever do. Everyone knew that the Pharaoh could be met any time, day or night, but no one would dare abuse of the privilege. He treated everyone as family, with the utmost care, and regularly visited expectant females, helped in the hospital with difficult births, cared for orphaned children of the wars as if they were his own, visited widows and, above all, fed every citizen of Thebes with the help of the Magical Cohorts. Thebes lived, breathed with Harold; its heart was his heart.

***

That evening, Harold remembered that strange request by the room he had visited earlier that day.

"Paschal, I strolled into a strange room and it showed Artificial Intelligence. It told me to tell you to visit the first Room where Ian's destiny was revealed so you could gain a deeper understanding of this place."

"The Room of Revelations?"

"I don't think so. You were present when we last visited the Room of Revelations just prior to the Usurper's trial."

"Yes, you are right. I felt nothing special when I came back to the Room. There must be another place "

"I always wanted to visit the Cave under Kantar," said Viola, unknowingly giving the answer to the question being asked.

"That's it!" Samson said, jubilant.

"What is it?" asked Banjo, surprised.

"The room that revealed Ian's nature. Remember all the hard work Yamato did reading these hieroglyphs. Remember the giant Cave under Kantar!"

The newcomers were looking at Samson with wide eyes, and the others that had visited had faces reminiscent of a god-given revelation.

"Samson's right. It is part of Thebes now since it was one of the components we moved some time back. It is at the centre of Thebes, and its towering pillar stands tall, five times higher then the Pyramids themselves. Its drawbridge has been up all that time, and we haven't visited the place since it was moved. Maybe it is time we do so. After all, the real Royal Suites are in Kantar, and this place is much like a summer cottage. It is time we go home boys!" said Harold.

"When do you plan to do that?"

"Harp, how will you proceed, since this was your first major feat of magic?"

"First, I'll go with Paschal and Sitar in the cistern. It should still be dry. We will climb out of it, reactivate the hydraulics of the city, and then follow the reactivation protocol. We'll do that tomorrow. By now, the hydrostatic pressure at the valves should be high enough to fill the cistern rapidly. We have been fracturing the continental crust with each addition to Thebes, and the fractured volcanic crust must have let a lot of water seep at the root of Thebes, of which Kantar is the apparent expression."

"All right. I was getting frustrated with finding the last missing pieces of Thebes, maybe that visit will trigger my Swiss cheese memory."

"Viola, would you come with us?" asked Sitar.

"I wouldn't mind, but why?"

"Simply so you can keep me company while these two talk mechanics, hydraulics, and other boring stuff."

"Sure."

***

The next morning, the four boys took their time to walk to the overwhelming mass of Kantar.

"I think we have to walk around the base and reach the Door of the Pharaoh. It should be that way!" indicated Harp.

"I thought we were going to try and find the entrance to the cistern?"

"We will, but I need a reference. That Door is the reference."

After an hour, they reached the Door, whose lintel was visible with their magic sight. Viola was impressed by the symbols and Harp explained their meaning.

"Now, this being a starting point, the entrance to the tunnel should be twenty degrees left relative the line created by the core of Kantar and the Door of the Pharaoh. That's that way."

The boys followed Harp along the line.

"How long must we walk? We are nearing the end of the plaza."

"I know Viola. That worries me."

As they reached the edge of the open area, a wall loomed over them.

"Let's port on the other side. We will be in an open area separating two quarters of Thebes. It is narrow, and we will have less then one hundred yards to walk through the lava field before reaching the next wall."

All four boys ported quietly, well almost quietly across the wall. Viola forgot to port the air and that resulted in a supersonic boom, one in the numerous that occurred daily over Thebes.

"Focus, brother, focus!" said Sitar, as his ears rang with the concussion.

The four boys made it slowly across the boulder field, some whose edges were cutting glass. About halfway through the field, a series of big rocks were in their way. They had to walk around, but Harp suddenly stopped and looked at the rocky pile.

"That thing's odd. It won't be fun, but I think we need to climb on top. Let's go back to our line."

The boys made their way back to their original line and began climbing the rock pile. It took them a couple of hours to make it to the top, as the princes did not want to risk porting in case they missed something. As they reached the top, there was a flat area and right in the centre, a cavity whose bottom was invisible in the darkness, as the sun had yet to reach the zenith.

"There we are. Let's port to the edge."

"Why not directly at the bottom?" asked Viola.

"For safety reasons, Viola. There may be snakes down there. Who wants to dance with them?"

"You have a point. I visited Greywolf, and that image haunts me."

The four princes made their way down the now very dry set of stairs and progressed rapidly to the bottom of the well. Bata supplied a bright light that put in contrast all the rough edges.

"That seems of bad quality?" asked Viola.

"It is supposed to be a natural cavity. Things will improve considerably once we reach the first door. Talking about it, here it is. Now, the first step is deactivating the eleven-fold field. Let me focus."

After fifteen minutes, the protective magic field collapsed silently. Harp unlocked the door and made them pass in before closing it and sealing it back. That prompted a raised eyebrow from Viola.

"Never leave an open door behind when you are at war. You never know who might walk in unannounced!" said Sitar, approving Harp's move, and seeing the magic seal added by the care of a couple of voice-less invocations.

The boys resumed their walk. Now Viola saw finely polished rock, so polished in fact that he could see his face reflected on its surface. The tunnel gently sloped down until another door loomed ahead. After invoking magic once again, the door swung silently open, and the boys made their way across the threshold. After sealing the door, Harp explained.

"This is a lock. It will be filled with toxic gases as it was before I deactivated the seal. The goal of this is to make it impossible for any intruder from using that entrance. There will be a series of locks like this, with varying corroding products. Let's get moving. Some locks, like this one, are time-sensitive."

The boys quickly ran to the end of the lock, Harp opened the next door and they passed into the next lock quickly. Lock after lock was passed in sequence. All in all, eleven locks were passed.

"What's with the odd number?" asked Viola.

"Remember basic magic theory? Each lock is binded to the one of the magical dimension."

The next phase was simple. Harp opened the door that led to the bottom of the cistern. As they walked in, Paschal looked at the bottom and noticed the presence of stagnant water. He quickly banished it and all the whitish stuff that had managed to grow in the cistern.

"Hygiene first. Once we are out of this place, I will seal the cistern and fill it with a mixture of chlorine and fluorine gases at high pressure to make sure all nooks and crannies are disinfected," said Paschal.

"What happens if someone opens that door?" said Viola as Harp sealed the last door back in place.

"It gets drowned. That cistern will contain several billion gallons of water. And this door triggers a series of deadly traps that will in effect kill any life form, the least of which is a compressing magical field that can crush diamonds to dust," replied Harp.

The boys climbed up the apparently unending ladder. Paschal had taken the lead. As they reached the top, Paschal entered a sequence by pressing on specific bricks in the ceiling of the cistern, and a hush followed the last key's entry. The boys climbed out of the cistern, Paschal closed the trapdoor and swung the rotating handle closed until the red crystal turned yellow. He then typed in the final lock sequence and the crystal turned green.

"It's time to sterilize the cistern. I'll activate it and then we move to the control room of Kantar."

Paschal led everyone to the control room. He then purged the cistern, filled it with fluorine and chlorine to twenty bars, and then he siphoned the toxic gases and replaced them with pure oxygen. Once the process was complete, he began the flooding.

"How long will it take?" asked Harp, who remembered that the draining had taken a full day before.

"About six hours. The water pressure is considerable and the filters have had time to regenerate during the time Kantar was deactivated. We'll know when this is done when that marker reaches the top and the crystal turns green. Then we will have full hydraulic pressure in Kantar."

"Do we need that to open the gate?" asked Viola.

"No. I just wanted to activate the process, since it will take some time. Harp, how about getting the Bridge circuitry ready?"

"I'll move there right away. Give me ten minutes."

Harp popped to the Bridge command room, gave the verbal command, and then popped back to the control room.

"Harp, it's rotating on schedule. Let's move to the drawbridge. I unlocked the keypad from here, so it will be active when we reach it."

The boys made their way through the silent and dusty core of Kantar.

"The janitors will have a lot of work to do before this becomes habitable again. I wonder where all that dust came from?" asked Sitar as he watched it rise from the floor.

"I think the displacement of Kantar caused some vibrations which made the dust stuck in cracks fall off. I'll have to do a full magical scan before we let anyone in. I'll just let the drawbridge down, and put up a sign telling everyone it is under magical inspection and not to enter. And do not worry! I'll do the cleanup as soon as I'm sure there is nothing that needs repairs. The janitors have enough work with Thebes already."

The boys reached the drawbridge control box and Paschal entered the control sequence. The drawbridge descended majestically over the dry but still impressive moat.

"Ok, we are done here. Let's go to the Cave. I'll pop into the control room first to monitor the water's progress. Once it reaches fifty percent capacity, can you trigger the control valves?" asked Paschal as he looked at Harp.

"Yes, but I would prefer it be delayed if you do not mind. If any pipes was ruptured when we moved Kantar, I don't want a flood."

"Good point."

"How long will it take to do the scan?" asked Sitar, who had a vague idea of Kantar's size.

"Not long, maybe an hour. I am waiting for the cistern to fill up and the water to stop moving. I need as little movement as possible, and flowing water is a lot of it. I'll just move to the Pinnacle Tower, where we had that superb view of the Rainbow Bridge. It is a nice place to enter a trance. Let's go down the Hall of the Pharaoh. We will access the Cave by that means."

The boys followed Paschal who led them right to the passage; Harp then spoke the keywords and the door that kept the passage to the cave opened. They could see the dust that had settled over the footprints of the Royal Army that had entered Kantar by that forgotten passage. They progressed down the spiralling passage and made their way quickly to the Cave. The sand that covered its floor had been rearranged by magic before Kantar had been moved, and not a trace of the huge campground subsisted. The four boys walked into the centre of the circular room and Harp gave a command:

"Lux est!"

Immediately the entire room was flooded by bright light from floor to ceiling. The magnificent paintings that had so fascinated the Atlanteans were revealed in all their magnificence.

"This is the Cave, Viola," said Harp, with a gesture that enveloped the entire cave.

Viola stood, mouth agape, stunned by its beauty. So many drawings were revealed he just couldn't decide where to look.

"Come here, Viola. See that drawing? It is the one that revealed Ian's destiny. But there are many more. I now understand a lot more about these symbols then I did when we first came here. It carries thousands of prophecies, and some of them concern Banjo, Viola, and even you. I recognize that some have come to pass, and others are still in the process of realising themselves. But now is not the time to decipher these prophecies. We are here for Paschal's needs," said Sitar.

"Yes, that is true. Paschal, how about you get to work?"

"I guess. Let me see. This entire place is commanded by vocal commands when there are no control crystals visible. Since I see no control crystal, I suspect it is fully voice-controlled or at least it is activated by it. It must be a simple command. Let me think."

After scratching his chin for five minutes and turning on himself several time, Paschal said a simple sequence:

"Imhophet es Atlantis!"

Immediately a number of control panels appeared around the boys, as the sand vanished into a fine grid. The entire floor had risen by six inches, leaving the sand seep through the tiles that composed the real floor. A superb mosaic, depicting different aspects of Kantar and Thebes clearly appeared for all to view.

"If there was any doubt about the integration of Kantar into Thebes, that solves it," said Harp.

"Let me see," said Paschal as he walked around the control perimeter. "Ah, here is the thing I was looking for. If I read this right it says Plans."

Paschal pressed on the crystal, pushing in some magic as he did so. Immediately, the patterns on the walls changed, zooming on huge segments that had been hard to see from the floor. A transparent crystal began flashing, attracting Paschal's attention. As he looked inside the crystalline surface, he could read text that slowly scrolled up or down depending on where he thought it should go. There were many classifications, from Armoury to Zoo, and he was surprised to see that he could check on all Thebes from there. As he reached the bottom of the list, he noticed there were other items, separated from the original list that appeared. These items included Defence, Diagnostics, Offence, Shields, and a lot of other things.

"Why not try Diagnostics?" said Viola, as he saw the perplexed look of Paschal. "After all, this is what you want to do, right?"

"That's an idea. Let me see, Diagnostics."

It popped in view and flashed red.

"Activate!" said Paschal. Immediately another crystal lighted up and a huge list of things began scrolling on its surface, at speeds that rendered reading impossible. Beside it another window opened. In it appeared a rather restricted list of items, but still numbering in the hundreds.

"Well, you may not have to do a magic scan after all. This is giving us a complete list of faults and failures."

"Paschal, you assume that all sensors have survived. We'll fix what this says is faulty, but I will do a magic scan nonetheless."

"You are right. It does say here that it cannot get a report from a set of sensors located in Thebes. Sitar, Viola, would you mind going to level B40, Wing D at room nine hundred and twelve? The nearest activated port is in Wing D level B39 at room seven hundred and fourteen. There, you will meet with a team of janitors. Tell them you need priority access to the target and to help you progress there. The circuit breakers for these sensors are in a panel on the side of the entrance. This is a service room. Check them out and report to me by telepathy."

"How do we get there from here?"

"Use the portal just out on the side of the hallway. We didn't know what these were when we first explored this place, but it's now clear. Enter the coordinates and you will end up in the right place.

The two boys walked out of the room, found the portal quickly and Sitar figured its use rather quickly. The two princes requested the assistance of the Janitors in progressing to the lower level, as neither wanted to abuse of magic in dealing with the cleanup the passages required. An hour later, they had reached the target, and Viola opened the box.

"Sitar, apparently, the content is missing completely. The box is empty."

«Is it the only thing missing? Do you see any cables?» asked Paschal.

«There are cables, but all the tips seem to be encased in a protective material.»

«OK. Let me get the plan for the circuit breaker box and its components.»

Paschal didn't even have to think things out that the wall in front of him displayed the plans for an individual circuit breaker, and the box. He noticed that the box came in different sizes and wondered why until Harp told him to count the number of cables that seemed to enter each box. He also told Paschal to check on the numbers visible on each circuit breaker. It seemed important.

«Sitar, is there a label on the door leading to the circuit breaker cabinet?»

«Model C24 it says.»

Immediately, a specific cabinet was displayed on the wide screen in front of Paschal, displaying twenty-four emplacements for circuit breakers. Looking at the schematics, Paschal concentrated and materialised the proper box, before porting it directly to Sitar.

«Install the box on the support beam. Are there any indications on the inside of the door itself?»

«There is a list of values imprinted in a thin sheet of shiny metal,» replied Viola.

«List the numbers?»

«Four times one hundred, twenty times twenty-five.»

Paschal had no sooner heard the report from Viola that the schematics changed on the screen and he studied them. The difference was apparent: thick cables were linked to higher-valued circuit breakers; the circuit breaker was itself fairly identical, except that the breaker had different trip mechanisms.

He quickly made the different components, and then, before porting them to Sitar enquired about other aspects of the cabinet.

«Do you see anything strange about the cabinet?»

«What I would consider the arrival and exit cables are too short to reach the box, and there is a screw in place for another component,» replied Sitar.

«The main circuit breaker is also missing. I'll make one. That will be the next component to install!»

Paschal made the missing component and ported it to the location.

«We are missing cables as well, Paschal. Can you make us three cables, about a foot and a half long, diameter of six inches with red, white and blue sheaths respectively?» asked Viola. «While Sitar was screwing up the box, I inspected the incoming cables, they are multithread, fine copper, twined.»

Paschal read in Viola's mind what he had seen and immediately produced the proper cables for their needs. Once everything was available. Viola connected the three cables by following the coloured markings on the box, thus joining the main circuit breaker to the supply grid. Putting it in the off position, he then used the newly minted cables to connect the main circuit breaker to the rail of the circuit breaker box. Meanwhile, Sitar installed the circuit breakers on the rail, following the proper sequence indicated on the door.

«Each cable should have a pictogram label matching one on the side of the box. Again follow the colour coding for the cables. Make sure the circuits are all off before fixing anything! And remove only one cable protector cap at a time!» said Paschal.

An hour later the entire box was cabled properly and verified by Viola and Sitar.

«Activate the main circuit breaker!»

As soon as Viola turned it on, a green light lit up.

«The circuit breaker is reporting active here. Continue with the circuit breakers in the box, one at a time. Start with those with the biggest numbers.»

As each circuit was turned on, it was diagnosed and the behaviour of the main breaker monitored. The last big one reported ok, but there were no reduction in the number of missing sensors, indicating a problem further down the line.

«Hold it. We need to fix that path while it's clear. Let me see. That sensor array is along the D wing. It's the automatic locks that are reporting faulty, starting from room 001 to 300, for a total of four faulty locks. Can you go check?»

Sitar took off with a couple of janitors while Viola stayed at the switches. Fifteen minutes later a swearing Sitar came on the telepathic frequencies.

«They didn't even bother to install the damn doors. The sockets for the sensors are there, the cables are hanging loose but there are no doors and no sensors whatsoever. Even the electrical motors that should close the doors in case of sudden depressurisation are missing! And the rubber sealant against gases is missing as well. That part was left in construction!»

«Explore the rooms to check how much work we need to do?» asked Harp, who understood how important meticulous work was required for Thebes to work according to plan and remembering the issues they had with moving bits and pieces into place.

As Sitar explored the area, he cussed up a storm, vowing to skin alive the idiots that abandoned their work in the middle of completing it.

«They are long dead, Sitar, so stop brewing bad blood. I'm calling in the Royals, the Elves and the Dwarfs to help complete the task. Expect them on location in half an hour! Meanwhile, give me an inventory of what you see and what is missing!» replied Paschal.

As Sitar reported the state of each room, a group of janitors cleaned it up as quickly as possible, understanding the necessity of a clean workplace for a construction project. Paschal noted on another screen the numbers and what was needed and already present and in what quantity. As Sitar moved toward the lowest numbers, he noticed that the situation degraded. At what should have been section zero to ninety-nine, the only division was the frame for the hallway. Everything else was to be built, including pipes, portal, dividing walls, and doors. There were no cables either.

"Could it be that the required material never reached the construction crew?" asked Viola as he examined the state of affairs. "After all, everything was imported from Atlantis II, and some ships did not make it due to the events."

"That is a distinct possibility Viola."

The first to arrive on the construction site were the Dwarfs, followed by the Elves and the legionnaires. Harold reported to the call for help and eyed critically the situation.

"What is the situation?" he asked the two boys.

"Paschal and Harp are currently studying the plans for that section, and comparing the inventory of what we have on hand with what is needed. We should receive an analysis of the situation in a few minutes dad. I gather Paschal also needs to pull out the sequence of construction to prevent us from building ourselves in a corner."

"That is acceptable. I figured we might need such a schedule."

Just then Paschal began giving his orders.

«Sitar move to segment comprising rooms 300 to 399. I have ported a door and all its trimmings so you and dad can install it. You will see the order in which things need to be installed. Viola, move back to the circuit breaker cabinet, we will resume testing the low-power circuits. If things are as I think, the first fifteen will work but the rest will not since they match the circuits we have yet to install. Thorsten, I will be porting to each segment the studs used to mark the divisions between the rooms. Once the dust is removed, you should see, markers on the floor. These mark the place where the studs go up. Distribute the work according to your available manpower. Enron, as soon as the dwarfs are finished mounting the divisions in a room, tell me. Harp will port the cables required for each room. I will include a circuit plan. As I already explained to Sitar and Viola, all cables are colour-coded, and their length is pre-determined. It is next to impossible to misplace a cable since it has its specific path along the walls, ceilings, and floors. I suggest you install wall and ceiling cables first, because cables on the floor make for a dangerous work area. In fact, the plans specify that sequence. Notice that each section is separated by a double wall that is several inches thick and sealed. The circuits are carried from segment to segment with a reinforced steel tube that is itself sealed by a crystal. At each end is a connection box. These will be the first connector boxes you will need to install, as they go in place before the wall is sealed and shielded. Legionnaires! Help the janitors, and the others in any way possible. Banjo, Cello, Piano and Violin, you will focus solely on installing the portals for each room and segment. This is specialized work. Please report here first so I can put the full data set in your memory.»

From there, the construction of a missing segment of Thebes began in earnest. Meanwhile, Harp moved to the Pinnacle and spent an hour in a deep trance to analyse the situation of the Kantar section of Thebes. He found remarkably few issues, which he immediately fixed by magic. After that, he reactivated the water mains, let the air escape from the pipes and then closed each faucet by magic. The reloading of the pipes dropped the level of the cistern by almost its entire capacity, but it began refilling immediately. As soon as the process was well underway, Harp returned to the Cave and reported to Paschal.

"I wonder how things are outside of Kantar?" asked Paschal as he watched the progress of the construction from the eyes of Enron.

"Why? Are you worried about something?"

"No. I'm just curious. As we activate Kantar, its external lights should turn on. It must be an impressive sight, since the sun is going down. Imagine a mountain of light, especially since it has been dark and foreboding for so long!"

"I know Thebes is like an octopus seen from space at night, like these fluorescent deep-sea invertebrates the Spiders have collected for the Aquarium."

"I have been too busy lately with Thebes and my project to fly. I think once this is done, I'll go do some loopings in dragon form just to take in some fresh air."

"You better be ready to climb high. The volcanic activity isn't letting off."