The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

Thorsten arrived two days later. He looked weary and tired, as all of his wave members. Harold sent everyone off for a few days vacation in one of the tessaracts, one that had a nice beach, with lots of salt water and warm, if artificial, weather. While they took a well-deserved break, he held a meeting with the others.

"What is next, Paschal?"

"It is the activation of Thebes."

"I thought this was done?"

"No. Remember the last bit of control that required activation from the Bridge? We have to find the Bridge, it is not the Rainbow Bridge, nor is it the control room you discovered. I think this was the backup bridge, but not the real one. I realised it lacked some important elements."

"So you mean we must find some other place?"

"Yes."

"What should we look for?"

"Actually, I took the liberty to examine Rockhook's ship. The bridge of his ship had some side-rooms: a star map room, which, by the way, we recovered, a science station room, a Captain's Ready room, the Helm, the Communications room, the Long-range Sensors room, the Engineer's room, the Security room, the Long-range defence/offence room, to name a few. Others, I could not identify without the full computer active, but I think one relates to the computer itself."

"What does this nomenclature give us?"

"I believe the Goblin spaceship was designed with Atlantean help, from Atlantis One. If it is so, it is very likely that Thebes, being a spaceship, followed Atlantean naval architecture. We need to look for these rooms."

"Why bother searching Thebes from top to bottom?" asked Harp.

"Because we need this forward bridge to effectively control Thebes."

"I meant, why not use the portals to find it? We might just have to call in the address "

"That is just it. What is the address? Bridge? Main Bridge? Deck? Main Deck? Command Bridge? Command Deck? There are hundreds of ways to name this place. And there is a security issue. It may be that the Bridge we are looking for has been secured, meaning we must enter it after following a set procedure if we want to stay alive. I may have designed this place, but some things still are hidden from me. I guess this is for added security." Paschal kept scratching his head, looking in a foul mood.

"Let us go to the Cave and examine the map. A hole, somewhere, should appear in the complex structure, indicating where the area we are looking for is located," Timor said.

"I tried that, but somehow, I cannot get it to show any hole. The map may well be designed just to thwart this idea. Dad, I told you earlier my gut feeling: the next stage is to be done in Kantar. Let us go there. We have not visited the Throne of the Sun since we moved Kantar into place. I think it is time you sat back on it. Things have evolved considerably since then."

"Okay, Paschal. But let us wait for Thorsten to be back from his beachside splash. I want everyone present."

"Sure."

***

A few days later Thorsten came back, feeling reinvigorated by the seaside rest. Every member of his wave had taken the break, and the Dragons had supplied the waves for surfing by diving in the shallows off the beach. It was early morning, and the Royals had regrouped at the mess hall for a healthy breakfast.

"As soon as everyone has finished, we go to the Royal Suite in Kantar. As most of you already know, Paschal wants us to go there to finish something. He suggested we visit the Throne of the Sun. He believes that the completion of Thebes will trigger something. As I am at a loss as to what to do, I agree it is the only viable path of action for now."

The Royal procession left the mess hall, led to Kantar by Harold and Annabelle. Behind them were the chief leaders of each species, in order of acceptance under the umbrella of Atlantis. The huge line-up made its way with dignity to the entrance of Kantar, which shone of thousands of lights in the still dark morning. Harp had taken care of placing everyone under a force field that protected them from the still omnipresent volcanic ash blown by strong and very cold winds. Outside of the Magic bubble, the temperature had reached -100° Fahrenheit that morning, just before the Sun peeked over the mountains east of Thebes.

Even if they had exited as close as possible to the Royal Plaza, it still represented a good hour of walk in slippery conditions, as the ash rolled under their feet and things seemed to crack from everywhere. There were some anomalies in this desolate picture: the fountain still splashed high and mighty, protected by Magic from the violence of the ash and the offense of the cold. Trees were protected, grass fields could be seen, and the garden was covered in delicate flowers. But less then an inch from a superb and delicate tropical plant, a rhododendron in full bloom, a wall of ice laced with black ash was stuck against the protective magical field, giving rise to a phantomatic sculpture tailored by the ice and wind.

"The external cleanup team has some catching up to do," said Harold, disapprovingly.

"I know Dad. The ash you see there is at most three days old. They pass in the area at fixed intervals. I have ordered the ash recovered. It is a great fertiliser for the Eden project," replied Enron.

"It piles up that fast?"

"This is the least exposed part of Thebes. The peripheral areas are far worse off. They usually have to remove four or five feet of ash every day. If it were not for their constant work, Thebes would have been buried in several hundred feet of ash by now, much like these Roman cities we found, Herculaneum and Pompeii."

"Did you recover them?" asked Amethyst.

"Yes, to the last rock and corpse."

"Corpse?"

"The people of these cities were buried alive by pyroclastic flows."

"Oh. It must have been horrible."

"Yes."

"I thought all was lost in Europe?" said Thorsten.

"Apparently, these two cities were not targeted, having been dead well before the onset of the Cataclysm. And the volcano's ash protected them from the outrages of time."

"Have you found many other things?"

"If you mean of origin, no. If you are refering to the time-travel duplicators then yes, quite a lot was recovered. Europe has a rich history, a varied architecture. Some sites were beautiful before the war, the earthquakes, the volcanoes, and simple neglect destroyed them. Others send shivers down my back, but given I also recovered the history behind these places, I decided to preserve them to honour their victims."

"Such as?"

"Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and some of the most notorious Gulags, to name a few. I believe that in order for history not to repeat itself, it must be taught on site to our youngsters. Humanity is capable of the greatest and the lowest. We must never forget."

"Piano, Violin, do you agree?"

"Yes, we do," said Piano, answering for both.

"And, Amethyst, we must never forget that, even if we are Atlanteans, we now carry in us Humanity. It is vital we keep this in mind, because, with our power, we could do far worse then Humans managed to do in atrocity. We have great goals, and sometimes, it might be tempting to forget these goals and choose the path of least resistance. Great goals require great sacrifices. Humanity, including us, has balked at doing the right thing. This lack of resolve must never come back to haunt us."

***

The procession reached the drawbridge into Kantar and made its way to the outer courtyard, which contained about the same amount of ash as the plaza. As they entered the great hall, Harp set a counter-breeze to prevent ash from following them in the hallway. Even then, their steps left prints on the rock floor as they huddled together before the thick double doors closed.

"The steel grid on the floor there is to remove ash and ice from underfoot. It will melt the ice and, if you wait five minutes, the boots and paws will be dry and warm."

Everyone took turn standing on the rather wide grid, and half an hour later, the procession resumed on the other side of the grid, leaving no wet trace and no ash cloud in its progress.

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Paschal showed me a reproduction of what the Ancients called a mall. It had these funny things set in the floor, and we could not figure out their use until we realised they pumped hot air up and were located at the entrances of these malls. So I installed these things in the main entrance," said Harp.

"Is it permanent?"

"Nothing is permanent, Annabelle, especially when you use Magic to do things!"

"We will remove this when we are done preparing Thebes. It will have become useless."

The long procession winded its way up the Royal Hallway to reach the Throne Room of Horus, the Sun Throne. Quite a few members of the procession had never seen it and were awed by its beauty. As they walked in, the Atlanteans immediately noticed the change. The Throne itself shone brightly, on the highest point. In front of it, set in a very peculiar position, were a number of Thrones, representing different forms of the Atlantean species. Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes, Hyenas, and Dogs were visible in one group, the Canines. On the other side were the Equines: Horses, Zebras, Ass, Donkeys, Mules, and also Unicorns, Centaurs, and Pegasuses. Between them were Elves, Trolls, Fairies, Legionnaires, and Dwarves, along with Thrones for Dragons and Goblins. In the middle was a salt pit fit for the Matriarch, which had accompanied them even if she did not yet understand why the Patriarch of Patriarchs had asked for her presence. At her left side was a dark Throne, representing an Orc.

"Do you think we need an Orc to complete the picture?" asked Harold of Harp.

"It is not active, clearly indicating this is a placeholder. And if you look at your right, you will notice another placeholder, with the symbol of healing, which is rather reddish, not very bright. It is the place that Francesca should hold, but it seems that the Artificial Intelligence that governs this room knows her condition."

"What next?" Bushtail Fox asked.

«Sit where you belong.»

"I should have known! I have implemented Artificial Intelligence everywhere they might be of vital use when I designed this place!" said Paschal. "Do as it says."

Everyone made progress to his or her respective seat, and Harold guided the Matriarch to her resting place.

«What is happening, oh Patriarch?» she asked as he guided her.

«We are activating Thebes so the next steps leading to our goal can begin.»

Satisfied with the explanation, the Matriarch settled in place. The others moved into their seat, and as each sat down, the wall around the room lit up, replaying, on a much vaster scale, the Room of Recognition's light display. Once everyone was seated, Harold made his way to the crystalline Throne and sat down.

First, Harold's image lighted up, then the ceiling showed a rising Sun in a very blue sky. Seconds later, behind the giant Throne complex, the flags of each species rose along virtual flagpoles.

«Two are missing,» said the Artificial Intelligence.

«Override,» replied Harold.

«Order recognised.»

The two last seats lighted up as well as their corresponding images. The flag of the Orc nation, a red hand on green background, took its place in the collection of colours.

«What can I do for you, Emperor of Atlantis?»

«We must complete the activation of this place. The time is near when we must do what we must. We need guidance.»

«What type of guidance?»

«Answer the questions asked of you by Paschal, Imhophet, Architect of Atlantis.»

«Order recognised. Speak, Paschal, Imhophet, Architect of Atlantis.»

«Where is the main bridge and how do we get there from here?»

«I only know the first passage. Beyond that, I have no access to the information. It is encrypted and requires a proper signature to be unlocked.»

«Where is the first passage?»

«Behind you.»

«Lock the state of the Room» ordered Paschal.

«Order executed.»

Paschal stood up, and his seat stayed lighted as well as his image. He then walked behind the Thrones and examined the back wall. After a few minutes, he called on Harold.

"Dad, Ian! Come here please!"

The two left their respective place and moved to join Paschal.

"These are hand prints. This one is yours, Dad, and this one is yours, Ian."

"How can you say that?"

"Look at the lines and creases in your palm and compare to these lines and creases in the prints. It is like you put your hand in ink and pushed them on the wall. Now, just put your right hand on your respective mark, and push with some Magic."

"I wonder how this can be?" wondered Ian.

"I suspect it got updated during the previous activation step," said Harp from his Throne. "This place is so full of Magic I would not be surprised it kept track of us as we progressed from place to place."

Harp might have expected an answer but the gentle chime indicating the two handprints had been recognised told him it was unlikely. Harold shoved the massive door inside and began walking with Ian along the hallway. As they progressed, light lit up on each side of the wall. After five hundred yards, a dead end wall stopped their progress.

"What now?"

"Let me examine this."

After a minute, Paschal called in Harp and Thorsten to join them.

"It is your turn to put your hand in these handprints. Harp, the left handprint, and Thorsten, the right handprint."

The previous process repeated itself, and the progression resumed.

"Are you aware we are moving upward in a spiral?" asked Harp.

"Yes. The Magic field is as good a compass as any."

The process of unlocking doors repeated itself numerous times: Enron-Paschal; Timor-Iridia; Greywolf-Bushtail; Typhoon-Matriarch, and so on. When they reached the last wall, two were missing: Francesca and the Orc.

"We are lucky Francesca is out cold. I doubt she would have taken lightly to be paired with an Orc," commented Harp.

"What do we do? We do not have either on hand."

"Override it Dad."

"How?"

"Put your hand in one and ask Ian to put his in the other. There must be an override mechanism for just such circumstances."

Harold did as Paschal requested, and so did Ian.

After a minute, an alarm sounded.

«Signature not recognised!»

«Override!»

«By whose command?»

«By my order!»

«Identify!»

«Harold, Thor, Horus, Pharaoh of Atlantis!»

After five minutes, a reply came.

«Voice signature recognised! Biometrics signature recognised! First override sequence initiated.»

Another five minutes passed by before the same artificial voice came back.

«First override is now complete. Second entity required.»

«Override!" piped up Ian.

«By whose command?»

«By my order!»

«Identify!»

«Ian, Heir to Thor, Horus, Pharaoh of Atlantis!»

After five minutes, a reply came.

«Voice signature recognised! Biometrics signature recognised! Second override sequence initiated.»

As they waited for the sequence to be finished, Harp looked at the others.

"It may be that you feel we went overboard with security, but consider what we found as we did our work. We found quite a few Usurpers, villains, and other dangerous individuals in situation of power. By making things difficult for them, we protected the core mission of Thebes."

The last door opened and they found themselves in a big room. In front of them was a door marked Bridge; on the left was a room called the Star Map Room and right beside it was the Sensor Array Room; to the right of the Bridge was the Weapons Room, and beside it was the Telecommunications Room. On each side of where they had entered were two more doors: the Sickbay and the Engine Control Room.

"Let us complete the next step, Dad. Go to the Bridge, and sit in the Imperial Chair. It should let you do what is needed to activate the next set of controls."

Harold did as asked, and as he sat down, a headdress descended on his head. He closed his eyes, and gave silent orders. A series of controls lighted up around the room.

«Paschal, the portals are activated. Port to the Cave and verify if all is functional.»

Five minutes later, Paschal returned.

«There are no more dark spots on the desks. Everything is running at optimal. And I was right; this part of Kantar had been deliberately obfuscated. It is now quite visible."

"Sitar, you are next. Check the weapons."

Sitar moved to the weapons room and came back a bit later.

"All report yellow, meaning standby, as if the weapons could not yet be activated but are prepared."

"Okay. Samson, as the navigator of stars, the Star Map room seems to be your domain."

Figure 6: The Wolf Constellation Seen by Samson

Samson moved to the dark room and sat down in a chair found in the middle. When he relaxed, he found himself suspended in midair, with a clear view of the stars around the Earth. The Planetarium could be controlled by his mind and he soon realised a specific set of stars were set forward. Requesting information on these stars, he found out they were known as the Wolf Constellation. What bothered him was that the image showed static data. Then he realised that the sensors were out of commission. Returning to the group, he mentioned his discovery.

"The star map works fine but is static, as if the sensors were out of commission."

"They probably are. Remember the sensors are to face outward from Thebes, that is, underground presently. For their own protection, they need to be shielded," said Paschal.

"Harp, Sensors Room," ordered Harold.

"I am there already. I have activated them, and they all report yellow status."

"Telecommunications is assigned to Rockhook."

Rockhook was taken by surprise but moved to his assigned station. He quickly sat in the central chair and got flooded by vast amounts of information on communications protocols.

"Enron, sick bay."

Enron did not need to be told twice, and he moved to his own seat.

"If Francesca had been sitting here, she would have had a heart attack out of jealousy."

"She may still have one, if she ever leaves stasis," replied Harold in a cold voice.

"All is green in sick bay."

"Paschal, Engine room!"

Paschal had expected this and had already moved there. After a few minutes, he reported back to Harold.

"All engines on standby. All energy flows through the different engines is clear of turbulence."

"Fine. Ian, you have the Captain's chair. Enron transfer command to Annabelle and report to the Helm. Sitar transfer security to Timor and report to tactical station; Paschal, transfer engineering to Greywolf and report to Engineering station on the Bridge; Typhoon, report to shields; Rockhook, transfer your seat to Iridia, and report to communication station on the Bridge; Harp, on to science station on the Bridge! Thorsten, report to weapons station."

"I wonder why it is organised that way?" asked Dunbar.

"Redundancy."

"Oh, okay. I did not think of it, Williams."

"Everyone else! Please be seated. We will run a simulation. Do not interfere. Matriarch, please join me on the Royal Deck, it seems your place is somewhere here for this task."

Everyone quickly moved out of the way, well aware this test would make or break the team.

"Engage simulation mode!"

Paschal pressed instinctively on the proper sequence and the deck became reddish, with the word 'Simulation Engaged' spread on all monitors.

"Ian, take us out."

The simulation was gentle. It revealed to all how things would look once the ship was going to be closed for its departure. Well aware that any simulation could not ever equate reality, Ian nonetheless followed basic safety procedures and brought the giant spaceship into orbit.

After making a few trips around the planet, Ian took the simulation further out, bringing it to Venus, Mars, and the asteroid belt. Then he brought the ship back to its original position. It was then that the limits of simulations could be seen. The surface of the planet seemed intact, and yet everyone understood that, once Thebes lifted off, it would leave a giant hole behind.

"Disengage simulation. Put everything on standby!" ordered Ian, as they settled down.

"I think this is satisfactory for a first run. We need to do the exercise a couple more times before I feel comfortable," said Harold.

"I agree Dad. But we have very little time left."

"I know, Ian. Let us retire to the Royal Suite I have been using in Thebes. Matriarch, I will bring you back to your nest."

"Will I be needed here on departure?"

"No. We brought everyone here to unlock the passage to the Bridge. From now on, only those involved in a shift should be on bridge."

"As on board any ship, there will be three shifts. Each of you will receive your assignments within 24 hours. Come practice scenarios," said Ian. "You will find your shift assignment and stations for the next month in your folders. As of now, this city runs on martial law. That means everyone has a job, a time to do it, and must report to the Quartermaster when he or she enters shift, leaves shift, or must be somewhere else. That includes myself."

"What is the rush?" asked Dunbar.

"We have a week to complete training, and fold. Then we have seven months to pump as much of the atmosphere into the compression chambers, and in effect be ready to leave. I will be seven in seven days, Dunbar, and we all know things will not be improving from then on!"

"Dunbar, Williams, Yamato, I have work for you."

"Yes, Paschal?"

"Come with me. It will be easier for you to understand what needs to be done if I show you what it implies."

***

The four were teleported to a vast room containing huge tubes, high volume pumps and sealing collars.

"What are those?"

"I had carbon fibre tubes built in our manufacturing plants. They are used to pipe off as much of the atmosphere into the tessaracts' high-pressure chambers. Your task is to put these tubes end to end from the Atlantic Ocean to Thebes. We have a route that will allow you to do this quickly and with minimum trouble. The tubes will float freely on the surface of the water."

"Are you not afraid the Sharks will take a bite?" wondered Dunbar.

"They are dead, as all life forms. The water is at 40 percent salt, and nothing survives these conditions. By the way, you will notice that the depressurisation of the planet will make water evaporate, so we will get most of the still liquid water out as well as the atmosphere."

"What is the expected volume?" asked Williams.

"It will be easier to do the maths in tons. The total mass of the planet's atmosphere is estimated at 5x10¹⁵ tons. We have seven months to complete the task, so we have to remove 9.9x10¹¹ tons per hour."

"This is nuts!"

"What is with nuts around here? First, it is Jefferson, then you, Yamato!"

"I always thought Jefferson had a solid head on his shoulders," smirked Yamato.

"Anyway, you have your assignment. You have five Legions at your disposal. You leave within the hour. Here is the planned path. Mages will port tubes, pumps and seals to collection points. The Unicorns are to be used locally to port the tubes into place, and Dwarves will tie the collars at each end, while the Legionnaires set the pumps in place. Elves will deal with the Ocean."

"What about weather?" Dunbar's experience with bad weather had made him paranoid.

"Salinity is increasing and will continue to increase as we depressurise the atmosphere. And given the more then cold temperatures, water freezes the moment it sprouts to the surface. Do not be surprised to see geysers of saline water freeze on exit. They occur at pressure ridges. Weather will have little impact, and even less as time goes by."

"What about other oceanographic basins?" Yamato wanted to know.

"Thorsten took care of the issue. He had a group of Spiders install depth charges so all the abyssal depths had a way to communicate. Gases will spread equally and we have chosen one of the deepest abyssal plain for our main pumps. They will be detonated shortly."

"You put this in plural?" Dunbar asked.

"Hey, I can do miracles, but there are limits!"

"What about oceanic trenches?" Williams enquired.

"Their contents will be lost. The residual volume will be negligible."

"Okay."

"Here is the loadmaster. Hello Alaric! Your Legion is charged with feeding these tubes, collars and pumps to these points. The number of each component is indicated beside each coordinate. All coordinates are geodesic; the magnetic pole is too unstable since we changed the dynamic of the globe by removing a good portion of its water. Oh. I almost forgot. Everyone, and I mean everyone, wears protective clothing. The temperature outside of Thebes is now an average of -125° Fahrenheit."

"One last question. What happens to this material once it becomes useless?" asked Dunbar, always the tradesman.

"The collars have explosive bolts. Once the task is done, the bolts detonate, and we port every single segment back right here. That should take at most six hours."

"Okay, good. I hate leaving anything behind."

"Yes, we know. Dad's like that too. It was his suggestion to use explosive bolts. I just refined the method. The bolts explode, and instantly get ported back here, as well as the freshly released collar, tube and pump. It will be a continuous show of fireworks."

"Is that another application of your rescue thing we used during the last Orc war?"

"Yes, Alaric."

"Where is the transport Legion?"

"Alaric's Legion is the transport Legion. They all have acquired porting capabilities and are used for rapid deployment of engineering material. The missing Legion is the one that will handle security on different sites. Ah, here is the one in charge of security. Are you ready to take on the shoes of a Legate, Germanicus?"

"If you think so "

"If Sitar recommended your promotion, it is because he thought you were ready. And I am not going to put my butt in the trajectory of Sitar's shoes!"

"Yes, Sir. But Sitar never wears shoes, boots on occasion, but never shoes."

Alaric could not help but laugh at how witty Germanicus had become since he had first met him.

"Then here is your first assignment. You have a Legion, and you must effectively protect the personnel, stock, and pipelines from any interference. You have air, magical and land troops. As of this instant, you are responsible of security on all construction sites. Each of the other Legates has a job to do. Here is the map with all pertinent information: planned pipelines route, storage facilities, and expected schedule. Get on it. You have ten minutes to distribute your Legion according to task. And, Germanicus! Do not forget to have everyone wear protective gear. The construction will run 24 hours a day Gentlemen, so distribute your Legion accordingly. You have a week to complete it."

"Yes, Sir!" replied the five Legates.

Paschal ported to his laboratory, and got back to his last project.

"Talk about a test by fire!" said Germanicus.

"Freezing fire, you mean. According to Paschal the temperature outside is -125° Fahrenheit and dropping," said Alaric.

"And I have not even been through the Ordeal!"

***

The task of building the three pipelines began. Each segment was delivered to its reception area just prior to being assembled. As the tubes cooled to the surrounding temperature, they shrank, putting stress on the collars and the bolts. The bolts themselves became brittle. Pumps needed to be kept warm because the oil froze in them, breaking their mechanism. Even the tools used to tighten the bolts needed to be kept warm, as steel repeatedly cracked and split well before the five-ton torque gauge could reach its assigned value.

"This is Hell on Earth!" said Yamato at the end of the first day.

"And things will not be improving. The temperature is dropping tonight to -150° Fahrenheit before climbing back up tomorrow to a measly -100° Fahrenheit according to Typhoon's meteorological bureau. The last Dragon flight is due in shortly, then they huddle in a volcano for the night!"

"I have to recognise their dedication to their task. Imagine the temperature during flight! The wind shield factor must be atrocious," noted Alaric.

"I do not need to imagine it. I cannot fly yet, but just sitting on a Dragon to run from construction site to construction site, I have a pretty good idea of how it feels. Luckily, I have a Mage creating a heat bubble or I will be dead by now," replied Germanicus.

"Are you having problems with security?" asked Dunbar.

"No, not in the sense you mean. The issue is work security. It is not the cold, but the fact that people want to work too fast and get this job done too quickly."

"How much progress did we do today?"

"Let us see, Alaric. My team made about one hundred miles toward the coast, in almost direct line. What about you Dunbar and Williams?"

"About the same. We are where we were told to be according to Paschal's timetable."

"Same here," said Williams.

"What is the next step?"

"We are all entering the mountains, following the same path, the next two eight-hour shifts are dealing with this issue. If we have no big surprises, it will be done within 24 hours. I will be taking the exit out of the mountains shift, tomorrow morning. By then we should be within 25 miles off the old coast. The pipeline will be one hundred and seventy-five miles long. Since you guys are almost parallel to my path, you should be in the same area. It is from then on that our paths really diverge. I am curious as to how things will look."

"Curiosity killed the Cat, an Ancients' saying said," commented Germanicus.

"It certainly almost killed Spare Ribs, Harp's big pussy. That Cat was a pest! I am glad it is now safely carted off into a wild forest tessaract!"

"Are you sure? I saw one big Cat roam the Castle last night."

"That must be Harp hunting the Cook down for food!"

"Poor Cook!" said Dunbar with a smirk.

"If he did not act like he was King of the hill, he would get less in trouble with Harp. When that boy wants meat, you do not go telling him he is eating your reserve, unless you want to end up as food yourself."

"But he got such a sweet temper! Every time I scratch his ears, he purrs the house down!"

Yamato strangled on his glass of cider at Germanicus' comment.

"Anyway, let us rest while we can. I would not be surprised if the evening or night shift woke us up to resolve a problem."

***

Contrary to Yamato's pessimistic predictions, none of them were woken up before their next shift, a testament to the depth of command in the Atlantean Empire. The shift occurred two hours after prime, and the Legates made quick progress toward the coast.

As each group neared the sea, they saw an unusual sight: for as far as the eyes could see, the once very liquid sea was a perfect mirror. At first, the Atlanteans thought they saw a thick ice cover.

«No wonder the temperature is dropping so fast. This albedo must be very high!» exclaimed Yamato.

«What do you see?» asked a worried Dunbar, speaking for Williams as well, since they had not yet crested the last bump to have an unobstructed view of the seashore.

«It is a polished mirror. I knew Thorsten had been thorough in recovering the ice, but I never would have thought we could skate on the surface right to the middle of the Atlantic!»

«That gives me an idea. If this is the case all the way to our target collect point it might be possible to pull the train of tubes on skates right from the shore,» said Williams.

«That is an idea. Germanicus! I need a scouting team from my position to the target! They are to fly low and inspect the surface to see if it is possible to skate from here to there!»

«Okay Yamato, I will be leading the Decade.»

A few minutes later, Yamato saw Germanicus fly over with a group of Dragons and their complement of Mages, Dragon Riders, and defensive teams.

«Fly low, Germanicus. The situation might appear smooth from high above, but the reality might be totally different from say, 50 feet!»

«We are doing a first pass in the bay. Already, I can tell you things get rough further out. The ice shows signs of stress with ridges sticking out several feet in parallel off the northern edge of the bay.» The sea has moved since Thorsten came and picked the ice. I think the Moon's partially responsible for this. Some ice jumbles resemble tidal flows piling over ice!»

«I thought we had recovered most of the water?»

«The key word here is most, Williams. Quite a lot stayed locked in the lower strata of the seabed. It was impractical to recover it. Now it is resurging and creating this situation with ice laced with thick layers of salt,» replied Dunbar.

«What do you suggest to speed things up?»

«Instead of skates, use skis for your sleds. The wider they are, the less trouble they will be to pull, and they can ride over rougher ice. We will need to cut through these ice ridges. I suggest using your Dragons to cut through the ice ridges. Dragon breath can do it with good speed, and the concentration of salt is such the water will melt rapidly.»

«Good idea, Germanicus! Let us implement this. Can you do a quick survey of the planned paths?»

«I have already sent a hundred scouting patrols on that task, Yamato. They will be reporting to me shortly.»

«Do you think things will move a lot still?» wondered Williams.

«Certainly. I think this is why these tubes are so flexible and can twist almost completely back 180°. They can also stretch to 20 times their rest length,» said Alaric, working on preparing the next batch of tubes and pumps.

«I worry about compression.»

«I was worried about that too,» said Alaric, «but Paschal came by this morning and told me that these tubes could stretch, twist, but could not be forced to reduce their diameter. And he demonstrated it by converting to a Dragon and jumping on a load. It did not even bend under his weight!»

«You have me convinced! I just hope the physical characteristics of these tubes survive the cold. We have had a lot of issues with tools.»

«I told Paschal about this, and he promised a new set of tools. Ahem, I just saw a mountain of new toolboxes appear. Let me check!»

A few minutes later, Alaric came back with the laconic comment: «Ask and you receive. These tools are no longer of steel but of carbon fibres, the same material as the tubes themselves. Expect them with the next delivery of tubes.»

«Good. I just saw another torque lose its handle,» said Dunbar. «It is getting frustrating. I wonder what happened to the numerous tools we lost?»

«Drop it and watch. I had a screwdriver bend once, and it simply vanished. I think Paschal puts in an automatic recall on damaged tools that would have made the envy of Ancient workmen!»

***

The progress over the ocean was wrought with troubles. The ice shook violently almost continuously. Ridges would rise overnight, and the Dragons were kept busy opening paths. The sea floor was dropping constantly and suddenly there was that huge, almost vertical drop to the abysses. The slope was barely two percent, but was covered with ice that crumbled underfoot due to its high contents of salt. Huge blocks kept sliding off and rolling down, gaining speed and crashing down, bouncing around and creating ice slides that seemed to last for miles before they came to a stop out of sight.

«It is unsafe to walk on this. Any suggestion is welcomed!» said Yamato.

«We have carbon fibre cables in stock. In fact, we have several hundred miles of the stuff. Tie them to the lead pump and slide it down slowly, adding tubes and collars as the pump pulls down the tube behind it. Once the lead pump reaches the abyssal plain, resume the normal procedure until you reach the end of the tube you last added, tie it up to the current train, and then have teams walk on the tube going down the slope to each pump and drive in the stabilising pins into the ice. These pins are about 50 feet long. Anchor the cables along the upper continental shelf. That will help reduce the stress on the pins. I will also include pulleys. That will ease the stress on your units as they try to hold back the mass and prevent it from gaining speed.»

«Are you sure you are not an Engineer, Alaric?»

«I have been studying engineering with the pyramids' Artificial Intelligences, but I am far from qualified. I have not managed to make a bridge that falls!»

«I do not think that a collapsed bridge is what qualifies an Engineer,» said Dunbar.

«I was teasing. But, nonetheless, I still have a lot to learn about civil engineering.»

«We all do. These collapsed bridges might be a testament to those who thought they knew everything.»

Things resumed their progress. At first, the Atlanteans had trouble with the continental slope, but, finally, they reached the bottom. The progress then picked pace as they progressed on the huge plain.

«We are at day three of this task,» said Yamato. «According to the plan, we should all be at the bottom of the continental shelf. Is that the case?»

«I am still three miles short, but I see the plain,» said Dunbar.

«I am five miles off the bottom; I had an issue with a crevice that did not show up until late last night. We had to string the lead pump and tube across the chiasm.»

«It is life, Williams. Nothing works the way it should.»

«Are you not encouraging this morning, Yamato!»

«Anyway, I will be headed along the plain as quickly as possible. If I finish early, I will move to help the one of you that is the least advanced so we can all finish on time. Any question?»

None were forthcoming, and Yamato took off. Fifteen minutes later, Dunbar reached the plain and turned resolutely south along a gully before turning east and progressing along a large crack in the plain floor.

Williams, upon reaching the sea plain, turned north and progressed a few miles before he too turned east along a large valley.

«I wonder why these parallel valleys exist? It is like someone combed the sea bottom with a huge rake.»

«It is the result of continental drift, I read in an Ancient book that the North American continent raked the sea bottom as it was pushed by the magma westward from the Mid-Atlantic Dorsal Chain,» replied Germanicus. «I want to be an Exogeologist one day.»

«Oh, well, it is good to have a long-term goal.»

On day six, Yamato had reached his target, at what once was considered 20,000 feet below sea level. The valley he had followed had been going down deeper, slowly becoming narrower in the process. Then as he reached his objective, he could see the looming Mid-Atlantic Dorsal Chain, caped by thick layers of salty ice. Beyond his objective, some 20 miles off, he saw the work of the Spiders, as they had made a passage that would let air flow from the eastern oceanic basin to the western oceanic basin of the Atlantic.

«I am done! Dunbar?»

«I am five hundred miles off target.»

«Williams?»

«I am 200 miles off target.»

«Okay, I am going to join you Dunbar. Expect me in 30 minutes. Everyone under my command, take off heading for the tip of Dunbar's team. Germanicus, I am starting the pumps. Monitor the line as long as the general recall has not been signaled. Yamato out!»

The arrival of Yamato's Legion sped things up considerably on Dunbar's line. The difficulties met by Dunbar became apparent to the Legate. Not only did he have a longer line to build, but also the conditions were particularly rough, with a considerable number of crevices, numerous twists and turns, and even an occasional climb over ridges that culminated 10,000 feet above the sea bottom. The work progressed rapidly with the arrival of the additional forces, and by matins they had reached their destination.

«Williams? How close are you to activating your pumps?»

«We are 25 miles off target. We had a giant chiasm to negotiate. It was not deep, but very wide. I installed a secondary pump at the bottom to recover whatever could have stayed inside when we finally start pumping. Give me 60 minutes.»

«All right, Dunbar is starting his pumps now. We will be waiting for you on the old shores.»

«Thanks.»

«Germanicus? Report.»

«There are no leaks so far. I am sending a surveilliance Centurie on Dunbar's line. It should be reaching your position in 20 minutes. The pressuring of pump number A-113 just activated automatically. The surveilliance teams report no leaks. Pressuring of segment A-114 is underway.»

An hour later, the last line to be pressurised, line B, constructed by Williams, began its pressurisation cycle. Segment after segment was pushed to its optimal pressure level, and then the next pump took over to force the air to flow into the following segment. Early that morning, the first arrival of air was reported at Thebes' valves, and the pressurisation of the three first high-pressure atmospheric vaults began. The manifold allowed pumping the air into 32 chambers, but Paschal had estimated that only three would be necessary to hold the entire planetary atmosphere. At the pressure these chambers would be, air would be liquid, and most of the latent energy stored in the gases would have been spent maintaining the tubes and oxygen warm for their free flow. The pressure, at 330 bars, was well below the pressure these chambers could sustain, but it was useless pushing the pressure higher. Liquid, whatever its nature, is incompressible.

«Germanicus, fold back to Thebes! I repeat! Fold back to Thebes. The Royals have ordered all outside activity to cease!»

«I can see why. You should see the sky! It is scary! To all units! Fold back to Thebes! Report on takeoff!»

As Germanicus' units each left their station, abandoning the pumps to automatic controls, the Dragons flew at maximum speed to rejoin Thebes. The last unit to make it to Thebes was Germanicus' group that had made sure everyone was inside Thebe's space before joining his Legion in the innards of the gigantic city.

«All units report in! All units report in!»

«Paschal, all units are now in Thebes.»

«Good. Ready for earthquake! Brace to safety seats!»

Barely had Paschal given the alarm that the first collision between a giant meteor and the Moon could be seen on the far horizon. The last days of the Earth were now being counted.