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As the White Pyramid moved south to its new location, Harold and Samson moved east to the next lake. The lake, being further north, was already eaten up by a considerable amount of ice, almost entirely covered by the tongue of a glacier that covered the valley and was gouging its side in the shape of a trough. No sign of what lay below the two thousand foot thick glacier could be seen. The royals, weary of things to come, stayed up, well above the glacier's flat, but crevice-laden top.
South, in Thebes, the princes aligned the White Pyramid with the magic field, and descended it into its pre-destined location. As the pyramid moved into place, the rock formation that used to be part of Lava Flows translocated into the hole of the abandoned lake up north, filling in the gaping hole left by the displacement of the White Pyramid.
Once the pyramid had settled and bounded with the magical core of Thebes, the princes rested. North, things began to activate themselves as another Pyramid emerged from another lake. High above, Harold learned of the upcoming changes in a spectacular fashion. The glacier erupted high up in the atmosphere, and the dam that held the lake collapsed, shredded by the sheer force of the displaced mass of ice and water. Ice blocks flew in every direction, shattering everything they fell on. Rocks weighing millions of tons were ejected, some falling in the old riverbed, and creating another dam some twenty miles further downriver.
«Let's get out of here! Climb to sixty thousand feet and fly south as fast as you can!» ordered Harold, just as Samson used his trident to vaporise a huge block of ice heading their way.
The royals evacuated the area and returned to Thebes to await further development. There is not much else they could do.
***
Meanwhile the boys found themselves in a deep black room. It was icy, and the boys immediately resorted to magic to keep their body heat.
"I wonder what this test will be."
«The test of life and death!» invaded their mind, sending a chill down their spine.
«We have given already!» exclaimed Ian, getting more impatient with all these tests.
«Wrong! You have taken. To pass this test, one of you must die!»
«And how do you plan to run this test?»
«Very simply! See these seven gates? One of them is a trap; one of them will kill one of you. Run!"
Just as the Pyramid said that, lava began flowing from the walls, pooling at the lowest point of the room, while degassing sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide.
"Shields up!" ordered Harp, as Paschal took Ian on his shoulders and Thorsten did the same with Typhoon. The shield offered some protection from the fumes, but it became apparent they effectively needed to make a run for it, if they wanted to stay alive.
Again the room was much longer than what they had anticipated. As things began to get desperate, Typhoon whispered to Thorsten.
"Drop me! I'll convert and you can all climb on me. Lava is not likely to hurt me!"
Thorsten immediately understood Typhoon's plan and did as asked. The dragon prince recovered his natural form, and Thorsten climbed quickly between his wings,
"Climb up guys, Use the tail!"
Paschal pushed Ian on the dragon's back, literally threw Enron next as Sitar did the same before helping Paschal climb on. By then the lava was barely a foot away, and Sitar was having issues climbing on even with the help of Paschal.
«Stay still, little one. I will carry you in my mouth!» said the prince as he turned around and scooped Sitar in one gulp. The dragon took off on a run as lava was reaching its paws, and then, extending its wings, it flew off, dripping lava. Less than ten minutes later it reached the end of the cave, some sixty miles away. Furious as how the pyramid had cheated, trying to kill them all, he smashed his tail violently against one of the gates, only to notice the floor was composed of spikes. He turned around to see the lava still rising rapidly, and decided to smash every single gate. As each one unfolded, each revealed a trap: one was a wall of lava that sped up the room's filling, the next walls that would have crushed the unfortunate person that would have selected it; the next had a collapsing ceiling; at the end, none were safe. Furious the dragon deposited Sitar on his back and decided to deal with the pyramid himself. He took flight and climbed up to the ceiling, and began gaining speed.
«Bond to me! Become part of me, brothers!»
The princes, although not understanding what their beloved dragon had in mind, did as asked. As each prince bonded, each became a dragon, gaining from the prince the capacity to shape shift.
«Assail that wall! We are now invulnerable!»
The princes joined force and a tremendous battle between the pyramid and the powerful dragons that had decided to put an end to its treachery began. Using raw speed, body mass, fire, teeth and claws, the seven dragons, perfect carbon copies of Typhoon, the Gold dragon prince, began smashing the outer wall of the room. However, things were not going well. As soon as a wall was brought down, another appeared in front of them.
«We were misled from the beginning, Typhoon! I think the exit is not where that entity indicated! Let's go back and bring down the rear wall!»
Everyone agreed with Thorsten and the dragons took their leave of the severely mauled front wall to fly back across the room, already half full of lava. As the boys neared the rear wall, they heard behind them an eruption of lava that seemed to triple the output.
«We must be doing something right! That cheater isn't too happy!» Harp commented.
«Full speed ahead! See that door there! Gain as much speed as you can, fold wings and slam into it!» Paschal suggested.
The first to reach the door was the gold dragon, and his collision sent the door buckling. As each dragon prince collided with it, the door began gradually fracturing. By the time Sitar, seventh in line, collided, it showed severe signs of damage, and it exploded outward, revealing a climbing hallway. Sitar did not even bother slowing down.
«Follow me! We need to climb out of here as quickly as possible!»
The dragon princes obeyed instantly, and took off one after the other in the hall barely wide enough to allow them to use their wings to maintain flight. Just as the last dragon, Typhoon, engaged in the hallway, the roof of the freshly vacated room collapsed, sending lava spraying in every direction.
«Cheaters! Cheaters! Cheaters!» roared the Pyramid's Conscience.
«Get lost!» answered Typhoon, pissed at the Pyramid.
«I will get you!»
«Not before resolving this priority one problem! Define God!» replied Paschal.
«You do not have the authority to assign a priority one problem!»
«I am Imhophet! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Merlin! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Hator! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Montue! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Thorsten! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Typhoon! Recognize my signature!»
«I am Ian! Recognize my signature!»
As each prince identified and requested a formal identification, the Conscience roared, feeling the fail-safes get triggered and install themselves. Yet it maintained its grip on the Pyramid's internal functions. In a single voice, the princes closed the trap.
«We request the override of all functions and controls of the test so they are used to solve a priority one problem! Define God!»
As more and more capacity was diverted to solve the problem, the rogue conscience fought with all it had, losing more and more of its resources to the priority task. Its voice was raging, threatening, and begging, roaring with pain and frustration, but nothing would move the boys. Finally, another voice came over.
«Security bypass has been triggered. Reset in five, four, three, two, one, zero! Reset initiated! Reset completed. Rebooting sequence initiated! Rebooting will be completed in five, four, three, two, one, zero! Rebooting completed! Awaiting command!»
«Stop the lava flow! Remove the lava! Evacuate the fumes!» ordered Paschal.
Immediately, the lava, which had been licking the dragons' feet, began leaving the hallway, returning to the porting room. Fresh air was pumped violently, chasing away the toxic gases. The princes followed the lava's retreat, and saw that the area, which had been collecting the lava initially, was now used to evacuate it from the huge cavern. The ruby red rock was spiralling down a drain fifty foot in circumference. Had it not been so deadly, the spectacle would have been beautiful to watch.
«Should we return to our original shape?»
«Not yet, I think. Trust is something easily lost, and hard to gain. After this betrayal, I will not put up any trust forward until proven otherwise,» decided Sitar.
«By the way, Paschal, how did you know of this priority one problem?» asked Harp.
«After thinking things over, I decided these pyramids are governed by artificial intelligence, machines, if you will allow. Since I designed them, I figured I must have implemented some means of protection, should one machine go berserk. I figured an unsolvable problem would trigger the failsafe, and I was right. As to the keywords, they came to me spontaneously. And you followed suit, just as I thought you would, reinforcing the trigger.»
«And if I had not?»
«One or the other would; each of you is also a failsafe. Your response was as programmed as the machine's! As to how I knew of Thorsten and Typhoon's presence, remember I also designed Kantar, and Solon's megalithic city. I had access to the knowledge of the Atlantean Seers, Harp.»
«Bye-bye free will!» lamented Enron.
«Have we had any so far, brother? We are trapped in prophecies like flies in a spider's web.»
«Let's move back up the hallway.»
«Ok, we follow you, Typhoon. You have the leadership. This is your own ordeal,» replied Ian.
As the seven dragons reached the top landing of the hallway, a problem arose: How would they open the exit door into the rest of the pyramid without changing back to their original shapes?
«May I suggest a solution, Typhoon?»
«Certainly, Thorsten, what is it?»
«We can communicate telepathically with the rebooted entity. I think we do not need to physically press on the keys for them to be actuated.»
«It's worth a try. Paschal, please do the honours.»
«OK.» After giving some thought to the proper way of ordering the exit gate to open, Paschal thought loud and clear for all to hear: «Pyramid! Formal identification required: Imhophet of Atlantis!»
«Signature authenticated! Enter command!»
«Override security on door leading to the Room of Training.»
«Acknowledged. Awaiting second authentication.»
Paschal looked at Typhoon.
«Pyramid! Formal identification authentication required: Typhoon of the Dragons!»
«Signature authenticated! Enter command!»
«Override security on the door leading to the Room of Training.»
The door swung open slowly, revealing the next room, whose light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In the middle of the room was another set of chairs identical to the one they had left barely hours ago. As soon as all seven dragons had crossed into the room, Paschal ordered: «Close and lock!» immediately followed by Typhoon repeating the same command.
«Check for any traps!» ordered Typhoon, well aware his role as leader would end only when they left that pyramid.
After flying and walking around the room, and using magic to sense any and all cranny and cracks for hidden mechanisms, the boys reported they were satisfied.
«Shape shift! Do it one at a time. Harp does it first. Then Sitar, followed by Paschal, Enron, Thorsten, myself, and finally, Ian. As you shift, take standard defensive positions!»
Gradually, each prince recovered his native shape, with Ian changing last.
"That was fun!" the impish prince exclaimed.
"Yes it is, my lord. There are many advantages to this ability. Now, all of you have it; I gained magic from you, Prince Ian; you gained shape shifting from me. You can change into any shape you wish. I would not recommend changing into something vulnerable like a fly, but if you wish so, you could, as long as you have its genetic mapping in store."
"This is fascinating! I could go run with Silver Moon or Greywolf, or fly with you!»
"Ian is right! This is very interesting. I wonder if we can combine animals?" asked Harp.
"I have not tried it yet, but I suspect it is possible, within reason!"
Just then a deep rumble was heard, alarming the princes.
"Sorry, I should have warned you. Shifting requires a lot of energy and you need to eat. Let's eat to recover, since we did it twice in a short period of time, without feeding in either shape."
The princes materialized a repast worthy of the fabled Gargantua4646 ("Gargantua: a voracious giant found in Rabelais' <strong>The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel<\/strong> (<em>circa<\/em> 532)."), and dove into it, devouring the offering to the last crumb. After a few resounding burps, the boys decided to proceed to the chairs in the middle of the room to see what was next.
"Yet, I have so many unanswered questions!" said Enron, as they walked toward the chairs.
"I'll try to answer them later. And maybe this lesson, the fourth of six, will answer some," replied Paschal.
"Somehow, I doubt it!"
***
The princes took their places and quickly fell asleep. During their well-needed rest, they learned advanced scientific methods, the science of Atlantis, and of the Ancients. They were called upon to compare what had been lost and regained, to be lost anew during the Great Cataclysm. They also learned why magical powers were lost, and only now to be regained. Apparently, interbreeding with the humans had diluted the Atlantean genetic pool; but the destruction of the vast majority of the human race by the Cataclysm had forced a progressive inbreeding, which had been the cause of many deformities, but also of the re-emergence of the Atlantean genetic pool, since it favoured healthier and stronger offspring. Along with the resurgence of the Atlantean genes came their latent powers, namely magic. With this knowledge came the realization that the Elohim had been the driving force behind the witch hunts, as they saw in any of them an emerging Atlantean, their archenemy. Most of these witches had been hunted down and killed without cause, based solely on rumour, and popular pressure. Those that really possessed power escaped unscathed to reproduce, further distributing the genetic potential of the Atlanteans in the human populace. The witch-hunts had only sped up the dispersion of the genes to the general population; the result was, as Ian put it, a giant fart in their face.
Their studies did not stop there. The Black Pyramid gave them deep knowledge of long lost sciences, including chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, astronomy, and the geological evolution of their world, consolidating the knowledge the other pyramids had been giving them. After spending forty-eight hours in a learning coma, the boys emerged with a headache, but also with a better grip as to where they stood in the schemes of things.
"Well, the Ancients did a number on life and themselves, I gather!" remarked Sitar, as he reviewed what he had learned.
"Yes! They almost succeeded in exterminating themselves quite a number of times! What saddens me was the attitude of their healers, who professed veneration for life but used their knowledge to refine torture and satisfy their need for power! That Josef Mangele4747 ("Josef Mangele, aka the angel of Death of Auschwitz, 1911-1945.") was a bastard. He did what he did for his own pleasure, not even to protect his sorry carcass. But he was only the most notorious of many."
"I think that the search for notoriety has been a major cause of many atrocities, Enron. Consider the development of the polio vaccine, using monkeys and primates. They used them unaware that their purification method would let pass a retrovirus, a life form they did not even know existed, and then they inoculated the vaccine to millions of people, using the same needle for entire villages, compounding the danger. Ultimately, what could happen happened: the retrovirus mutated and adapted to its new host, the human, and HIV emerged from the process. Had they been honest about it, I would not blame them, but the fact that they systematically destroyed all evidence, every record, every sample, and denied the mere possibility that this could have occurred is enough in my book to charge them with criminal neglect."
"They are gone, Harp. Let us learn from their mistakes and not repeat them as we progress," added Paschal.
"I hope we will, Paschal. I sincerely hope we will. Unfortunately, history has a habit of repeating itself, since we never learn."
"That may be true for humans, Thorsten, but remember we are able to recall the Collective Consciences of many of our brothers. It is my hope that, as Atlanteans emerge more and more out of the woodwork, we will also be able to consolidate our memories, our Conscience, and become one with it, thus barring any chance of forgetting the accrued knowledge and experience."
"Do you expect us to gain this too?" wondered Typhoon.
"Oh yes. You are as much part of us as we are part of you. This goes for all our allies, including the Trolls. I suspect that telepathy has a major role to play in maintaining the unity of Conscience. That lets people share experience more than by word of mouth. The fact that we are now merging species Consciences into a unique one as much as practical further reinforces the safety of the procedure. Even if one species disappeared, its memories would survive in the surviving species that had shared its experiences. For now, we are like a person suffering from multiple personality disorder: distinct memories, isolated by a wall. By breaking down these walls, we become one, multifaceted and enriched by our sharing. "
"I am surprised there is no resistance, Harp," wondered Thorsten.
"There is, but it's like a flood: resist and drown, or go with the flow and survive."
"Anyway, what we learned finally explained the nature of these pyramids. They are huge computers; so huge and complex they have a Conscience of their own. They are self-aware. When you asked the computer your fatidic question, Paschal, you knew that the question would consume vast amounts of resources and that it was intractable, that it is not amenable to computation. Why that specific question, rather than the classic compute to the last decimal the value of π?"
"That stupid machine would have tried it, and it would have taken an eternity before it busted its brain, an eternity we did not have, Sitar. And who knows, it might have spotted the trap and evaded it. By asking an unexpected and very short question, it did not have time to try evasive manoeuvres."
"The way you state your answer, it's like you do not know its true capacity, Paschal."
"Actually, I do not, Harp. It has been learning since its construction, some seventeen thousand years ago, and it has evolved. Lucky for us, the Seers had anticipated that possibility, and we set up a series of fail-safes, well hidden and out of reach of the main core. As to why it became murderous, I have a vague idea. Consider solitary confinement for all those years; would you be sane?"
"He's already insane and has not had to put up with solitary confinement!" exclaimed Sitar, to an explosion of laughter.
"It may be a funny matter now, but we still got two pyramids to visit. I hope we will not meet with any more cracked circuits!" exclaimed Thorsten.
"Let's eat and move that pyramid in place. I want to relinquish control to the next victim as quickly as possible!" concluded Typhoon, to a shower of good-natured ribbing.
***
The Black Pyramid was moved out of the lake, which triggered a major volcanic eruption. The pyramid had been the plug that kept the volcano's magma chamber closed. The boys rushed the pyramid to Thebes and installed it as quickly as they could. The result was a sudden filling of the volcano's throat by the thick lava layer extracted from Lava Flows to insert the Black Pyramid into place.
"Let's rush it, brothers! I think that the capping of the lava is temporary, and we must imperatively displace the last two pyramids before that thing blows up!"
"And let's not forget Kantar! Time is more than ever at the core of our problem, Typhoon!" added Harp.
As soon as the Black Pyramid settled in its new location, the boys triggered the gating to the next step of the ordeal.
***
The boys materialized in a red quartz room, and looked around.
"I wonder what this will bring us?" wondered Typhoon.
"We can reason it out, dragon brother. First, Paschal had to pass the ordeal of the Architect; then Sitar had to pass the ordeal of War, where we learned that life and war are one and the same; then Harp had to pass the ordeal of magic, and learn to trust Ian's judgement; then we passed the ordeal of fire, where we learned to trust you and change shape. That leaves only two to test: Thorsten, and myself. It is as if all our life has been geared to prepare us for these tests. Let's replenish our energy and feed. I suspect we will again need to use magic to succeed."
After another meal composed mostly of vegetables and fruits, accompanied by fresh water, the boys walked down the stairs of the tribune on which the arrival seats were located, and began looking around. The silence in the room was oppressive, and the light emitted by Bata and Mitsuko seemed to barely penetrate a thick veil, as if light itself was halted in its progress.
"Let's tie up together. Be very quiet, and hold each other by the shoulder. I have a feeling this is for me, whispered Thorsten.
After doing as Thorsten asked. Thorsten took the lead, followed by Sitar, Harp, and Ian, with Paschal, Enron and Typhoon finishing the string. The boys slowly began moving across the room.
"Lights out! I know what this tests! Our sixth sense! When I explored the mines, there were many occasions I smelled or felt danger and escaped by either backing out, or walking around it! Seeing is a hindrance in these circumstances! It is our intuition that is being tested!"
Thorsten began walking in the darkened room, literally listening to his guts, slowly stepping forward. He stopped, and extended his senses to their maximum.
"Back off two steps," he whispered. He heard the whisper propagate down the line, happy his brothers understood the need for it.
"This is going to be tricky. I need to turn left at exactly my position. Sitar, you are two steps behind me, count them and turn left and hold! I will tell you when to move and how far! But wait! And be very gentle with your steps! Stay in line with my position! One step out of line and we may be in deep shit! Repeat my instructions to the one behind you after I have given you the go. Word for word!"
Thorsten did as he felt necessary, and the others obeyed blindly to each and every instruction given by the dwarf prince. It required numerous changes of direction; they were so numerous they thought they were lost. They also knew that, far more than a test of intuition, it also was a test of trust, yet another. As the test progressed, their sixth sense kicked in and they too began to feel what Thorsten was feeling.
"Thorsten, duck!" whispered Sitar.
Bending his knees just in time to Sitar's whispered command, Thorsten felt the passage of a mass barely inches over his head.
"Thanks, I felt the danger, but I could not pinpoint it!"
"It's a pendulum mace. It will be back in a second. Stay down. I'll time it and tell you when to pass. Ok, the timing is three seconds between each passage. When I say go, you cross."
"Ok."
After two seconds, the light breeze of the mace passing by told the boys it was on its way up.
"Go!" said Sitar. Thorsten did not hesitate and crossed the area. He then waited for Sitar to explain the situation to Harp before resuming the walk. He waited for Sitar to touch his shoulder before progressing further. Now aware of the maces, Thorsten paid even more attention to alarms that kept ringing in his head from all directions.
"Sitar, what do you make of what you feel?"
"I feel like I need to dance a very specific choreography at a very precise tempo. When I think I have two left feet when it comes to dancing!"
"No, you do not, Sitar. To be a successful warrior, you need to know the dance of life and death. This is the dance of life and death, and you know it by heart! Now is the time to dance like you never danced before! Trust your intuition. Take your blade out and dance, my brother, dance! I will untie myself from you, and pass first. Tell the others what they will have to do. Each of us is capable of this. We have been tuning ourselves to our sixth sense for the past three hours. It is time we put it in practice to stay alive."
"Are you telling me we were not in danger?"
"Oh we were all right! We proved we could work together and become synchronized at our intuitive level. Now we must show our individual level of intuition. I sense that each of us will have to follow his own path, do his own dance to stay alive. Has everyone followed the discussion so far?"
A chorus of "Yes, Thorsten!" answered his question.
"As soon as I start, bring a shield up! Stay in the dark, and silence any sound! The sound of battle might deafen you; the flash of light might blind you. I, myself, will put a blindfold and ear plugs to block any distraction. Remember, this is a test of your intuition, not of your other senses! Use all you have learned, including magic and shape shifting! I will warn you when I am done telepathically. Follow the same order we are tied up. Typhoon, leave the rope behind, we will either port it or recreate a new one, should the need arise. I'm ready. Be silent, and please, do not communicate with me under any circumstances! Any distraction and I might be killed! I have no idea of the length of time the dance will last! Remember, time is elastic! For someone waiting it is long, for someone involved in an intense task, it is quick."
Thorsten gave the end of the string to Sitar, who rolled it up to his waist. As soon as Thorsten stepped away, Sitar set up a shield blocking light and sound, as had requested the dwarf prince. The boys, who could not even see each other, nonetheless felt the shield go up.
***
Thorsten put in earplugs, and a band of cloth around his eyes as blindfold; he then centred himself by taking deep breaths. After five minutes, he began to sense things far fainter than a breath of air. Thorsten launched himself in a dance that would have put a ballet dancer to shame: His first move was a forward dive, immediately followed by a roll, a slide on the floor for three paces, a back flip, and a run. At the fifth stride he converted to a wolf and, using the strength and lower body profile, managed to gain enough speed to launch himself across a wide chiasm. The instant his front paws touched the other side, he converted back to his human form, gripped the pole to give himself a powerful swing and, in midair, converted to a dragon to fly and dive through a ring of fire. As he landed on the lower level, he reconverted to dwarf and threw his axe on the left, and did not hear the cry of agony as it hit its mark. He did not even wait for its return to fall flat on the ground, and pitch his feet up colliding with an unknown animal that went crashing down in a chiasm just beyond where he had landed. The moment the animal went flying over him, he jumped back on his feet and caught his returning axe, pitching it right in front of him. He then began running on a narrow, swinging rope, caught his axe again on the return, cut the rope, making a predator fall into another chiasm, jumped over the still smoking carcass of the animal he had just killed, extended his hand and caught a rope to climb up as fast as he could. He did not wait to reach the top but gave the dangling rope a few swings before letting go and land on his feet, before beginning a series of jumps that would have made a rabbit proud by their apparent erratic changes. Finally, he took a headlong dive in a deep hole, and converted once again to another form, a dolphin. As he hit the water he swam deep and engaged in a very narrow passage, before gaining more speed and jumping right out of the water to a landing, in his human form. Then, he touched four stones he could not see but felt he must touch in a specific order. This opened a door that led up a set of stairs. Finally, grabbing his hammer, he hit a wall with all its might, causing it to collapse. Behind the wall he took a run and jumped with all his might. Behind him the ceiling collapsed, blocking any possibility of return. As he landed, he rolled forward and jumped three times, before stopping.
«Remarkable. Welcome to the rest area leading to the Hall of Learning. Your success has cost me some good elements!»
«Do not consider cheating. We have disposed of two cheaters already.»
«So I have learned. It had been seventeen thousand years since the Black Pyramid talked to me, and just today, I was informed of your arrival by a new entity.»
«I have arrived. Let the next one begin his trial,» Thorsten informed Sitar, making sure not to mention anything additional to bring the Pyramid's Conscience more into tune to his abilities.
***
Sitar untied the rope around his waist and rolled it until he felt Harp's hips and gave him the segment of rope. He then walked across the shield, after putting a blindfold and earplugs. As soon as he stepped through, he created a powerful thunderbolt that roasted a giant spider that had been descending along a silk string. He then converted to a peregrine falcon and flew off as fast as he could to a high perch as behind him a veritable colony of spiders fell on the ground where he used to stand.
As he flew, he changed form again, taking first the shape of a night owl, then that of a dragon, where he used the fire from his breath to burn a web that was laying in his path, then he dove below, changing to a sparrow to pass through a huge spider web tailored for a dragon. Finally, he landed on the ground in a run, converting to a fox, to swing around and negotiate a series of narrow paths. At the end, he converted into a huge stallion to jump a gap, returning to his original form in midflight, thus diminishing the resistance, and rolled on the ground, slashing first left then right using Excalibur. He barely felt resistance as the blade cut through bones and muscles, leaving a path of guts dangling from the cliffside. He raised a magic shield just in time to deviate a curse and answered in kind, roasting his enemy with enough power to vaporise his opponent. Taking a jump, Sitar extended his left arm to grab a dangling rope, and swung right, letting go at the end of the rope's course, and, doing a flip, plunged earthward with the sword extended in front of his trajectory, held by two hands. As the sword entered the massive body at the first vertebrae, Sitar used his momentum to swing under the beast, effectively cutting the head off in a single stroke. Sitar landed on the narrow ledge, pulling Excalibur from behind him and out of the beast, rolled, and instinctively sliced forward using his inertia to drive the blade lengthwise along the body of the charging animal, cutting it open from head to tail. Before the animal could fall on him and pin him in place, he rolled left, and pushed violently with his legs up on the side of the chiasm. Rapidly inserting the sword in its scabbard, he converted to an eagle in free fall, and, using the gained speed, pulled out of the dive to land across the room. Quickly punching four bricks, he dove into the open door just as the wall on his right side erupted in flames. A climb up a spiralling staircase and a jump into the void that had him barely escape a rain of darts brought him to a platform that opened into a short hallway. Finally aware that he had finished his ordeal, he extended his hand and found Thorsten's shoulder by smell alone.
«I am beginning to wonder if my tests are as difficult as I thought! Two winners in a row, this is not normal!»
«Do not cheat! You have your rules! We can force a reset if you try cheating!» thundered Sitar.
An ominous silence met Sitar's sortie.
«I have arrived. Let the next test begin!» thundered Sitar to tell Harp it was his turn to run the gauntlet.
***
Harp untied himself and rolled the rope until he felt Ian's hand. After a hug to his little brother, Harp put in earplugs and put on a hood that covered his entire head and stepped beyond the shield, immediately sending out a wall of fire that covered several hundred feet in all directions and rebounded on the shield protecting his brothers. He then solidified the air under him and began walking on it as if taking a stroll. At regular interval, he would fire a bolt of lightning, create a wall of fire, materialize huge boulders that fell down chiasms, send a tornado spinning in a direction, or send darts of ice raining on invisible enemies. Halfway through the walk, he changed tactic, and converted to a Pegasus, flying off at speed and doing all sorts of unpredictable moves as he danced around a rain of falling stalactites. Finally reaching a crop of boulders, he converted into a rodent, dove under a rock and managed to progress several hundred feet before emerging on the side of a cliff, launch himself into space, convert to a howl, and glide silently across to the end of the cave. Converting to his original form, Harp kicked hard at four boulders, sending them rolling and freed a trigger to jump on. As soon as this was done, he back flipped, barely escaping a falling piece of rock, and then jumped forward over the rolling rock to roll into a tight ball as the wall behind him slammed shut. Standing up, Harp walked two steps ahead, then jumped, and catching a swinging trapeze bar, he gave his body enough momentum to launch himself across, catch another trapeze bar, swing further, and than land on a narrow ledge before taking on a run to the right and jumping off just as the ledge collapsed in the void below. As he landed on his feet, Harp converted to a wolf and took a run down a series of steps before jumping again and land on the final stretch, composed of short jumps. Finally, Harp came to a stop, extended his arm and touched Sitar's shoulder.
«This is impossible! Three successes in a row! I am dishonoured!»
«We have passed the test. Honour your programming!» replied Harp, before broadcasting «I have succeeded. The next contestant may begin his run!»
***
Ian behaved like his older brothers and untied himself from the rope before rolling it up and giving it to Paschal. Ian put in his earplugs, and covered himself from head to foot in what the ancients would have identified as a black burka, becoming all but invisible in the darkened cave.
As soon as he got beyond the shield, Ian began porting everywhere in the blink of an eye, navigating the traps like so many beacons. The sound in the cave was deafening, a constant succession of bangs that marked both his departure and arrival, as Ian did not bother displacing the air for his body. Five minutes and six hundred jumps later, he reached the end of the cave. Noticing that the wall was composed of calcium carbonate, Ian created a flood of sulphuric acid that ate its way through the wall explosively. As soon as the outer wall presented a hole big enough for a wolf, Ian converted to a sparrow, flew through the hole and across the hallway, not bothering to touch and land. Reaching a set of steps, he climbed up and entered the opening keys.
Meanwhile, the Pyramid, stunned, couldn't help but ask «who is this little one?»
«Why do you ask?» Harp replied.
«He moves so fast I have no time to set up traps. He is everywhere and nowhere! By the time I have located him, he already has moved and is somewhere else.»
Before anyone could answer, Ian materialized in the rest room and touched Harp's left shoulder.
«I have arrived! Let the next test begin!» claimed Ian.
«Hey! Wait a minute! It is I and only I that can decide the success or failure of a test!»
«Go take a bath, machine! The rule is that anyone that reaches this room by whatever means has succeeded! I competed, I reached, I succeeded!»
A number of grumbles could be heard over the telepathic link to which Ian replied harshly! «Shove your attitude where light never shines!»
«He has been doing just that with that testing room, little brother!» replied Harp, laughing.
***
As soon as Paschal heard Ian's claim over the links, he untied himself and gave the rope's end to Enron. After preparing himself, Paschal stepped across the veil and stood perfectly still, not even breathing. One minute passed, then two. Paschal was wondering how long he would be able to hold it when suddenly he felt that the Pyramid's conscience was at a loss and drawn to search for him elsewhere. That is the moment he had been waiting. Focussing hard, he ported directly across the room, silently displacing air to prevent any sound whatsoever. Not trusting the landing under him, Paschal hovered, ported across the rock wall into the narrow tunnel behind, and, again not trusting anything, slowly ported on a continuous way across the length of the hallway. Reaching the top of a narrow set of stairs, Paschal ported himself on the other side of the door and let himself fall down fifty feet before halting it in midair. A tunnel was in front of him and he moved through it, finally reaching the rest area.
Paschal landed beside Ian and touched his head.
«I have arrived! Pyramid! Let the next test begin!»
The Conscience couldn't help but notice that another life form had joined the previous ones in the resting area!
«How did you do that? Not a single one of my animals felt your passage! Not a single trigger was released!»
«Let us just say there are many ways to succeed.»
***
Enron gave some thought to the problem before beginning his own run. Fighting and flying skills, porting, raw speed, constant shape shifting, fire, wind, ice, but what else could they do? Finally. He made his decision: he would use the weather itself, but on a localized scale. After giving the rope to Typhoon, reminding him to leave it behind, he put in his earplugs and mask. Just after stepping out from behind the shield, Enron created a tornado around him, and staying in the eye of the storm, began to walk and slowly lift off the ground. Animals tried to assail him, only to be blown away by the six hundred mile per hour wind of a F5 tornado. Nothing could penetrate the shield, as everything got shattered to the size of particles no bigger than a thumbnail. As it passed over a stream, the tornado sucked in a huge volume of water, fish and batrachians, only to throw them away over the cliffs and land. Enron intentionally dropped the temperature of the air within the tornado to well below freezing and the result was a snow storm and a blizzard that made any attempt at even straying out in the open hazardous for all animals in the area. After an hour of progression, Enron sensed he had reached the far wall and began pummelling it with raw energy, throwing at it huge thunderbolts, flames that reached in their core several thousand degrees, and dousing the overheated rocks with liquid oxygen extracted from the cave. The result was as expected: each sudden change of temperature fractured the rock face and suddenly, it collapsed. The pieces of rock became instant weapons to assail the inner wall as the tornado picked the pieces, rotated them until they reached the velocity Enron wanted, and crashed at the intended target, exploding into dust on contact. Enron released the tornado that drifted away to continue its ravages, while the prince converted to a royal eagle, flew across the two openings and dived down a chiasm to suddenly pull out of the high-speed dive to engage in a narrow but highly twisting passage that reminded him of an abandoned riverbed. Feeling impending danger, Enron sped up and as he turned yet again, he felt the need to climb straight up. His flight speed was barely enough to reach the entrance to the well, and he converted back to his human form to grab a steel rung that belonging to a ladder. As he began to climb, he felt the spray of water from below, even if he couldn't hear the noise of the rushing water. He didn't hesitate, and climbed ten bars before jumping across the well and grab another set, just as the ladder he had been using disengaged from the wall, its anchorage breaking suddenly. Another twenty rungs up and Enron found a locket right above his head, unbolted it, pushed the manhole cover away using magic and climbed out. Three steps later, he rolled down, passed between a guillotine whose blade was already falling and found himself standing beside Paschal, touching his right shoulder to tell him he was there.
«I have succeeded. Let the next contestant begin his run!» thundered Enron.
The Pyramid kept silent, not even acknowledging the new success.
«Beware Pyramid! Cheat and vanish! We have dealt with your predecessors!» stated, colder than ice, prince Thorsten.
***
Typhoon untied the rope but decided, after looking at it, its use was not over. He then put his earplugs and blindfold in place. He focussed, duplicated millions of lengths of rope, and, collapsing the shield, literally sent the ropes dancing in the air in all directions, setting them on fire like they were snakes in the night. To perfect his deception, he gave each string a shadow that matched the wings of a dragon. Then, bringing his body temperature to match the environment's current ninety-eight degrees, he converted to his original dragon form and flew away. The dragon kept his decoys flying in synchrony with him, at around six hundred miles per hour. The artificial intelligence couldn't sense him because he was at room temperature, while it could sense the millions of decoys, which were well above the temperature of the room. It began sending animals, from spiders to giant bats into the fray, in the hope of hitting on the real target. Unfortunately, the real target was well behind the decoys and replaced them as soon as the cave's servants destroyed them. As the decoys reached the far wall, Typhoon split them into four groups; one group headed for the ceiling, while another took a dive; yet another group turned left and the last turned right. The Pyramid had no choice but to split its forces into four groups, since it could not guess which one was hiding its target.
Just before colliding with the wall, Typhoon sensed where his brothers of the blood were and ported directly into the resting area, converting on the fly to his human form and rolling on the ground to stand behind Enron.
«I have succeeded. The test is finished! Dwarf Prince, release the door so we can rest and proceed to the Hall of Learning!» Typhoon stated matter-of-factly.
***
Thorsten pressed his hand on a special brick that contained a matching handprint, even if he could not see it since he was still wearing his blindfold. The automatic analyzer, independent of the Pyramid's Conscience, released the locks.
«Be attentive to your intuition. Hold the left shoulder of the person in front of you.»
Thorsten then walked forward, followed by his brothers. After twenty steps, he stopped.
«We have reached the end of the test. Remove your blindfolds, but keep your eyes closed.»
The princes did as asked. Initially, the darkness was complete, but gradually, they began to see light, made pink by the eyelids. After ten minutes of adjusting to the new light, Thorsten figured they were ready.
«Open the eyes, and look down. Let your eyes continue to adjust for another ten minutes.»
After the prescribed time had elapsed, the boys looked around, and found a strange room, whose surface seemed striated with yellow, bright reds, and deep-sea blue veins.
«I will remove one earplug. If I faint, put it back immediately, because it means this place is noisy and I risk becoming deaf.»
Everyone watched as Thorsten removed his left earplug. Initially, his face scrunched, but he gradually relaxed, and he removed his right earplug.
«Ok, it's not what we would call noisy. I just realized I could hear not only your breathing, but also your heartbeat and your blood flow. It takes five to ten minutes to adjust to sound after that kind of exercise. Let us not talk for another thirty minutes after we all have removed the plugs. Sit down and stay still. Any noise will make us jump for a while.»
***
After taking a while to recover their senses, the boys progressed through the Hall of Learning and sat in their respective chairs.
«Welcome. In this Hall of Learning you will learn in detail the events that unfolded during the Flood. Your previous studies gave you an overview of what led to it, and what were the consequences. Today, we delve into that catastrophe in depth. Sleep and learn.»
The boys fell asleep immediately and saw a world they had not seen since the fall of the Baby Moon. Their first flyby of the Earth showed a much dryer planet, two moons, one of which was composed essentially of a crust of ice containing liquid water, kept hot by gravitational flux as the Baby Moon passed between the Earth and its giant Moon, one of the biggest of the Solar system. They also saw, high above the planet, a shining sphere, the Atlantean spaceship that had brought their ancestors to Earth.
As time passed, they saw an ice age set in, bringing the ocean levels even lower. Then, deep from beyond the solar system came a yellow M-class star that crossed the Sun's path, cutting it to less than half a light year. Still, that distance seemed huge, but it created havoc in the Kuiper belt, and numerous comets, asteroids and other astronomical bodies were dislodged from their original orbit. One consequence of the passage of that star nearby was that its most far-flung planet was captured by the Sun's gravity well, and began an erratic trip toward its new primary. The planet collided with many asteroids and comets as it began its journey, adding their mass to its already impressive one. After thousands of years, as the Atlanteans watched in awe and worry, it came close to the Earth. It passed near the Baby Moon, shattering it to pieces, and settled in the Venusian Gap, to slowly take a more respectable circular orbit, herded between the Earth and Mercury. By a stroke of luck, the main Earth Moon was in opposition to the Baby Moon when this occurred. It affected the biggest moon in strange ways too. Until then the moon had rotated on its axis, showing its entire surface to the Earth. During the passage of Venus near the Earth, the sudden gravitational pull synchronized its rotation so it continuously showed the same face to the Earth, pulling its asymmetrical mass in a gravitational lock.
The tides induced by the passage of Venus were terrible, breaking up the ice cover. It did not stop there: giant earthquakes accompanied the war of Titans, weakening the Wall of Atlantis, and setting the stage for the last play. Another casualty of the battle between the Earth and Venus was the Atlantean spaceship. It was thrown out of orbit and lost to space. In a way, this was fortunate, as it carried enough antimatter in its core to reduce the planet to a gaseous state, had it fallen on it.
The boys saw the fall of the Baby Moon, and its mass added three hundred feet of water to the ocean's level, which, compounded with the melting of the ice caps induced by the falling pieces, brought the oceanic level somewhat above the current sea level. The impact on the Wall of Atlantis was immediate. Already stressed by the violent earthquakes, washed and assaulted by the falling bits and pieces of the Baby Moon, it could not withstand the additional pressure and collapsed violently. By then, the Atlanteans had migrated out of their home, and some had reached Kantar, well out of reach of the Oceans' fury. Second Atlantis had lived. Millions perished, but millions survived, having been moved to their new home, or being in the progress of doing so.
***
«This, visitors, concludes my lessons. Heed my warning: Twice your people have faced extermination! Twice some survived to rebuild! The third time may be the final blow! What appears misleads!»
«Thank-you. We are aware that time is short, yet we do not know what is coming!» stated Thorsten. «Can you guide us?»
«I wish, young one, because I know if you fail, I will fail as well. Unfortunately, I have no idea what this means. I was designed to teach and, ultimately, deliver this sibylline warning to those who succeeded.»
«I see. I should have known. None of your predecessors could answer that question either. Ian, I relinquish command!»
«Pyramid, ready yourself to join your brothers in Thebes. We will feed and port you to your new location after our meal.»
The boys fed copiously. The dragon prince converted to his dragon form and ate five whole beefs, before shedding a skin layer. What emerged was a magnificent Gold dragon, about the size of the Dragon King.
«Well, Typhoon, it seems you have reached adult size.»
«It only looks like it, my bonded. I still have three mouldings to go. Our kind requires five moulds to reach adulthood, and this is only my second. I did not expect it so early.»
«I see. Nonetheless, your size is impressive. Do you need to rest? We can delay the Pyramid's move for your benefit.»
«Feed me another beef, and a pool of water, and I'll be ready!»
«It is as you wish!» replied Harp, materializing a dead but very big beef, which promptly disappeared in Typhoon's gullet, along with several hundred gallons of water.
«Too bad there is no lava!»
«Why is that?» wondered Thorsten.
«I could use some mouthwash!»
«One lava pool coming up!» said Ian, creating a miniature lake of several hundred gallons of liquid rock. «Does this fit your need?»
After swallowing the liquid rock, the dragon turned to Ian. «Ah, I feel lighter! The lava has been used to consolidate my exoskeleton, and I'm now stabilized. Thank you.»
«Typhoon, you need to learn the full extent of your magic. You could have created your own food, and the lava pool, had you given it some thought. You and I share the same magical powers."
«Sorry, I am not used yet to this. It will come in time.»
«We know, big brother. Are you ready to rejoin us in our human form so we may proceed?»
The dragon shape-shifted to the human form, again matching Ian trait for trait.
«Let's get on the seats. We have a pyramid to move, and a final test to undergo!» declared Ian.
The Pyramid's displacement went as the others, and another piece of the Thebes Puzzle was added. The boys decided to rest before moving to the last test.
«I wonder what will be my ordeal?" asked Enron.
«Do not worry about it, and sleep. Yesterday is past; tomorrow is not there; only the present matters. And the now is we need to sleep!» replied Harp.