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"Captain?"
"Yes, Alice."
"Where are we going?" The rest of the humans, strangely relaxed in these dimly-lit tunnels, went silent.
"There will be a transportation system in these corridors, one which will whisk us across this world while keeping us safe under the surface. It means no threats from dinosaurs or other predators from Earth's past." However, he knew, such a system was likely to be monitored by the hyperman in control of this world. If he was going to rescue Minx he had to take risks.
Arachne paused at a junction of tunnels. She stared at one of the walls curiously. Dragon took out his binoculars and set them to the same ultra-violet wavelength range that had picked up the arachnid image at the entrance. He could see a series of lines, dots and strange lettering that reminded him of cuneiform. Had ancient humans found relics of the arachnid civilization and adopted their writing system? It seemed unlikely, considering the differences in each species' sight and the span of time separating the two species' dominance.
A number of the humans stood beside the hyperman and stared at the wall. One of them sighed.
"I don't get it, Captain," said Rod. "It's a blank wall."
"No, it's not. There is writing here in a wavelength that our eyes cannot detect." Some of the lines and dots stirred something in his subconscious. Dragon didn't believe in intuition; he allowed the more powerful part of his mind to extrapolate meanings from the various markings. "And, I believe we've found the transportation system."
"It can't still be working, can it Captain?" asked Alice.
"It is," he replied, recalling the maintenance and guard spider-robots that he'd met upon the surface. "It's this way, and it's not far."
A few hundred metres along the left tunnel led them to a spherical chamber. They stepped into it, the humans gripping the low railing on the catwalk as if they were afraid they might fall. The sphere was vast, over a hundred metres across, and there were several catwalks extending from holes scattered about the walls. Dragon noted the large circular holes where there were no catwalks; these would be the tunnels through which they would be transported. There was a flat landing pad near the bottom of the sphere. Upon it were a half-dozen cylinders, and a large number of familiar looking metallic arachnids. Arachne whistled excitedly and dashed down the ramp.
Dragon led the humans down to the landing pad, keeping a careful watch on the spider-robots and Arachne. Minx's friend scuttled towards her metallic doppelgangers, then slowed and stopped. The hyperman heard her click nervously. Apparently she'd never seen these robots before, and had mistakenly thought them to be some of her own people.
"Everyone get in to that cylinder, and don't touch any controls," he commanded.
As the humans obeyed, he went to Arachne and kneeled down beside her. She was staring at the robots thoughtfully. The array of automatons consisted entirely of maintenance robots. Dragon had assumed that guard robots would have attacked them as soon as they entered this chamber, as Mahar would not want to make things easy for another hyperman. That fact made him worry about Minx. He knew she was smart and capable of taking care of herself, but she was facing a hyperman now, someone who would skin her alive just to see her reaction to the torture.
"Arachne?" The spider slowly turned his way, but she pointed a claw at the robots. "I know you can't understand me, but we have to go. Surely you can see that these aren't like you." He stood and motioned for her to follow him. The arachnid glanced back at the robots, clicked twice, then followed the hyperman to the cylinder.
Dragon closed the door behind them, and then went to the controls. There were no seats, so he hoped that there was some sort of compensatory system for changes in velocity. If there weren't they'd all be dead soon, splattered to the walls in this otherwise empty hollow cylinder.
He used the binoculars to see the markings upon and around the controls. Soon he had the device powered up, and a small three-dimensional image of the inner surface appeared in the air. Within ten minutes he'd figured out the basic workings of the craft and they were off, while protected by some artificial force or field that countered inertia. The humans began to panic as one end of the cylinder hurtled toward the rock wall.
"It's all right!" he barked, upset at himself for not having warned the others. "We're going to proceed down that tunnel directly ahead of us. We'll pick up speed as we go, then there's an automatic deceleration as we reach our goal."
"You figured all that out..." gasped Rod.
"Of course he did. He's the Captain!" gloated Alice. She gave Dragon a big smile and then sat back and relaxed.
Rod glared at her, then gave the hyperman a worried look. "Exactly where are we going, Captain?"
"To the tower. Minx is headed somewhere for a reason, and that's the most easily recognizable landmark in this region."
"And how do you know she's going somewhere specific, Captain?"
"She left the beach. She spent a long time crossing the landmass we left to reach the hominid village. Once she reached the beach on this side of the sea, she abandoned her original plans of heading to the airlock and set out for the west. She has a reason for going in that direction and I believe the tower is her final destination."
Rod nodded, looked at Vanessa and frowned, then glanced at Alice. Dragon noted the small smile that momentarily crossed the man's face.
"I think you should all get some rest while you can. I'll watch the controls." The humans sat down wherever they could find room. Some yawned and some closed their eyes.
Dragon hunched over the controls, Arachne beside him. Occasionally, she tried to touch a control with a claw and he would stop her.
"Ship?" he asked quietly.
"Yes?" came the reply in his mind.
"Have you heard anything from Minx?"
There were a few seconds of silence. "No."
"You hesitated."
"I didn't want to upset you, Dragon. I think I might be going crazy."
"Explain."
"Every once in awhile I receive some impressions. I think I'm so worried about her and so helpless to protect her that my mind is starting to go."
"Or, whatever damage occurred to the implant was not complete and you're receiving weak signals from her brain. Can you tell me about the impressions?"
"Well, they are very indistinct. These impressions appear to be my subconscious expression of my fears for Minx. There are so many dangerous creatures loose in this world..."
"You have to be a little more succinct, Ship."
"I'm sensing emotions more than anything else, although sometimes images flit through my subconscious. Usually there's fear, frustration, or confusion. Just a few minutes ago I had the sensation of being chased by something that wanted to eat me."
Dragon's heart beat faster. "And did the sensation end suddenly?"
"No. It faded...or calmed. The fear diminished, I should say."
"As if you were receiving impressions from Minx through your malfunctioning link, but they're incomplete?"
"Possibly."
"There have been few studies about how deep the telepathic link can go between an intelligent being and an artificial intelligence. You're very close to her, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"And you are quite a remarkable electronic entity, Ship. I suggest when these impressions next reveal themselves that you focus your thoughts and try to strengthen the link between you and Minx. The biological mind is a remarkable organ, and it can be capable of complex self-repairs. As a hyperman, my brain is capable of a small amount of regeneration should I suffer severe cranial damage. Minx has hyperperson ancestry; perhaps she has that same capability."
"Thank you, Dragon. It's very kind of you to tell me these things."
His shoulders slumped as he realized what he'd just done. He could have kept the information to himself and used the ignorance of Ship and Minx to his own advantage. Any other hyperman would have done so. He silently cursed himself for being so weak. It was mistakes such as this that had made him practically an outcast among his own people.
"Are you well, Dragon?"
"No. Or yes. It's depends on your viewpoint. I'd like to ask you something, Ship."
"I'll answer it if I can."
The hyperman smiled. Perhaps this openness with Minx's vessel would give him some leverage with the bounty hunter. Gaining power over someone by showing weakness was not a hyperman tactic, unless it was a feint. "Do you think Arachne would be capable of learning how to us her people's technology?"
"Yes. She demonstrated a great deal of natural intelligence to Minx, at least while they travelled together. I think she's merely ignorant. It could take a great deal of time to teach her anything more than rudimentary operation, but..."
"That was my assessment, as well. Thank you, Ship. Get some rest. And if those impressions return please let me know immediately."
He turned to the arachnid, who seemed to be watching him keenly. He reached for a control that would slow the conveyance. Then he manipulated it very carefully for a minute before setting it back to its original position. He stepped back and motioned for Arachne to try. She stretched out a claw, hesitated for a few seconds, then manipulated the same control just as Dragon had done. She let out an excited squeal.
Dragon was very pleased with the result from his experiment. Arachne would not be as able as he at these controls, but she would be the first one of her people in untold generations to regain a semblance of the arachnids' past powers over this hollow world.
"Now let's see how much forbidden fruit you can eat, my dear. If anything should happen to me I mean to see to it that you and your people have a fighting chance against Mahar."
23
Paul and Miguel stumbled along a hallway, hungry and exhausted. Minx had not come in to the tower with them, but that mattered very little to the two men. Miguel was just relieved that the dinosaurs were outside and he was free of them, while Paul believed that whatever terrible fate befell the beautiful brunette was her own fault.
"Gentlemen! Please come into the room ahead of you, on your right." The man's voice was deep and commanding.
"That's Mahar!" exclaimed Miguel, following the command.
Paul found himself walking beside Miguel, quite against his conscious will. The two went into a well-lit room that appeared to be a hangar bay, but neither man could see an exit other than the doorway they had just used. A single vessel of an odd, egg-like design resided in the hangar, and a robed man with blonde hair smiled at them benignly. A hiss behind them made them jump.
"That's just the door closing. No reason to be alarmed."
"You're the hyperman, Mahar," stated Paul. "The one that Miguel told us about. You're real!"
The hyperman briefly tensed his jaw muscles; he'd forgotten how slow and stupid humans were. "Why, yes! And I'm not the monster that you may think I am. In fact, I've an offer to make to you."
Paul's eyes gleamed, while Miguel went pale. "An offer?" asked Paul.
"Minx's hyperman is approaching and will arrive very soon. I understand that he is quite upset with the two of you for making off with his young lady. I intend to give you the means to defend yourselves against him."
"Weapons?" asked Paul with a gleam in his eye. With the right weapons, he was confident that he could make himself king of this hollow world. How could a hyperman, Dragon or Mahar, stand up to a good laser rifle?
"No, I'm not going to give you weapons. I'm going to improve you. I'm going to make you stronger and faster. You'll be able to easily deal with that hyperman who's stalking you."
"What's the price?" asked Miguel.
"The price? I want to be rid of this hyperman as eagerly as you do. And, I don't want to dirty my own hands doing it." Mahar smiled at them. "You must understand, I'm busy learning as much as I can about this wonderful world. At heart," he placed his right hand over his chest, "I'm a scholar."
"No tricks then?" questioned Miguel.
"Just come with me and you'll soon be new men."
A door in the side of the egg-shaped vessel slid open soundlessly. Mahar went in confidently, without a glance behind to see if the men were following. Paul considered the possibilities of being fast and strong enough to defeat a hyperman, while Miguel was terrified of disobeying this hyperman. They both followed Mahar in through the open doorway.
24
From the holographic display, Dragon could see they were about to arrive at the station located below the tower. He pointed to the controls that would slow the vehicle and Arachne reached forth a claw and adjusted them. A nod from him let her know she'd done the task correctly.
"We're about to arrive!" he announced to the humans.
There were yawns. People rose to their feet slowly, stretching and groaning.
"What can we expect?" asked Rod. Alice and he had immediately come forward to stand behind their captain.
"Mahar will likely be waiting for us. Minx is probably here. I think it's safe to say that he'll try to use her against me."
"She's not to be trusted then?" asked Alice, a wicked gleam in her eye.
"No harm is to come to her, Alice." The hyperman's tone was cold, making it clear to both that there was nowhere they could hide if they disobeyed him. "Mahar is the antagonist. He will be planning to kill me as soon as he can. He won't consider any of you a threat until after he's dealt with me. I want you to find Minx and make sure she's safe."
The man and woman exchanged a glance, and then nodded at the hyperman. Alice and Rod went aft to cajole and berate the other humans, while Dragon paused to consider Arachne. What use would the arachnid be? Undoubtedly Mahar knew their abilities and limitations so the creature would be of almost no use against him, at least not directly. The hyperman decided to let the spider do as she saw best, and assumed Arachne would also spend her time searching out Minx.
The cylinder slowed and finally stopped. The door slid soundlessly open, revealing darkness. Lights flicked on, showing they were docked in a chamber almost identical to the one they had left a couple of hours earlier. Dragon guessed there were eight of these transportation hubs concealed inside this world, and briefly wondered what would lie above each.
"All out!" he commanded. "We go up! There should be a tower directly above us, and somewhere in that tower are Minx and Mahar. I want Minx protected. I want Mahar dead. Anyone who accomplishes either goal will have my gratitude and respect. Now go!"
He watched as Alice and Rod split the humans into four groups. The squads departed the hangar, leaving Arachne and him to ponder their next actions. Dragon looked down at the creature that was intently studying the maintenance robots in this hangar.
"You're on your own, Arachne. Minx is likely somewhere above."
Then Dragon jogged to the exit. After a few seconds he heard the scuttle of eight legs behind him. Screams of pain and horror down the tunnels somewhere drowned out all other sounds for a brief time, but they subsided after ten seconds or so.
Dragon and Arachne increased their speed as they left the hangar; the hallways were fairly long and straight, and entrance-ways into rooms were closed. With sufficient speed, the hyperman was confident that he would surprise any opponent except Mahar. He didn't expect his opponent to be hiding in a room waiting to ambush him, as it just seemed too inelegant.
They passed through hallway after hallway in near-silence, rising higher and higher until, at last, the walls of the passages were of some manufactured material that reminded Dragon vaguely of ceramic. He was at ground level! A doorway opened beside him and his hand went to the hilt of his sword in the blink of an eye. Arachne hissed.
The room beyond was large, and appeared to have some ceremonial purpose. There were stone pillars arranged in parallel rows across the room, and painted murals upon the walls. Advancing into the chamber Dragon could see the paintings showed a race of spiders, Arachne's people, performing various rituals but each had a technological aspect to it. In one, the maintenance robots were being activated and sent out as an army to perform some mysterious action. Arachne was fascinated by the images.
The chamber was empty of occupants, aside from the two of them, and Dragon stepped back into the hall. The door slid shut behind him and he continued on, without Arachne.
Eventually, the floor became inclined, forming a ramp leading to the higher levels of the tower. Dragon paused, considering the likelihood of Minx being imprisoned high in the tower. It was something that he would do, but would Mahar? He knew nothing of this other hyperman and that put him at a great disadvantage, while it was quite likely that Mahar had been eavesdropping on the telepathic communications with Ship or actually spying on him as he journeyed across the Cenozoic and Mesozoic Zones.
Dragon drew his sword and rushed up the ramp. It seemed to circle inside the outer wall of the tower. He passed numerous closed doors, knowing that he couldn't just check them all one by one.
A roar sounded outside, followed by another. He could hear the sounds, muffled as they were, right through the walls. Dragon put his hand on the wall. There was a third roar, and it seemed a little more distant. What was going on outside the tower?
The wall he had his hand upon glowed dimly, then the material opened before him. He pushed his way through the dilating wall and found himself upon a ledge overseeing a large courtyard of sculpted columns. He squinted in the sudden light. Movement below revealed itself as a therapod, possibly an allosaurid or a close relative, weaving around the columns. Its attention was focussed upon a dark-haired, almost nude figure that was hiding behind one of the columns. Two other allosaurs were making their way towards the woman. Her face turned so she could watch the other dinosaur, and Dragon realized the woman was Minx!
He stepped to the edge of the ledge. There were at least ten metres of air between him and the ground. Dragon eyed the dinosaurs, looked at the sword in his hand, and then stared at the terrified Minx as she searched desperately for some escape.
"Minx!" he shouted out. "Trust me!"
Her eyes shot up, and a gratified smile crossed her face once she spotted him.
He pointed to the base of the wall directly below him. "Trust me!"
Minx nodded, took a deep breath and then ran the short distance to where Dragon had pointed. She began to push and pound on the wall, thinking the hyperman had provided her with an entrance into the tower. The carnivores walked toward her, confident that she had no escape. Hearing their approach, Minx turned to face them. She went flat against the wall as the largest allosaurus' jaws opened and lowered toward her. Its yellowish-white teeth, each at least as big as her thumb, glistened with saliva.
Dragon leapt away from the tower, hung in open air briefly, then fell. He reversed his grip on his sword and tightly grabbed the pommel with both hands. Minx closed her eyes as the jaws she feared drew within an arm's length. There was a thump, and Dragon let out a groan.
She looked up to find that the allosaurus had reared away from her, and the other two were standing still and watching the first one intently. The creature turned its head, and there was Dragon, his sword plunged to the hilt through the dinosaur's skull. It stumbled, then righted itself. The hyperman wrapped his legs about the beast's neck. He strained and pulled the blade free, then pushed it into one of the therapod's eyes. Dragon gave Minx a wink, then swirled the pommel around, stirring whatever organs, veins and arteries were within allosaurus' skull as blood flowed over his hands.
