Journey Through the Mirrors (30 page)

“Binary fission rate is normal,” a male technician answered from console number three.

The technician at console one looked at a few readings on the display in front of him. “Should we open the core?” he asked.

The doctors walked over to him. Dr. Rosa stood to his left, Dr. Josef to his right. They looked at the display, analyzing it for several seconds.

“Yes,” said Dr. Rosa.

“Proceed,” added Dr. Josef.

“Moving to low output,” said the technician at console one. As they began to manipulate their controls, the image of a slowly rotating white pyramid was projected over the platform where the technicians were seated.

“EM wave normal,” a technician said.

“Fission rate normal,” another added.

“Opening the core,” announced the technician at console one. As he worked the controls, a gentle rumbling sounded for several seconds. “Core exposure at ten percent.”

“Ten is not enough,” said Dr. Rosa.

“Open to twenty,” said Dr. Josef.

The technician gave the doctors a questioning look.

“Do . . .”

“It.”

The technician did as the doctors requested. The white pyramid turned yellow. “Electrical induction has commenced,” the technician said. “Output is at low yield, one megahertz.”

“Open the core . . .” said Dr. Rosa.

“To thirty,” said Dr. Josef.

Another momentary rumbling occurred as the core was opened further. The technicians worked feverishly, calling out their readings to one another. “Power collectors at seven thousand megawatts,” one announced.

The doctors looked at the projection of the pyramid as the color of the capstone changed from yellow to golden brown.

“When you asked me to join you on the island, I did not know what to expect,” Yinsir said. “And though I still can’t say that I understand a word of what these people are saying, I’m impressed.”

Dario laughed. “This, my friend, is the latest in energy supply.”

“This structure that we are standing in is called a zero-point fracturing node,” Catherine said. “It has the ability to extract electricity directly from the atmosphere. Once this device is operational, we will be deploying identical devices at strategic locations all over the world.”

“And fret not, my friend. Neither Catherine nor I make any attempt to understand what is being said by these people.” Dario motioned around the room. “All I know is that we are standing at the center of the world’s newest pyramid.”

“There is a large copper capstone fifty meters above us and a nuclear core fifty meters below,” Catherine explained. “And somehow, through the miracle of science, electricity is produced.”

Yinsir chuckled. “Did Simon know about this?”

“Heavens, no,” Catherine replied. “This is my and Dario’s baby.”

“Simon thought he had all the answers,” Dario said. “We gave him some rope to see what he would do with it.”

“Turns out all he could do with it was hang himself,” Catherine said.

A loud crack of thunder startled everyone in the control center. The technicians glanced at one another. A man seated at console nine pressed a button, and the shutters over the windows along the periphery of the control center opened, providing a panoramic view of the island. A heavy rain pelted the windows as a storm raged outside. The technicians rotated in their chairs to gaze out. Just to the north was Ponta do Pico, a large stratavolcano that rose more than two thousand meters in the air. The crashing waves of the ocean could be seen to the south. Another thunderclap boomed and then another.

Yinsir noticed the twin doctors standing by the large windows, looking out at the storm. “And where did you find them?”

“That is a rather long story,” Catherine answered. “Let’s just say that we liberated them from their last employer, who was not using them to their full capacity.”

“If this device works as you say,” Yinsir said, “then those two might have come up with the most radically innovative power-generating technology the world has ever seen.”

A bolt of electricity was discharged from high above, appearing to come from the capstone. A moment later, another. “Fission rate is decreasing,” a technician said.

The two doctors turned to each other and then to the projection of the pyramid rotating above the platform. The capstone was rapidly alternating color from deep gold to pale yellow.

“Radical EM level at fifty hertz,” the technician at console fourteen announced, disappointed.

“Fission rate is dropping further.”

“Power collectors holding at seven thousand megawatts,” said the technician at console one. “Dropping back to low yield.”

Catherine left Dario and Yinsir, quickly walking over to the doctors, who had moved back over to the technicians. “No, we must push forward,” she insisted. “Doctors, we must be able to harvest more energy. Seven thousand megawatts isn’t even enough to power a small city!”

“If we push any further, we have no idea what will happen,” said the technician at console fourteen. “We’re going into uncharted territory here. Martin wasn’t joking around.”

“There are workers outside,” said the technician at console one. “An increase in output could cause more electrical discharges.”

“Would the two of you like to join Martin outside?” Catherine asked, giving them a glare that made them cower in their chairs. “I don’t care about side effects or discharges. We need results. Move the output to high. I want to see what my money has bought me after six years.”

“We agree,” said Dr. Rosa.

“We must push on,” said Dr. Josef.

The technician at console one shook his head. “Opening core to fifty percent,” he said.

The capstone of the projected pyramid above them transitioned from gold to red. Electrical discharges now fired at random in rapid succession. The stormy sky grew darker.

“Radical EM level now at one hundred fifty hertz,” technician fourteen announced.

“Fission rate is zero,” technician three said.

Two electrical discharges were expelled from the capstone and struck the ground near the control center. One of the technicians rose from his seat and ran over to the eastern-facing windows that overlooked the complex’s arrival and departure platform. He put his hand on the window. “Martin!” he called. Others joined him there, seeing their colleague’s lifeless, charred body lying faceup on the ground with steam rising from it. Martin had been struck by one of the electrical discharges. The briefcase he was carrying lay open beside him, the wind scattering his papers in all directions. Two other, more fortunate workers had taken refuge underneath a nearby awning, waiting for the violent storm to pass.

The doctors turned to Catherine and took two quick steps forward. “We must stop,” said Dr. Rosa.

“Agreed, we must stop now,” reiterated Dr. Josef.

“We cannot risk . . .” said Dr. Rosa.

“The integrity of the ZPF,” said Dr. Josef.

Catherine’s face was red with anger as she stared at the doctors. “Shut it down, then,” she said reluctantly. The technicians returned to their computers and started working. The capstone of the projected pyramid transitioned from red to deep gold and then to yellow. The lightning and thunder ceased, and the rain and battering wind eased. The capstone transitioned from yellow to white.

Dario walked over to Catherine, and Yinsir made his way to a table where a technician was putting away a few pieces of equipment.

Catherine pointed at the doctors and said, “The two of you had better figure this out.”

“A timetable has been established according to your promises,” Dario added. “Events have been set in motion and cannot be stopped now.”

“The plans you provided . . .” said Dr. Rosa.

“Are incomplete,” Dr. Josef finished.

“A critical piece . . .”

“Is missing.”

“Can’t the two of you figure out what it is?” Yinsir said loudly from across the room, as he picked up an odd-looking piece of equipment. “I am told you’re the smartest people on the planet.”

Neither Catherine nor Dario appeared pleased with Yinsir’s off-the-cuff comment.

The doctors turned and looked at him. They put up their hands and spoke in unison. “Please do not play with that device.”

Yinsir heeded the warning and put the device back down. “The others will be arriving soon. You will have to tell them that your project has been delayed.”

“Doctors, you both knew when you started working here that the plans had not been tested,” Catherine said sternly. “The two of you assured us that was not a problem.”

“Wait,” Yinsir interrupted. “The doctors did not draw up the plans for this device?”

Catherine and Dario exchanged looks. “No,” Catherine said. “The plans for this device come from another source.”

“An old Satrayian,” Dario said.

Yinsir raised an eyebrow. “Then it might be time to get back in touch with him.”

33

The only reason the wise sage told his student to climb the highest of mountains was that the student refused to believe that what he was looking for was within himself.

—THE CHRONICLES OF SATRAYA

TEOTIHUACÁN, MEXICO, 11:20 A.M. LOCAL TIME, MARCH 23, 2070

Logan, Mr. Perrot, and Madu didn’t stop running until they were more than a hundred meters clear of the Moon Pyramid. Seven minutes had passed since the earthquake had started. Electrical arcs, similar to the ones Logan had witnessed on his first trip to Teotihuacán, were shooting out of the apex of the Moon Pyramid. Another, more intense series of arcs shot into the sky. A loud crackling sound rent the air as bolts of electricity scattered. Light crept along the outer surface of the pyramid. The pyramid began to glow.

“It looks like one of Tesla’s static electricity experiments,” Mr. Perrot said, not believing what he was witnessing.

The three men moved farther back, holding their arms out to their sides to maintain their balance as the ground shifted and rippled beneath their feet. Cracks appeared at the apex of the pyramid. Within seconds, the cracks grew wider and longer, running down the sides of the ancient structure. Stones continued to topple down off the pyramid’s façades.

“It’s falling apart,” Madu said in disbelief, taking a step forward.

Mr. Perrot grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. “There’s nothing we can do,” he said, recalling what it was like watching old skyscrapers being demolished after the Great Disruption. A haunting and eerie moment of stillness occurred, as if they were standing at the eye of a hurricane, before a series of blue lights exploded overhead. Logan, Mr. Perrot, and Madu ducked as the light passed over them. A mere five seconds later, the Moon Pyramid, which had once jutted into the sky, imploded. A massive dust cloud rose into the air and spread into the twilight sky.

“It’s gone,” Madu said in shock. He closed his eyes, falling to his knees and whispering. “And all of its secrets along with it. . . .”

*  *  *

Logan and Mr. Perrot helped Madu, still distraught, back to the museum’s research center. “It doesn’t look like there was much damage here,” Logan said, as they entered the pyramid-shaped room.

He set his backpack on a table, and Madu set down the three whistles he was carrying and the headband he’d taken from the skeleton, then lowered himself into a chair and buried his face in his hands. Logan untied the string he’d wrapped around his backpack and took out the pieces of broken pottery he’d salvaged. Mr. Perrot leaned the copper rod against the table and placed the metal case containing the restored whistle on the floor.

“Do you have the other headband?” Logan asked.

Mr. Perrot held it up to show him and placed it on the table next to the one Madu had taken.

“There you are!” Nadine ran into the room and rushed over to Madu and hugged him. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” he replied. “I’m fine.”

While Nadine and Madu spoke in hushed tones, Logan and Mr. Perrot turned their attention to the items they had salvaged from the hidden chamber. Logan inspected one of the headbands. He ran his fingers
over the Satraya symbols, which had been pressed into the copper along with the mysterious symbol that could be a snowflake or a flower. He looked at the inside of the headband and saw a familiar phrase. He pointed it out to Mr. Perrot:
QUITETEUHQUIMILOA CANAHUAC COHUATL TOCONMONEXTILIZ ITOZQUI TLALLI.

Mr. Perrot picked up the second headband. “The phrase is also written on this one:
Wrap thin serpent to discover earth voice
.”

Logan sighed, still unsure what it meant. His PCD sounded, and he started to worry when he saw who it was from. “Ms. Sally,” he said, typing a reply. “Jamie had another one of those splitting headaches.”

Madu and Nadine joined Logan and Mr. Perrot at the table.

“It cannot be a coincidence that this phrase is found on both headbands and also on the stem of the stone whistle,” Mr. Perrot said.

“The term
earth voice
is curious,” Madu said. “I suppose it could be referring to many things. Sound, music, even poetry . . .”

“I recently learned that my mother took violin lessons from a man named Sumsari Baltik when all of you were on the Council,” Logan said.

“Yes,” Madu said. “Sumsari was a musical genius.”

“He told my mother that the earth had a voice. The message on this stone whistle and also on these headbands alludes to the same thing. What if the earth’s voice is the activation harmonic for the pyramid?”

Nadine gave Madu a skeptical look. “I thought a source of radiation was the key. Isn’t that the assumption behind all your work over these last many years?”

Madu sighed. “It is possible that my initial theories were incorrect. Based on what we discovered before the pyramid collapsed, sound and resonance might have played a more pivotal role. Sumsari knew a great deal about these things. Perhaps I should have listened to him more closely back then. I wonder if he’s still alive. He might be able to shed more light on what we have discovered here.”

“I’ll send Valerie a message,” Logan said, pulling out his PCD. “She’ll be able to tell us if Sumsari is still alive and, if so, where he lives.”