Shadows of Atlantis: Emergence of the Engi (9 page)

He found them standing in the Blue Storm parking lot next to a green and black sport bike. He noticed that they were all wearing their uniforms and Dex was leaning on a board with curved edges. Once he got over there, Awesome paced towards him and he scratched her head as she purred.

“Hey guys. What kind of sport bike is that?” asked Eiris.

“This is a 2017 Land Prowler Plasmacycle. It’s a superbike. My parents sent it for me.” smiled Kezzy.

“That’s pretty cool. What about you guys?” he asked Azonei and Dex.

“My father got me this limited edition Variane sky suit and something else I’ll show you guys another day.” smiled Azonei.

“My family sent this new prototype called a Zenix hoverboard. Oh, and this beauty over here.” smiled Dex as he hopped on another cool-looking silver sport bike. “This is a 2017 Laronyx electrobike. It’s a thing of true artwork and beauty, powered by electricity I might add.” he grinned.

“That’s pretty xeno.” smiled Kezzy.

“Why thank you.” smiled a surprised Dex.

“What about you Eiris? What’d you get?” asked Azonei.

“Um, this smartwatch was sitting on my desk chair.” said Eiris.

“Have you used it yet?” asked Dex.

“No, I was gonna wait till I caught up with you guys.” said Eiris.

“Well now that we’re here, c’mon let’s see it.” smiled Kezzy.

Eiris then paneled through the smartwatch and saw a car icon. As he pressed it, a loud engine sounded off so they all began walking in the direction of it. As they got closer, they were all amazed to see a jet black, impressive-looking sports car with icy blue wheels.

“Impossible.” gaped Dex.

“No……. way.” remarked Kezzy.

“Ditto.” said Azonei.

“What’s the big deal?” asked Eiris as they all stood in astonishment.

“Right. You don’t know.” said Dex. “This, is one of only two supercars ever created in Undaria called a Hammerhead GT. It’s multi-terraneous and powered by HTD technology. Multi-terraneous means it’s capable of being driven on land and underwater. HTD is an acronym for
Harvested Tangible Dark Matter
. Powered by harvested dark matter, it has a top speed of over 285 mph and accelerates from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds flat. So, in one word this machine is simply unique.” gushed Dex.

“I don’t even know how to drive.” laughed Eiris.

“No biggie. The simulators in VR will teach you in no time.” smiled Azonei.

“It’s pretty incredible that Undarians have found a way to harvest a virtually endless source of energy.” said Eiris.

“Well, we’ve only recently unlocked this capability. But, I agree it’s an amazing feat. I’m aware of the traditions on Earth. But here in Undaria, being a nerd or a geek is a good thing. You see, we now live in the age of the geek. Modern technology has transformed the universe. And for all intents and purposes, led to our creation. Even on Earth, technology has become a focal point within the society of humans. One could also make the argument that both of our futures are directly associated with the progression of our technology. Thus, making geeks the true celebrities.” smiled Dex.

“Wait, are those black luridium pulse blades?” asked Kezzy.

“Um, I guess. I can see I need to read up more on the terminology used here.” smiled Eiris.

“A few visits to the Academy library will fix that. In the meantime, we’ll make sure you know what’s going on.” nodded Azonei.

“Thanks. So what are pulse blades and these handheld weapons?” asked Eiris.

“Pulse blades are the predominantly used swords in Undaria. They are electromagnetically powered, and if the handle is spiked into the ground, the sword emits an electromagnetic pulse. Luridium is simply put, the rarest and most powerful stable element known in the milky way galaxy to date. The handheld weapons we all have here at the academy are non-lethal pistols called shock chargers. They are similar to the equivalent of a taser gun, but with electrically charged beams.” informed Kezzy.

“This is all really amazing.” nodded Eiris. “Speaking of mechanical things, you never told me what unique abilities you have Dex.” he remarked.

“Ah. Well, you Turans certainly are strong. You all can run and jump and bond nature. But we Slyphs can do this…….” smiled Dex.

He then put two fingers on the side of his forehead and closed his eyes in the direction of his Laronyx sport bike.

VROOMMM!!! The bike instantly turned on.

“Wow. That’s incredible.” said Eiris in surprise.

“Indeed it is.” Dex smiled. “That ability is called neurosync. With my neural implant, I can connect with and hack into anything with a mechanical-based system. This, is called neuromagnetism.” he said.

Then he took his hoverboard and threw it a few meters away. Opening his hand, a magnetic sound was heard as the hoverboard obediently came solidly back into it.

“My other ability is called techno-telepathy.” Dex said. “That allows me to communicate telepathically with other Slyphs. We all have techno-telepathic abilities, but not every Slyph has neuromagnetism or neurosync abilities.” he informed.

“I’m at a loss for words.” smiled Eiris. “Undarians are truly incredible people.”

As they made their way to the entrance of the war hall of the Blue Storm building, a large muscular Slyph stood in their way.

“No Turans allowed.” he glared.

“But we’re a part of this guild.” said Azonei.

“I don’t care.” he returned.

“Look, you can either move out of our way or be moved. Your choice.” threatened Kezzy as Awesome growled.

“That’s funny. You almost sounded convincing tree hugger.” he glared.

“Funny? I didn’t know mechs had a comedic capacity.” glared a glowing-eyed Kezzy in return.

“Well why don’t I show you what we
mechs
are capable of?” he glared.

“Listen, we don’t want any trouble. We just want to use the target range like everyone else here. My name’s Ei……...” started Eiris.

“I know who you are you kelp sucking son of a Darkren! And I’m telling you that you and your friends aren’t allowed here. Now you’d better leave before things get ugly.” he threatened.

Just then, five other Blue Storm members surrounded them in a circle.

“It always comes down to this.” exhaled Dex as he shook his head.

Seeing that the mean Slyph was about to make a move, Eiris drew his shock charger, followed by the others. Now in a standoff, Kezzy elbowed one of the aggressive Slyphs, causing him to fall on the ground while Awesome pounced on top of him. Eiris then put one of his pulse blades to the neck of the Slyph that started everything.

“Move again.” Eiris seethed with glowing purple eyes.

“Stand down! Stand…. down!” yelled a commanding voice.

Coming out of the war hall was Glover, the Guild Leader.

“But Glover, they’re Turans!” said the one of the Slyphs.

Seeing the predicament, Glover intensely looked Eiris in the eyes and asked.

“Why’d you join
this
guild? Why aren’t you with your own kind?” glared Glover.

“My friends and I want to coexist in peace with
everyone
, not just our own kind.” said Eiris, still holding the pulse blade.

Exchanging looks with him, Glover was convinced their intentions were good.

“Stand down. They’re not our enemies.” Glover said.

“But…….” started one of the slyphs.

“I won’t repeat that order.” Glover glared.

The Slyphs then grudgingly relented and everyone calmed down as they lowered their weapons. The Slyphs then walked into the war hall grumbling loudly.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding. It’s nice to finally have some Turan muscle around here. I hope to see you all at tryouts tomorrow.” he nodded.

“Thanks. We’ll be there.” said Eiris.

Glover then nodded to them as he walked back into the war hall. Eiris and the others decided it was probably best to go another time under the circumstances and went back to their personal cubes instead. Eiris used the opportunity to study the rules of Electroball carefully and also sent a thank you message to Marz for his gift with his smartwatch before laying down. As he looked at the ceiling of his personal cube, he thought about how much his life had changed literally overnight. He also thought of his parents and imagined how proud they would have been to see him enrolled in their academy. But the last image that came to his mind as he drifted off to sleep, was of that beautiful girl he saw earlier-the mysterious girl of his dreams.

The next day Eiris woke up and got prepared for the day. With the Electroball uniform on, he met the rest of the xenos in one of the academy cafes for breakfast. Walking with his Electroball helmet in hand, he found them sitting at one of the far tables.

“Hey.” said Eiris as they all responded.

“What’s up xeno? You ready to play?” smiled Kezzy.

“I hope so. These are some pretty cool uniforms.” smiled Eiris.

“Indeed.” smiled Dex. “The tech is called bioflexium but we just say bioflex for short. It’s a biotechnological protective suit created to be sturdy, but also light and flexible. Developed from the cutis anserina or goose bumps phenomenon, the suit adapts and reacts to your physical environment as well as strong internal emotions experienced by its wearer such as fear, anger, or sadness.” he informed.

After explaining the suits to Eiris, Dex saw an opening so he spoke up.

“Hey Kezzy, may I ask you a question?” asked Dex from across the table.

“You already did.” Muttered Kezzy as she read a holobook, barely looking up.

Dex then sighed in defeat and began talking to Azonei instead. After breakfast, Eiris and the others headed straight for the Electroball Arena. As they got closer to it, he was amazed by the colossal globular arena. It rivaled even CenturyLink Field. Walking inside, they saw everyone in their uniforms tossing around the plasma ball that was used to score the goals and practicing their vaults over the arena obstacles.

“This is epic.” smiled Eiris.

“Indeed it is my friend.” nodded Dex.

After they warmed up, a loud horn sounded. Everyone then gathered around Glover.

“Everyone, thank you all for being here. Electroball is the Undarian choice of sport for many reasons. But, the true purpose of Electroball is to encourage teamwork and strategic creativity while simulating the consequences of real battle. As you can see, scattered throughout the arena field, are randomly assorted ramps and barriers that provide strategic advantages and disadvantages. There are fifty players on each guild team and sixteen starters are in play on each side. Of those sixteen, are five offensive-oriented runners, six defensive-oriented defenders, two dual-oriented sport bike riders, one defensive-specialist called an enforcer, one goalie which is my position, and one dual-oriented drifter. The drifter is also considered by many to be the star athlete of the team. Now, I trust you all read the rulebook but in case some of you didn’t, the rules are simple. The first team to three goals wins the game, each goal marking the end of a period. If the score is a tie at the end of the regulatory four periods, there’s a sudden death between the drifters of each team. Shock chargers are allowed to be used but only behind the first contact line. Currently we’re accepting tryouts at all positions, but we are especially in need of a drifter. Are there any questions?” asked Glover.

No one raised their hand.

“Good. Then may Turanii be with you all. Let’s begin.” he smiled.

Once everyone separated into the position groups, Glover called Eiris over.

“Yesterday, I noticed you have very gifted physical abilities. As well as some natural leader-like qualities. I’d like you to try out as a drifter today.” said Glover.

“I’m not too sure I’ll be any good, but sure.” said Eiris as he put his tactical helmet on.

Using the hoverblades he was given, Eiris glided through the arena and used the ramps with ease. He was also exceptional at scoring from long and short distances. Kezzy, Dex, and Azonei were also standouts for the positions they tried out at.

“You’re a natural. How does this sport come so easy to you?” asked Glover.

“I guess it helps that on Earth I ice skated a lot. And skateboarding has always kind of been a hobby of mine as well.” said Eiris.

“Interesting. Well, I’ve seen all I need and I’d like you to be the starting drifter of the Blue Storm Electroball Team. That is, if you’re up to the challenge.” said Glover.

“Um……. yeah sure.” beamed Eiris in disbelief.

“Good. Directly after tryouts, all team members are to meet in the conclave room.” said Glover as he walked to the middle of the arena floor and sounded the horn.

“Everyone! I want to thank you all for coming! I’ve made my decisions and each player will be notified shortly. I look forward to seeing you all later, at the Guild Zone.” said Glover.

When Eiris met up with the others, he learned that they all made the team too. Kezzy and Dex made the two starting rider spots and Azonei made starting first runner because of his exceptional speed. As they walked into the conclave room, everyone already there turned and looked at them. Glover walked in soon after and began greeting everyone.