Chapter Six

Master Brock

Master Brock’s eyes stayed locked on the clock of the initiation room. He stood noticable taller than the largest men Temple had ever seen. His jet black uniform hugged his rippling muscles and his left chest and both arms boldly gleamed with his achievements. All the badges were embossed with “C.A.C.M.” along with a fireball symbol and a shooting star colored silver and black. Temple didn’t recognize either symbols.

Temple heard the legends of the C.A.C. Masters as a child from his brother. The story told that the 20 Heads of Knowledge would never allow 100 Masters in fear they could become all powerful and take over the universe. But Temple knew their honest souls wouldn't let them.

With the utmost professional demeanor Master Brock stood in front of Temple and four other young men. As the clock reached exactly 0900 hours. He turned and addressed the young men.

“Welcome to the Complex Alternative Communications Training Facility. You are here because this is your destiny, there is no other possibility for you in this world. Only one of you will become the next generation's Technology Master, the highest technology honor in the CAC.

You will then get to report to the genius, Dr. Weissenburger. You will remain in this facility until the competition is complete. You will treat each other with respect and you will produce results as expected. Line up behind me, the facility tour starts now,” Master Brock commanded. Without waiting for them, he turned and walked out of the room.

Temple scrambled, but despite his best efforts still ended up last in line. The young men who had been sitting beside him had already queued up. Temple’s competition intimidated him. He looked them up and down. Never had he seen kids like this before. Like shrunken elite soldiers.

I wonder what they eat? Temple asked himself as he slid his hand down his uniform trying to get the wrinkles out. Trying to match everyone else’s neatly pressed W.A.Technology uniform. The young men never took their eyes off the back of Master Brock's head as they marched across the metal catwalk that led out of the introduction room.

Easily distracted, young Temple snuck a peek out the observation window as they marched past. He faced out into a large green field. In the distance large, black, holographic signs hovered in the air, which read: “100th Year Anniversary of the World Alliance!”

Temple watched as the WA marching band dressed in all-red, ornate military uniforms stomped by. The percussion section came pounding away on giant drum heads. And the brass section, dressed in grey uniforms, brought up the rear. The austere military music reverberated in Temple's ears as they continued to march by, a new song that he didn't recognize.

Directly following the band came the Electric Warriors. Thousands of them, in wide rows. They wielded energy packs, designed to cultivate their inner power and charge the staffs in their hands which shot out bolts of green energy on their command. Some of the soldiers used their staffs to fly along with the rest of them. The gleaming, grand spectacle that celebrated The World Alliance's power was nothing short of awe-inspiring, especially to Temple.

“Are those real Electric Warriors?” Temple blurted out to Master Brock. He’d only heard the legends.

Master Brock made no sign of acknowledging Temple's excited question, and instead turned sharply on his heel and walked over to the massive door at the end of the catwalk.

The door hovered higher than Temple could have imagined. A single man could not physically move it alone, no matter how strong he might be. It stood at least five-men tall, forged of solid metal, finished with lustrous shine. When Master Brock approached, he pressed his pointer finger and thumb together, and aimed them at the door. He then slowly pulled his fingers apart. As he performed this action, the door slid open, moving at the same speed at which he separated his fingers. He entered the room, and gestured for the cadets to follow.

Inside Temple could see the room was made of gray walls and floors, and was completely empty except for what appeared to a thin layer of clear fabric in the shape of a box, standing in the middle of the room. Translucent with razor-straight edges, the box sparkled with a slight iridescence, standing a few feet taller than Master Brock himself. Inside the box was a silver arm coming from small pool of black liquid in the floor, reached up with its palm flat open. Two small objects lay in the open palm of the hand.

The Master made notes on his handheld as he turned to observe each of them. Once complete recording his report, he turned to the box and addressed the young men.

"Temple, help me in a demonstration,”

“Yes Sir!” Temple replied with enthusiasm.

“Step into the box,”

Temple approached the box hesitantly, unsure of exactly how to get inside of it. He scanned for a door or anything that resembled an opening. Looking back at Master Brock in confusion, Master Brock barked at him. “Step into the box, now, Temple!”

Temple's scratched his head, utterly confused. He walked up as close as he could to the box, and extended an arm, placing his hand on the wall of the box. His hand went right through the wall. Seeing that he was able to pass through the strange material, Temple stepped the rest of the way into the box, and then turned to smile smugly but silently back at Master Brock, awaiting any further instructions.

“The box is constructed from a precious resource we found on the inner layer of Venus. It has its own nervous system and cognitive reality. We call her A.M.A. (Activated Molecular Alternative). Always be nice to AMA, she is what you will use to control your trudger.

“Temple pick up the nero dots before you and place them on the bone lobes behind your ears,”

Temple took the two small sensors off the open hand as instructed. The hand quickly retracted into the pool of blackness. They felt fleshy or rubbery nothing more than round dots, no bigger than a dime, and sticky. As soon as Temple grabbed them they started rapidly pulsating, like the heartbeat of a scared little animal. Startled, Temple fumbled with them in his hands and they stuck to his palms.

“Stop!” Master Brock said. “Everyone watch what Temple is doing right now if you'd like to learn the surest way to kill yourself!”

Temple froze and looked up, still trying to get the sensors unstuck. He shook his hands vigorously, but the sensors would not come off. Eventually he managed to pull one off but then it just got stuck to his fingertip. After another minute of fumbling, the sensors ended up getting stuck to each other. Temple struggled to get them apart.

Master Brock approached the box and removed the sensors from Temple's hands, having no trouble at all doing so. He then placed them behind Temple's ears with precision, where they seemed to liquefy into his skin.

Immediately Temple dropped to his knees from a loud ringing sound in his ears. His vision became blurry, and room started to spin. For a moment he thought he was going to puke or lose his balance and fall over. But after a moment everything came back into focus, and the ringing quieted down. Once he had his senses back he caught sight of his hands; they were made of plastic and machine-like, as though they belonged to a robot.

“What happened to my hands?!” he yelled, in a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

“Tell me what you see.”

Looking around Temple named off everything he saw. “My whole body is a robot and well and I see another robot. I think we are in a boxing ring.”

Temple, and by association his trudger, stood motionless, just gazing around wildly taking in his new reality. Then from nowhere the other Trudger in the training room clotheslined Temple’s to the floor. The onlooking trainees in the control room to howl with laughter as they watched both Temple in the control room and the trudgers on a monitor.

The opposing trudger bent down and helped Temple up. Then as soon as he was on his feet, smashed him back down.

“It figures, Temple is getting his ass beat,” one of the other cadets shouted out. They all laughed at Temple.

Again the opposing trudger helped him up. This time, however, Temple was prepared; he immediately dodged out of the way once he was back on his feet. The two trudgers circled each other, waiting for the right moment to attack. The trudger lunged at Temple, but Temple managed to get a hold of his neck and keep him down. The trudger wriggled free of Temple's grasp, and immediately attacked again, this time hurling Temple against the wall. Upon impact, one of the legs on Temple’s trudger broke off. Temple struggled to get upright on one remaining leg. On the ground nearby, his robotic leg smoothed out the dents it had incurred and bent itself back into proper shape. Once it had fixed itself, it reattached to Temple's trudger. Now fully repaired, Temple prepared himself for another round of the battle. His forehead back in the control room dripped sweat.

The trudgers stood off.

“Give up Temple! No one can beat a Master but a Master,” one of the other techs blurted out, but Temple shrugged it off.

With nothing left to lose Temple grabbed the other trudger by the throat and ran it head-on into a wall. He then jumped on it wrapped his arms and legs around the other trudger and squeezed as hard as he possibly could until boom, both trudgers exploded. Temple snapped too back in the room.

The cadets all turned to look at each other in amazement. They turned back to Temple and stared, no one making a sound.

“Everyone out. Go stand in the hall,” Master Brock ordered as he slid the door open. “Temple, stay where you are.”

Once the others were gone, Master Brock addressed Temple in a softer voice.

“Who taught you to do what you just did?” he asked.

Temple wasn't sure how to answer the question. He stared back at Master Brock, a puzzled look on his face. “No one sir”

”How did you make the trudger explode?” Master Brock pressed.

“I don't know sir, maybe it was faulty,” Temple replied, shrugging.

Master Brock flashed a doubtful look, but didn't say anything else on the matter.

“Return to the your barracks,” Master Brock ordered sternly. “You're going to have to report to Sergeant Marks first thing in the morning.”

As soon as Temple returned to the barracks the other cadets pounced on him, asking questions.“ What about you mommy? Did you blow her up too?”

One after another, each cadet hurled a nasty remark at Temple. This went on for the remainder of the evening. Temple couldn't take it anymore and pulled the covers over his head tightly tucking them under his head so they didn't come undone.

When it was lights out, Temple pulled the blanket from his head in the darkness. The cadet sleeping in the bunk to his right whispered one last insult. “Temple Roads killed his mother and now he can't be a C.A.C. Master. So now he blows up stuff for attention.” The cadet's words lingered in Temple's thoughts as he struggled to fall asleep that night.