- AI -

The buzzing of everyday life had increased exponentially when noon came, and Tom and Madzistrale reached the outskirts of the glass city. Around them laid a whole casual sector of the city, obviously oriented toward accommodating the simpler lifestyles and commercial needs of nearby farms. But a few hundred yards further, stretched before them the peculiar park-like opening the siblings had seen from the hill upon their arrival.

A soft and calm jazz music drew Madzistrale toward a cozy-looking cafe.

“Ooh, Tom! Can we eat here before continuing?”

“Yeah, sure. Gab spent a great deal of time reminding us we should have money...”

They sat outside at the terrace, and while they waited for the waitress to welcome them, a nearby screen was playing some sport that looked like hockey, only with boots instead of skates, and a softball-sized ball instead of a puck. The schedule then changed to a news report, and the newscaster looked up at the camera and smiled.

“Welcome to the mid-day news. The International Federation of Gnasci meeting is still underway after their second week, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. After discussions of issues such as the rise of poverty, lower incomes, illegal trading, and economical fluctuences, the latest news is that they’re now discussing climate change and new protocols...”

The cafe became silent as the news report suddenly got cut and replaced by a mountainous view. As the camera moved, the scenery showed a breathtaking view of a colossal mine lodged between snow-topped peaks. Then, as it descended into the mine, it stopped in front of a massive smooth granite wall. The crowd watching the video gasped in shock as the wall suddenly slid sideways back into the surrounding stones to reveal a gaping hole. Twenty-two soldiers then moved in front of the still camera, and stood at the ready, with two at the foremost of the line. A tall built man, with a bushy mustache, obviously the leader by his age and intimidating stature, stepped forward, followed by an equally built and mature woman, her face stern and almost manly.

The older man spoke, his booming voice clear and steady despite his thick accent:

“Good morning. We, the Vymana Squadron, address all of Terra’s population with this message that will undoubtedly bring about the deaths of some of our members. My name is Feldsmarschall Johann Teiwas.”

In suit, all the soldiers spoke out their names and ranks. When they were done, the Feldsmarschall resumed:

“We were recruited by the Twelve Imperial Gnasci to carry out a secret operation. Project Vymana, named after the Shindu legend of an outer realm craft hiding under their mountains. The operation was simple: to hide all the Twelve Imperial Gnasci’s main military forces under the Schwyzryvan mountains, to later on release them unto the public when it would be least expected. That was of course not the official reason; the official motive was demilitarize the Gnascies in faces of oncoming peace, and to store the forces until such times as they could be dismantled properly. But it doesn’t take an idiot to understand the real meaning behind Project Vymana: to hide a full-fledged military forces and unleash its power when Terra would become weak enough.

» The location of this underground base is located at coordinates 46.3254°N and 7.5463°E within the bowels of the Magnetite Mine; although I cannot guarantee that upon release of this video, the access will remain available. It is your duty to send reporters as soon as possible and investigate before a mysterious shutdown is executed and that the access is blocked. Within shortly, I will show you the extent of the forces that lies hidden in this base. But I want to make one thing clear before anything else.

»…unlike what you will be led to believe, it is not the Twelve Imperial Gnasci that are to be blamed for this abhorrent project, but is the sole fabrication and dirty manipulation of a...”

The image flickered, and then the screen went blank for a few seconds. The screen flickered back to a weather radar map of Norr Americae, a weatherman reporter pointing to a mass of cloud, explaining its trajectory.

The cafe exploded with nervous and excited chatter; puzzled, Tom and Madzistrale looked at each other, wondering what just happened.

“Reminds me of how that British radio show was hacked in 1977,” Madzistrale commented, worried.

“Unluckily for the whistleblowers, someone got to cut the video before the culprit was revealed,” Tom said, looking gloomy.

Madzistrale looked around her, at the people embarking in heated discussion, and rose for her chair.

“I think we should just move away, in case another protest erupts. One for the day was enough.”

“Agreed,” Tom followed her out.

As they walked toward the park opening, Madzistrale mused.

“What do you make of it?”

“Dunno,” Tom honestly replied. “I don’t even know what we’re supposed to do exactly. It feels like Gabzryel’s stored theories bunched up in one.”

Madzistrale let out a small shocked cry as suddenly, one step ahead got them in the middle of a lowly-lit library alley, high shelves filled with old-looking books surrounding them.

“I am glad you finally found your way,” a soft woman’s voice spoke from the next alley.

As they approached her, the woman picked up a book lying open on the floor, and replaced it in the shelf. She wore a colouful and complex wrap dress of a warm earthy palette that contrasted with her black beaded braids and her tanned skin. Ornate jewelleries adorned her ears, nose, lips, neck, arms, fingers and ankles.

“Your friend didn’t seem to like what he read; he threw the precious book away, the poor thing,” she playfully added. She turned to the siblings and smiled. “I have to be careful in how I interact with you; I can’t have you startled, the shock might break the link.”

“Umm, who are you?” Tom asked, completely confused, holding firmly Madzistrale by his side in protection.

“I kinda helped your friend find his missing link; it’s harder than everyone thinks to coordinate such things. You actually got in my library by mistake; you must have found one of those little doors. But since I got you here, I only wished to welcome you, and to say this: when we’ll meet again, you will understand a bit more what’s happening, so I’ll be able to explain it better to all of you. Until then, I wish you good luck, and most of all, to keep yourself true. Times ahead will prove challenging; and only you can find the right path.

» I won’t keep you. Goodbye, and until next time. The door is that way!” she pointed to the exit past a few rows of books.

The siblings dutifully followed, and opened the exit door. The clamour of the glass city’s plaza greeted them once again, and they blinked at the sun’s rays striking them painfully after the dark library.

********* BF *********

Tom, Madzistrale and Gabzryel stared in utter incomprehension as the scenes they experienced replayed on the computer’s monitor.

“What the heck was that?” Madzistrale wondered.

Gabzryel only answered with a puzzled frown.

“Well, at least it wasn’t another boring walk through a forest,” Tom cheered them. “We get it: we love forests.”

“Okay, I’m going to sleep,” Madzistrale decided, turning on her heels.

“Oh come on. After that?” Tom complained.

“Thinking about it while falling asleep and yawning won’t get us anywhere,” she reasoned, climbing up the staircase to the house’s ground level.

Gabzryel barely registered Ton following her while arguing. He was looking thoughtfully at the serene face of the stranger. Looking quizzingly at Loki, he found the dog merely looking at the screen for a short term, then resuming washing himself. A dog had instincts beyond those of humans, yet this stranger seemed to stir nothing in Loki.

“Who are you?” Gabzryel asked the screen. “And why are you in my library?”

He closed the window, and opened another folder, clicking on the most recent report. Reading the endless string of data and numbers, he stopped at one particular line:

2,345,218,609,546 å - ø x ý

It took him several seconds before Gabzryel realized that his jaw was dropped.

His heart racing with this discovery, he closed the file. He turned excitedly to Loki, and bending down, stroke him, the Afghan hound willingly turning over for a better massage.

“Shush. You’re not to say a word of it to the kids,” Gabzryel whispered. “They need to remain ignorant if we want to see this through. But if this number is right... I think I can safely start writing my scientific paper essay on Project Orb Weaver.”

Loki barked in return, and Gabzryel giggled in excitement. Finally some answers to his lifelong questions. Perhaps they would also answer those relating to his sister... even if part of him wished that mystery to remain unexplained.

“Until next time,” he wished to the empty air.