498Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtcLDxdUHF
The Sentinel guided me down the softly lit hallways of the living quarters I had been assigned too. He stared straight forward, and though his armored legs mimicked all the motions involved in normal bipedal movement, his head and body did not bob or sway in the slightest, which gave the impression that his torso was simply floating on the air inside the palace.
It was unnerving.
Arm still wrapped firmly about my shoulders, the sentinel inclined his head toward mine.
“Mr. Everett, what I am going to tell you will not be easy to understand, given the confines that come with dwelling in such an ignorant and limited universe as the one I plucked you out of.”
I blinked at him. “You sent me here directly?” I asked.
“Yes and no. It was my power that sent you to this place, but I did not seek out nor recruit you personally.”
I looked down, only responding with a simple ‘hmm.’
“Mr. Everett, the circumstances surrounding how you got here are unimportant, what matters is that you are here now, and you have a part to play, as does everyone else here.”
The Sentinel guided both of us to the right, and down an increasingly darker hallway. Soft wisps of smoke billowed in the air. I could not tell whether they came from my companion or something deeper in the hallway.
“And what exactly is my part here?” I asked the question out of genuine curiosity, things were so different here, I couldn’t even dream of guessing the answer to my inquiry.
I could scarcely see in the ever increasing darkness, so the sentinel took to guiding my steps more and more.
“I have already explained the what, which is your creativity, so I will explain the why.”
The sentinel stopped, it was now pitch black, the only thing I could make out were the two glowing orbs which represented the sentinels eyes.
“You and all the others are here to aid me in finding and subsequently destroying the other members of my race.”
I was shocked. That did not sound like a wise and noble goal at all.
The sentinel’s glowing orbs now turned toward me in the dark.
“This course of action does not seem suitable to you does it Mr.Everett?”
The sentinel’s question seemed to be a setup for me to answer in the affirmative, so he could launch into an explanation of his reasoning. However, I was far too much of a coward to truly disagree with him.
“I...I’m sure you have your reasons.” I managed to stutter out after a moments hesitation.
The Sentinel turned away from me and began to shuffle over to the other side of the presumably large room we were in, if the echoes my own footsteps had made were any indication.
“That I do Mr. Everett. I hope you will find them pleasing to your sense of self.”
The sound of a squeaky lever echoed from the Sentinel’s position on the other side of the room. In another second, the entire room was filled with a harsh white light, which came to focus on a massive jade colored table and chairs in the middle of the room. A holographic projection of a globe dotted with numerous points of lights sprang to life soon afterwards.
I took a step backwards, Eyes wide with awe.
“Whoa. What is this place?”
The sentinel began to shuffle toward the middle of the room, where he eventually came to a rest facing me on the other side of the circular jade table, the holograph separating us.
“This, Mr. Everett, is the high council of my race, or rather, it was.”
“It’s extremely impressive.” I replied, as I stared absentmindedly at the hologram before me.
The sentinel let out a short ‘ha,’ which was full of amusement, which struck me as quite odd, considering he had never shown any semblance of emotion prior.
“You should have seen this place when the entire high council was assembled, it was truly magnificent.” The sentinel said, a twinge of pride evident in his tone of voice.
“So...how did it all fall apart?” I asked.
The Sentinel sighed heavily, hesitating before answering.
“The form I’ve taken...I wasn’t always like this.” He said, stretching out both his arms toward me.
I was taken aback. I had just assumed that the sentinel has always existed in his current form. He was a demi-god of sorts, with power that I was certain I had only seen a fraction of.
“So you were like me once?” I asked.
The sentinel crossed his arms, creating a wisp of smoke in front of him.
“In a way, yes. I once wielded little more power than you. However, when the opportunity arose to improve myself, I was the first to volunteer. The first of my kind to travel between existence.”
The Sentinel began to walk along the edge of the jade table.
“Once the others bore witnessed what I had become, the grand councilors declared that I was the next step, the final step, of evolution.”
I stayed rooted in place, hanging on his every word.
“There was only one problem, the transformation process caused me to lose my memory, and much of my former personality with it.”
The Sentinel had rounded the table and was now walking toward me.
“So they wanted to find a way to become like you without losing their memories?” I asked.
“Yes, and they succeeded. The Grand Magistrate of the council was the next to ascend, and he was able to ascend with minimal impact on his memories and his personality. Soon thereafter, everyone was ascended, the few who had elected to retain their current forms perished soon enough.”
“Everything sounds perfect.” I said, now looking up at the two glowing eyes and featureless face of the Sentinel, who towered over me. “How could things have even gone wrong?”
The Sentinel’s eyes seem to dull every so slightly at the question.
“Since my ascension let me begin essentially tabula rasa, the madness this newfound power did not touch me.”
“Madness?”
“Yes, I my mind and personality adapted to suit my new form, while the others retained a set of thoughts and emotions that looked backwards, suited to their old bodies.”
“So their newfound power made them all go crazy?” I inquired.
“Correct, their new power coupled with their old desires served to magnify debauchery common to sentient beings, which soon ended in madness and chaos on a catastrophic scale.”
I thought about earth, and wondered if humans would react any differently if they were put in the same situation. Probably not.
“What ended up happening to them all?”
“Some still exist, they are the creatures of the outer dark. The others were extinguished.”
“By you?” I asked.
“Yes, I reluctantly concluded that they were beyond redemption, and I dispatched them in order to maintain order in the multiverse.” The Sentinel replied, hints of regret evident in his voice.
I pitied him. “I’m sorry, that must have been difficult.”
“It had to be done.”
I looked up, meeting his unsettling gaze. “So the ones who are still left, I’m here to help stop them?”
The Sentinel nodded in affirmation.
“And what happens if we fail?”
The Sentinel leaned in closer, till we were face to face. “Then this universe and every other will collapse into total chaotic disorder, time will stand still.”
“That means...life everywhere in all forms will just kind of, freeze.” I reply, eyes wide.
“That cannot be allowed to happen don’t you agree Mr. Everett?”
At his question, I felt a sense of determination within me, I wanted to make sure life continued, I wanted to stop these evil beings, I wanted to set things right. “So then how can I contribute to making sure the rest of your kind are stopped?”
“It is through your writing that you stop them.” The Sentinel motioned me toward the projection in the middle of the table. “This sphere represents all of existence. Every point of light you see is a different universe.”
As I stood staring at the globe, a few new points of light winked into existence, filling up a small part of the blank space in the sphere. “Where are the new ones coming from?” I asked.
“Those are new universes, springing into existence from those who create. Every time one of your colleagues finishes a work of art, a new universe is born. I only have influence within the confines of these universes. The last of my kind resides in the vast empty nothingness between universes, where I cannot reach them.”
“So by creating new universes, we fill up the gaps, thereby giving them last space to hide.” I exclaim, recognition spreading across my face.
“Precisely, Mr. Everett. Now do you understand your purpose here?” The Sentinel asked, not looking down at me.
I nod in approval. “Yes.”
“Good. Now go get some rest.”
The Sentinels command came off as more of a request than an order.
“Of course.” I say, spinning on one heel and turning to go.
Just as I had left the room, I could hear the Sentinel yelling back at my retreating form.
“Remember Mr.Everett, I could not do this without you!”
A smile spread across my face, I was important.
498Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfguuBXIYu
After heading back down the dark hallway, I opened the door to my room, ready to get some much needed rest. Upon entering, I was slightly startled when I found Sasha sitting on my new reclining chair, opposite my bed.
“Sneaking out already are we?” She said with a grin on her face. “It’s a little late to be out dontcha think?”
“Isn’t it a little weird to be creeping around in other peoples rooms at this hour?” I retorted.
Sasha grin got even bigger. “Quite possibly, in my defense I was bored, I couldn’t sleep, and I want to know why you were gone. She shifted in her seat, uncrossing her legs. “We’re like two detectives right, and you’re my partner, so why can’t I wonder?”
I grunted in frustration. “We are nothing like buddy cops. You’re like the weird office stalker everyone tells you to avoid on your first day.”
Sasha pouted, but didn’t retort. Sasha stared at her feet in the ensuing silence. “So, you gonna tell me about your night out or what?”
I groaned. “Fine. I was out with our boss. He showed me this special council room and told me all about why we were here, and how his people went insane-”
“-and are a huge threat to the multiverse, yes yes.”
I was a bit confused. “Did he tell you this too?”
Sasha let out a snort. “Ha, you think you’re the only one who gets to know about the big conspiracy? Sorry to deflate your ego but he gives everybody the pep talk.”
Oh. I probably should have guessed as much. A leader would naturally want to motivate his subjects. And what’s a better motive than grand heroics?
“To be honest Alan, I’ve forgotten about all that, hadn’t even thought about it for weeks till you just now..”
I was certain that amazement had spread across my face. “But how do you just forget about something like that!”
Sasha didn’t seemed by my incredulity, and in an even tone continued. “Out of sight, out of mind I guess. The Boss has never so much as spoken to any of us about this ongoing war of his, so none of us have anything to talk or think about.”
I found myself failing to grasp the logic of such a move. Why would you send soldiers to war without even telling them if they were winning or not?
Sasha evidently sensed my confusion as she looked up at me. “It’s kind of confusing to get at first, I felt just like you did when I first got here, but the thing is Alan, he’s not human, he’s something entirely different from you or me.”
I was still perplexed. “So you just chalk it up to the boss being an alien?”
She looked amused as she replied, “Yes, but I explained it much better than you just did.”
“Right…”
Sasha stood up and gave my shoulder a light pat. “Well, I’m sure you’ve got a lot to think about Alan.”
“Yea.” I spun around and called to her just as she crossed my doorway. “Sasha?”
“Hmm.” She replied.
“Exactly how long have you been here?” I asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t really know, time’s kind of relative here. Umm...maybe a few years?”
“Years?” I exclaimed, surprised.
“Yes, yea it’s definitely been years, though it really doesn’t matter, everybody stays the same here.”
“No one ages, at all?” That was, kind of cool actually.
“No but we still have to sleep, so I’ll see you tomorrow Alan.” Sasha replied as she turned and sauntered down the hallway.
“Night…”
498Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJC9wUycaK
Later on as I laid on my new bed, I drifted off to thoughts not of the grand heroics the sentinel described, but how my short on espionage and intrigue would end, maybe I ought to shake up the formula a bit, create a universe that no one can predict.
