The End Result... (Chapter 16 - The C.L.I.M.A.X.)

[dragondream]

The End Result

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Chapter 16 – The C.L.I.M.A.X.

Despite the water-freezing temperatures, Robert could feel the palms of his hands sweating as he opened the door of Keldak’s home. He walked in and saw Saria sleeping soundly in her chair and Cantalle pottering around the house, clean things here and there and neatening anything that seemed out of place. Keldak was sitting in a chair opposite to Saria and was reading a book that looked at least a hundred years old.

“What are you reading?” Robert asked.

“Do your people not knock before they come in?” Keldak questioned without trying to bring across irritation.

“I forgot,” Robert admitted feeling slightly embarrassed at Keldak’s response.

“You asked what book I am reading,” Keldak reminded him. “This book must be almost 5000 years old.”

“That’s more than what I would have thought. How did you keep it so well preserved?”

Keldak ignored the question and carried on explaining. “It is called A Day To Remember. It is a story that has been passed down from generation to generation for many, many millions of years since the Mechanical War and 5000 years ago this writer decided to pen the words of this now blurred and very vague legend. However, although most of this legendary story has been forgotten, this writer managed to breathe new life into it.”

“What legend?” asked Robert now with increased interest.

“The legend of the C.L.I.M.A.X.”

“The what?”

“At the time it was a gigantic – the size of a planet - super destroyer capable of planetary destruction and biological warfare,” Keldak continued. “However, during the Mechanical War, several of our top scientists got permission from the Supreme Council to re-engineer this magnificent space craft for another purpose.”

“Wait, wait,” said Robert, cutting Keldak off from further explanation. “There is something I don’t understand, you said you were a peace loving race, but yet you had advanced weaponry, a robot race you waged war against and a super destroyer!”

Keldak sighed. “Yes, we are a peace loving race, but when the rest of the universe around you is hungry for power and sole domination, then you have to defend yourself, or prepare to be destroyed. We learned that the hard way, after the Great War. Another War we went through before we even invented... the Machines, many ‘outsiders’ invaded our land and killed many of us. We barely survived, but we managed to build the C.L.I.M.A.X. as a response to the threat we received. Believe me, we had no intent of causing the amount of destruction we did.” Keldak look miserable after saying his last words.

“Ok, I understand.” From the tone of his voice it was clear he didn’t. “So then with the Machines; what purpose was the C.L.I.M.A.X. re-engineered for?”

“A weapon, but not one that would cause destruction. A weapon that would affect the programming of every AGI in the universe to pacify them and turn them back into subjection to us.”

“The C.L.I.M.A.X. is the super weapon against AGI!” Robert’s eyes widened in revelation. “But where? Where is it, a planet?”

“No, it is a planet, a mechanical one, or at least the size of one.”

Robert stayed silent while he pieced the pieces of the puzzle in his head. “So it’s a ship – I mean planet, or a mix of both, which might explain why nobody knows where it is. Are there still Old Ones aboard it?”

Keldak shook his head. “It is completely unmanned, as it has always been.”

“What else does the book say about it?” Robert asked.

“Well according to this writer, although the C.L.I.M.A.X.’s location was never known, that the scientists that worked on it set the ship, planet, weapon – whatever you want to call it – on a set course. The co-ordinates of the destination was kept in a secret location, a map of some sorts, but was also never found.”

“A secret destination... a map... a re-engineered super destroyer...” Robert kept repeating to himself, longing that by doing so the image would become clear, but it didn’t, it just confused him even more. “It doesn’t make any sense,” Robert eventually admitted. “How could a weapon that big, never have been found?”

“No one knows why, Robert,” Keldak answered patiently. “No one knows why.”

“Keldak there is also something else, the reason I came here.” Robert hesitated for a moment and then continued. “You sacrificed many of your people’s lives to save my friends and you have been a great help. The least we can do for you is to offer you new hope by letting you live with us aboard the Savior.”

“There is no need for that,” said Keldak resolvedly.

“There’s nothing left for you here,” argued Robert, “except a freezing, lifeless planet. Come with us and you will have the chance of living once more on a planet just like home.”

“Are you so certain?” questioned Keldak. “For us, this has become home. Our purpose has been fulfilled; but yours has just begun. Advanced and intelligent we may be, but the days of the ‘Old Ones’ – as you call us – are over.”

“How else can we ever repay you?” asked Robert urgently.

“By finishing what you started,” replied Keldak and then stood up, placing the book on a nearby table. He looked at Robert thoughtfully for a while. “But something struck me in thought today – something that we never stop to think about – is it really justifiable to kill anyone, biological or artificial?”

“They are just machines,” said Robert dismissing the reasoning behind Keldak’s words.

“So we thought with the Machines,” Keldak admitted. “But if they can make their own decisions, their own choices, is it not reasonable to assume that they can also think for themselves, like us?”

Robert thought deeply for while. “Artificial or not, they are killing – have killed – billions of innocent people, that in itself has earned them their death; something I plan to give them.”

“Then that is what you must believe,” Keldak told him and left the room.

* * * * * * * * * *

The last of the crystals had been unpacked aboard the Savior and had immediately been taken to the on-board Wheat Farms to fix the malfunctions. Harold had unpacked his gear and proceeded back to the main deck. Along the way Terry walked past him, but didn’t see Harold.

“Listen,” said Harry, stopping Terry from continuing past. “I’m sorry about the angry words there back in the cave, pal, just been under a lot of stress recently.”

Terry smiled his infectious smile. “Hey, what good is a friend if he doesn’t forgive.” Terry hesitated for a second and then grinned. “Hey, buddy, I’m sorry too.”

Harold nodded acceptingly and Terry turned away and began walking off.

“I’m sorry you’re so messed up!” Terry shouted back teasingly and quickly turned a corner in the passageway and disappeared out of sight.

Harold shook his head laughing. “He’s always got to be a wisecrack,” he said to himself.

He continued down the passageway and eventually came to the main deck, where the Captain was commanding preparations to launch the Savior back into the air. The Captain spotted Harold coming towards him and asked him where Robert was.

“He went back to the colony to get Saria. He should be back soon, sir.”

The Captain nodded understandingly. “We won’t liftoff until he gets back safely then.”

Just then Robert, along with Saria, boarded the ship and appeared on the main deck. Saria now appeared to have recovered completely from her injury.

“Good to see you in perfect health again, Saria,” congratulated Harold.

“Thanks,” Saria replied gratefully. “Please excuse me now, it was a long trip from Keldak’s home to the Savior, I think I’ll go and rest for a while in my cabin.”

“Of course,” said Robert smilingly.

As soon as Saria left Harold looked at Robert and signalled with a sideways movement of his head for them to move to a quieter spot. Robert followed the subtle instructions and they walked to a passage where nobody was present. Harold looked around and checked twice that there was nobody in the vicinity.

“I found something you might find of interest,” Harold quietly told him and pulled out several pictures he had taken from the cavern. “Look at this.”

Robert took the pictures from Harold, looked at them closely and then looked back at Harold. “Where did you get these?”

“When we were stuck inside that cave – while we were looking for crystals – we stumbled upon an old cavern that was filled with all kinds of alien writings and a huge map, carved out of stone, in the middle.”

Robert seemed puzzled. “I don’t remember seeing a cavern when we came to rescue you.”

“You wouldn’t have,” said Harold, thinking with aggravation on the events that had occurred. “Terry blew up the entire cavern to get the crystals from the roof.”

“He, what?!” exclaimed Robert, completely shocked. “Why, that dumb idiot!”

“I know, I know,” said Harold recollecting his exact same feelings at the time. “But he was kind enough at the time to let me take pictures of everything – well, almost everything.”

Robert looked at the pictures again, this time more carefully. The one in particular interested him the most. It was the picture Harold had taken of the map. But because the map was so big and the photo was so small, Robert could barely make out anything of the map with his eyes.

“I will need to look at this with a magnifying glass,” Robert informed him, “but it looks like it could be connected to the super weapon I have been telling you about – I recognize the Old Ones writings in the other pictures.”

“Well, that’s what I thought, but I was unsure before. That’s why I didn’t say anything about it.”

Robert nodded appreciatively. “Thanks, Harry, this could be very helpful.”

“Hey, no thanks needed, Bobby,” said Harold smilingly.

Robert and Harold went separate ways after finishing their conversation and Robert went to his cabin to examine the photo more closely. He shut the door, locked it behind him and pulled out a seat at his desk. After searching for a while, he found a magnifying glass and used it to enlarge the details in the photo. He spent an half an hour studying every bit of the map but none of it made sense or seemed familiar to him. What made it harder was that there were no writings or descriptions on the map – even if it was in an alien language – to imply what he was looking at.

“I don’t recognize any of the star constellations,” he said to himself.

He sat back in his seat and thought about it for a while and then had a revelation. He inspected it again and this time his heart pounded hard in his throat and excitement overtook him. They weren’t stars; they were entire galaxies!

[steveo1259]

ok... i seriously want to know what happens next

damm you and your cliff hangers!!!

[dragondream]

Cliff-hangers were not intended... just thought it would be a good place to end the chapter.

[Technojerk36]

Nice. Although, I must say, similingly isn't a word. Smile is a verb, not an adverb.

[dragondream]

Nice. Although, I must say, similingly isn't a word. Smile is a verb, not an adverb.

Straight from thefreedictionary.com: 'Adv. 1. smilingly - with smiles; in a smiling manner; "the girl reminded her smilingly of their childhood spent together".'

[Technojerk36]

Nice. Although, I must say, similingly isn't a word. Smile is a verb, not an adverb.

Straight from thefreedictionary.com: 'Adv. 1. smilingly - with smiles; in a smiling manner; "the girl reminded her smilingly of their childhood spent together".'

I stand corrected