Bridgeworlds: Deep Flux (9 page)

Myles shook his head, “You are holding the ship in midair as we
speak?”

The captain smiled and held up a finger to indicate he should
wait. Suddenly the walls became stone. “So no one can hear us.” He
produced two glasses from a drawer in the desk and poured a glass of
whiskey for them both. “Never parley without good whiskey.” He smiled
and took a swig.

Myles eyed the glass suspiciously.

 

“It ain't poisoned,” he said with a smile. “That’s why I took the
first gulp.”

 

Myles shrugged and drank some down. It was heavy bitter stuff
and made his eyes water.

 

The captain slapped his leg and let out a bellowing laugh. “Gits
'em every time!”

Myles shook his head, “So when are you going to get the good
whiskey? I'm sorry, but I can't finish that. Not unless you want me too ill
to talk.” He pushed it towards the captain who took what was left and
poured it for himself.

The captain smiled, “Suit yerself… leaves more for me. And now
that ye have whet yer whistle, we can talk.”

Myles leaned back and propped his boots up on the captain’s
desk. He held up a finger to indicate the captain should wait, took out
his pipe, and lit it. The captain raised an eyebrow at him before
producing a pipe from one of the drawers in his desk. As Myles took a
few puffs he offered a pinch to the Captain. He took a whiff.
“Trundleberry?! I thought that was only good for tea! Best tea a man
can get though. I do wonder what it would taste like as tabakee.” The
captain stuffed some in his pipe, leaned back propping his own feet up
on his desk, and lit the pipe with a match from his pocket.

“Good stuff isn’t it? Helps clear the mind,” Myles said with a
smile.

The captain took a few puffs, smiled and nodded. “Welcome
aboard the Neptune. Ye have earned yerself passage at the least. I was
quite impressed with the show ya put on out there.”

Myles tipped his hat to the captain, “About that… How did you
know, that this place is a dream? And how did you know about my
tattoo?”

The captain puffed out a few smoke rings before looking at
Myles, “Right down to it then? The rules of this game be that ye answer
as many questions as I answer, it’s only fair. It's not exactly a dream…
it’s a dream world. The people be real, some of them're dreamers. I gots
a dreamer on my crew. He showed me what one could do with just yer
imagination. There be two ways to come here. One is by falling asleep
and never waking up.” He rolled up his sleeve revealing a tattoo on his
own arm, “You and me, we came through the tunnels. Now how abouts
ye tell me what century it is where ye be from. I never seen a gun the
likes of that. And while yer at it ye can tell me why yer headed to
Tanniyn’erets.”

“I am from the 21
^st
century," Myles admitted between puffs,
"and I am seeking a dreamer. She is the sister of a friend.”

 

“My dreamer is a man.”

 

Myles shrugged, “It was worth a try. How did you get to
Soterion?”

“Well, that’s a long answer. The year was 1708 and my ship and
crew got caught in a storm. I was the Quartermaster of the Neptune
then, but that storm was a man killer. We were already low on crew and
we lost eighteen men. I took charge as I was the highest ranking man
left but the hurricane wouldn't let up. I don’t know how I survived, but
by the time all was said and done I had blacked out during the storm
from a hit to the head. I woke to find I was the only man on the whole
ship and I was in these giant brick tunnels. That was where I found some
of my crew. I navigated the waters of the giant tunnel and found us a
way to Soterion.”

“It must have been a pretty large tunnel to hold enough water
to sail this ship.”

“Aye! The waters were deep and the width must have been a
hundred yards. There were splits in the tunnel and there were puzzles
to be solved. I'm good with puzzles but we still traveled for weeks.”

“That world, plane, dimension, whatever it is… is called
Musterion and it seems to be a gateway to other worlds. I think the size
of the planet is unimaginable.”

The captain puffed on the pipe contemplating.

 

“Can I meet your dreamer,” Myles asked.

The captain shrugged, “I don’t see how it could hurt; but on the
morrow. Ye must know that if there’s a dreamer nearby, he or she can
magnify yer power here. It's how I can move this 'ere ship. But unlike
you and me, a dreamer can affect the people here. From what I have
discovered in my many years of travel is that there be three kinds of
souls in Soterion. There be natives, who be people from all I can tell…
they be real so ye can't affect them with yer power. There be dreamers
and those be the ones who fuel the substance of this world… I seen a
dreamer killed once n’ this world became weak for a time. I imagine
what happened is that it brought a new dreamer in before the world
was strengthened again. I have only met two dreamers and they seem
to be rare. The third type of soul is foreigners, those who have come
here physically; you, me, the Gauntmen, and the Gruntmen. We also
fuel the substance of this world but not by near as much. If all of the
dreamers and foreigners were to die at once, this world would cease to
exist.”

Myles nodded as he took another puff from his pipe. “Yeah, the
Gauntmen and Gruntmen are from a planet called Gnosis. How did an
entire city of Gauntmen get here? How come they don’t try to imprison
you and your crew?”

The captain chuckled. “Well, I made a deal with their Pontiff. He
and his people caught me in the waters of the Brugmos Sea. I persuaded
him that they needed an importer to survive here unless they revealed
themselves making them strategically vulnerable. I can go to ports that
they can't without drawing attention. The Gauntmen have been here
for hundreds of years; landed and built the city. They have been sending
a distress signal for rescue since the beginning but thankfully none have
come. They allow me to pirate these waters as long as I pay their
Reptet.”

Myles scratched his chin, “What is the Reptet?”

“The Gauntmen be very mathematical and scientific. They have
a calculation of what part of my profits they receive depending on how
close I am to their home when I take it. They have attached a gold
standard worth to all kinds of items so depending upon how close it was
taken, I have to pay on that.”

“You could just lie to them.” Myles smiled.

The captain shook his head. “They have systems for detecting
lies in the electronics they wear. It's not worth it. The equation is fair. It
is the amount of gold divided by how many leagues I was away from
their island when I took the ship minus ten gold pieces.”

“That means if you take a ship within a league of their home
you only get 10 gold pieces!”

 

“Right, I rarely take a ship that close.”

“I bet you don’t,” said Myles with a yawn. “I'm tired. So, are we
good? No more trying to kill Myles? I really do hate having attempts on
my life in my sleep.”

The captain chuckled, “You're better to me alive than dead. You
can sleep here, and I will sleep in me secret quarters.”

 

Myles raised a curious eyebrow.

 

“I know that look, don’t go looking for a bear's den lest you find
an angry bear waiting for you.”

 

Myles tipped his hat, “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

With a flourish and a bow the captain disappeared.
Myles made his way over to the bed after deciding to have a
glass of the captain’s nasty whiskey after all. He hoped that it would
help him sleep. He drifted to sleep wondering what was going on back
on earth.

4
On Earth

Books, scrolls, and old tomes lay strewn throughout the library
that was Jack Raven’s study. The entire contents of his study would
make any librarian faint. Books lined the shelves up every wall to the
top of the twenty- foot tall ceiling of the mansion. Jack was on the floor
as he fumbled through the pages of another book not seeming to even
notice the beauty of the room he had taken for granted for so many
years. His face was scraggly and he had been wearing the same clothes
for several days.

It had been 3 months since Omar’s disappearance and it
troubled him greatly. How could he abandon the project and his sister?
This behavior was too unlike Omar whom he had known for years and
considered family. Jack had visited Misaki in the hospital on occasion
since then hoping that his presence might give her some comfort if she
even noticed Omar's absence. During most visits, he just spoke to her
softly telling her things about his day, but on his last visit two weeks
ago, Misaki spoke to him in her sleep.

He had memorized the riddle, or at least what he thought was a
riddle.
The most beloved spoke aloud the fourteenth division while
singing the sixth section of a song. The Way was opened for him.

After scanning through book after book for days on end – not
really knowing what he was looking for – he finally settled on an old
black leather-bound one. The pages were worn and the cover cracked,
but it was still his favorite book out of them all.

Something was nagging at the back of Jack’s mind and he didn’t
even really realize it. He had taken on the quest for truth through his
library many times before but when that left him empty handed he
always turned to his Bible.

Jack was oblivious to his butler Bernard who had just entered
the Library for the second time this morning to check up on him.
Bernard was always troubled when Jack took on such obsessive long
nights. As he read through his Bible his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked
up, jumped up from the floor, and began to dance around his butler. “It
was right in front of me the whole time! I can't believe it. The Way… it
was written at the top of the archway of the portal. Misaki is telling us
the combination for the portal!”

Bernard, as always, was unamused. He shook his head and
asked dryly, “Is this about that scientist who took millions of dollars
from you and has likely moved to Tahiti?”

“He didn’t skip out Bernard! It was obvious even three months
ago that he went through the portal,” Jack said, bubbling with
excitement.

The butler shook his head, “Now sir, are we going to have a
repeat of the Atlantis project?”

 

Jack scowled, “Hey! That map was real!”

 

“Indeed sir, as was the guide to Eden.”

 

“C'mon, a child has to have dreams!”

“You were 21, Sir. Please tell me that you are not actually
thinking of going through that portal after him,” Bernard implored
absently as he eyed some dust on the closest bookshelf.

“I’m not thinking of it, I’m
going
to do it,” Jack emphasized.

Bernard shrugged as he took a cloth from his pocket and wiped
away the dust he had been eyeing, “I guess a bit of common sense was
too much to hope for then, Sir.”

Jack ignored him as he walked to the library exit, “Alright, get in
touch with my team. It’s been a few years so offer them whatever you
need to. Have them meet me at the towers. I need you to have them
retrieve Tyree Jackson and Sasha Romanov for me. Tell them I’m going
to go save Omar. I don’t care what you have to do to get them there as
long as it's legal.”

Bernard sighed as he reached for the phone in his pocket, “Yes
Sir, I will arrange your provisions for the trip through the portal. You are
going to shave and showers first, aren’t you, Sir?” He paused a moment
to look Jack up and down making a sour face. “It seems it has been a
few days since you have done either.”

Jack laughed. “Of course. Have my black outfit set out.” Jack left
the room with a gleam in his eye. He lived for adventure and crossing
into an entirely new world or dimension definitely sounded like just
what he needed.

Jack climbed to the fourth story of his sprawling mansion and
walked to the west wing where his bedroom was. After a good long
shower, shave, and brushing of the teeth he put on the black SWAT
outfit that he always wore on adventures. It came equipped with many
pockets and all of Omar’s greatest inventions stored within them.

He lifted the vest and put it on. The black cloth of the entire
outfit was more like armor than cloth. It was impenetrable. Great when
someone thought they were going to shove a knife in your side or a
bullet through your heart. Everything down to the black ball cap was
made of the durable material, but it was light as a feather. The armor
fabric had been a commission that Jack himself had given to Omar. Not
even the government had this, but oh how they would love to get their
hands on it.

Jack went through the pockets. The auto-audio translator was
there, the light-bender device that allowed one to either be invisible or
mimic an image, meal pills which were tablets that contained a day’s
nutrients and suppressed appetite for 24 hours, a re-breather allowing
you to breathe through it under water – without an oxygen tank, multivision goggles, a laser pistol that drew its recharge from solar energy, a
solar powered laptop with 25 terabytes of data on it, and a few other
things that Jack only glanced over briefly.

Jack suited up thinking back to the first time he had gone on
one of his adventures with Dr. Omar Metzger. His father had still been
alive then and ran the business empire that Jack now had control over.
Jack had not intended to take Omar. He already had a scientist, Dr.
Sasha Romanov, but his father had insisted. “It is a fool’s errand, but I
guess that is why it appeals to you. I want you to take Omar… he is a
good, longtime friend of the family.” Jack had relented, bringing him
along and not only had Omar saved their lives with a few of his
inventions; he had also rooted out a traitor in the group.

Jack had not been sure about Omar’s involvement with his
family. After suiting up, Jack went to his father’s old room in the
mansion which was preserved unchanged from the day he died. Jack
rarely went in there because of the pain he felt at the loss of his iconic
father. He wanted to find Omar’s link to his family. Jack had tried many
times over the years to find that link and he obsessed with searching
through the house for any clues but found nothing. After an hour of
going through his father’s things Jack gave up. As he walked from his
father’s room he found Bernard waiting for him at the door. Bernard
was actually blocking the exit so Jack stopped and gave him a
questioning look.