Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1 (15 page)

“Well! I see that you have pulled yourself
together and are capable of exercising discernment. As you have
guessed, my name is Vikern. At least, that is its closest
equivalent. I suppose you also understand that I communicate with
you using your language, because ours is beyond your reach. Indeed,
I had to translate the contents of the tablets so you would
understand them. You are right: that memory was a joint
construction, but I was careful to modify its structure and the
objective information I wanted to communicate to you as little as
possible. I could have simply spoken to you directly without
imposing this difficult journey on you, but I needed you to
experience these events. Certain elements of my memories may have
stood out to you, whereas to me, they slip by unnoticed. Do you
understand?”

“Is that why you need me?”

“Precisely. Some things still escape me and
yet I have had plenty of time to examine my memories in the
minutest detail.”

“So you need an objective point of view to
examine these details? What are you looking for, Vikern?”

“It is too soon to tell you. It might affect
your judgment. They say that one tends to find just what one is
looking for. In other words, our judgment is affected by the very
goal we set ourselves. We therefore miss details that would have
opened up new perspectives to us. Perhaps you will have more
success flying blind. Trust your intuition. Carefully observe and
analyze the different situations you come across over the next few
days. Otherwise, I will guide you. Lastly, don’t forget Charlie;
you are working in a fragile and unstable world which is constantly
being rewritten, as you explained so well, earlier. Consequently, I
cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to remain as
discreet as possible. Or else I will be forced to intervene in a
very unpleasant way, you can be sure. I do not want you to disrupt
entire episodes of my memory.”

“Am I to understand that I must go through
another door?”

“On the landing you’ll find a second door
which is partially open. You know the way now. Try to keep your
head this time!”

“Before I go, if you’ll allow me, I would
like to discuss some things with you that troubled me during the
last journey.”

“Not now! We’ll talk about them when the time
is right. All you need to know, you know already. Now, go!”

Charlie, looking slightly offended, complied,
but this time he did not look back.

20 THE PASSENGER

The sound of slow, regular footsteps with a
metallic ring to them resonated on the floor. Charlie was in a very
small room, entirely made of metal. The atmosphere was familiar to
him, but he was incapable of explaining why. He was sitting on the
floor; his eyes scanned the room, taking in every detail. There was
nothing to break the monotony in what he saw; not a window, nor any
furniture nor even an object that Charlie recognized. Only the
large, gray, slightly arched door contrasted with the angular,
austere architecture of the place.

The sound of the steps settled into a regular
coming and going, repeated many times over. Time seemed to stand
still and Charlie’s thoughts began to wander. He was thinking about
Clementine now, trying to visualize her face without altering the
slightest detail, but it was no easy exercise. At first, he could
see her clearly, but as time went by, the image became blurred. The
daydream only afforded him short-lived comfort, and he became
increasingly bored and lethargic. Just as he was beginning to nod
off, he noticed a change, something out of place, in the sound of
the steps that had been rhythmically marking the course of time for
hours, like a metronome or the pendulum of a grandfather clock. The
noise they made now revealed the presence of a second person. They
both stopped behind the door and after a brief silence the heavy
metal handle moved downwards without the slightest sound.

Charlie, once again the creature with gray
skin and a completely naked body, looked around frantically for
somewhere to hide, but the search was in vain. There was no
furniture or dark corner to offer him any shelter. It was only once
he understood that the two individuals were not paying the
slightest attention to him that he found a semblance of relief.
They were talking together, totally ignoring his presence.

“Senec will be here soon. He’s not a prisoner
like the others. Try to make this cell a little more comfortable
for him. He has been authorized to keep his graphic tablet with
him. In light of the current turn of events, we cannot do without
his skills. Even while in isolation, he must continue working on
the Exodus project. Please see that he lacks nothing. I’m counting
on you. Oh, I almost forgot! Don’t let yourself be taken in.
Whatever he tells you, never deviate from your orders.”

“Yes, sir. You can count on me.”

They both left as they had come, leaving the
door slightly open.

Charlie now knew that the situation was the
same as in the last memory. They obviously could not see him, but
he remembered that he had to remain as discreet as possible, all
the same, if he did not want to experience Victor’s wrath and risk
compromising the mission he had just accepted. So he decided to
wait a few minutes, until the sound of their footsteps had faded
sufficiently before leaving the room. As the door was ajar, he did
his best not to open it any further. He slipped between the frame
and the edge of the door as quietly as possible and found himself
in a long, harshly-lit corridor.

The light was so intense that Charlie had
trouble keeping his eyes open. Despite his efforts to distinguish
its edges, the corridor seemed unreal, almost immaterial. The
experience was extremely unnerving. It reminded him of the dark
tunnel where he had spent hours wondering if he would ever find a
way out; except that had happened while he was trapped in his own
dreams. At the time, Victor had not yet allowed him to enter his
mind. Now, everything was different. He was supposed to be
exploring one of Victor’s memories, and yet he had been alone for
several hours, now. There was no sign of Vikern. How could he be
the guest in one of Victor’s memories, without Victor being present
in some form or other? He must have participated in the event in
order to remember it. Could Charlie be stuck in his own dreams
again? Something was not right, but his questions remained
unanswerable for the time being. He chose to move onward anyway,
tiptoeing along in the blinding light. His right arm out stretched,
he slid his hand along the unseen wall, which he used as a guide
rope for his slow progress through this place where his eyes were
of no use to him whatsoever.

After walking for several minutes, he noticed
a black smudge in the distance, which was probably a way out of the
corridor. It appeared to be very far off, but as soon as he had
noticed it, it seemed to approach at a dizzying speed. Every stride
propelled him toward that point, as if he were flying a few
centimeters above the ground again. He felt as though he were being
sucked into the opening. Very soon the speed was such that he
closed his eyes and guarded his face with his hands, afraid of
colliding with something without having time to change course. When
he opened his eyes again, he was in a huge room. In front of him, a
gigantic vessel occupied all the space. Charlie could not believe
his eyes. At first glance, the craft had to be over 800 meters long
and around 100 meters high, maybe more.

A crowd of people were working on it, in
apparent calm. One of them was driving a small vehicle, towing
thick glass cages. Inside one was a strange animal that looked like
a monkey with no fur to speak of. Hunched over, it looked at
Charlie with large, tear-filled eyes. Although the others seemed to
ignore his presence, this animal, on the other hand, showed a
marked interest in Charlie and did not take its eyes off him until
the cage was placed on one of the gangways that led to the interior
of the vessel.

The sight of the captive animal gave Charlie
an acute sense of unease. For a split second, he thought he
recognized himself in the sad eyes of this creature with its
vaguely human appearance. He had been able to sense all the emotion
contained in that one look; tinged with despair and helplessness.
Much more than a look, it was actually a cry for help that had been
addressed to him; a cry which Charlie had heard, but which he would
probably never be able to answer. He had just realized the full
extent of the tragedy that had unfolded here, tens or even hundreds
of millennia ago. How many? He didn’t even know. The scale of time
was much too great for him to have a precise idea. Vikern had
simply spoken of a catastrophe that would transform the Earth into
a gigantic furnace, destroying all hope of survival apart from the
hibernation bases or the outer space colonization project.

Of course, Charlie had been taught, like
everyone else, that the dinosaurs had been extinct for millions of
years. Over the course of its history, the Earth had known numerous
periods of widespread extinction but never, to his knowledge, did
any book mention the existence of a society like this before the
appearance of Man. Could it be possible that such a highly evolved
society could have disappeared one day, without leaving the
slightest trace of its existence on Earth? How could he believe
such a thing without losing control? He had to, though. I don’t
have any choice, he thought. In the end, maybe that’s what makes
him like me, that little naked monkey. He doesn’t have any choice,
either. His cry for help is doomed to failure. We have to accept
what happens to us and do all we can to stay alive.

Charlie could feel a sense of rebellion and
strength rising up within him. I can do this, he thought. Victor
needs me. I will not let him take over my will and my free choice.
As long as I’m alive, he will have to reckon with me. I will find a
way of negotiating my exit with him in the end.

Lost in thought, as if this strange meeting
had suspended time, Charlie had not noticed that a small group was
heading straight for him. It was already too late for him to avoid
a collision, but yet again, no physical contact took place. The
three giants went straight through his body, or almost. One of them
seemed a little ruffled, and quickly brushed down his clothes as if
he were trying to straighten them out. This immediately reminded
Charlie that his primary goal was to find clues for Victor’s sake.
N.H.I.’s were already imposing enough because of their size and
muscle structure, but these ones were even more impressive. Two of
them were obviously guards, as could be seen by their build and
their attitude. They both wore very shiny black, metallic uniforms.
The third individual was of much more ordinary size. He was wearing
civilian clothes and was walking under the close surveillance of
the two hulks accompanying him. He was the one who seemed to have
felt something during the collision. Charlie supposed it was
probably Senec, and decided to follow him.

The little group stopped in front of the
first gangway. It seemed to lead to the bridge.

“Go on up. You’re expected by the Council.
We’ll wait here. Anyway, there’s no other way out and armed guards
are waiting at the top. There’s no point in trying anything. If you
cooperate, everything will be just fine.”

“Don’t worry. Where would I go, anyway? This
vessel is probably the safest place on the whole planet these days.
Oh, yes – speaking of that – I’m sure you’ve received your
embarkation forms, haven’t you?”

Surprise and concern showed clearly on their
faces. They obviously had no idea what Senec was talking about.

Senec smiled and saluted them respectfully
before going up the gangway stairs which would lead him to the
Council.

Charlie wanted to follow him, but the two
guards were standing in front of the entrance, completely blocking
his way. They were standing side by side, shoulders back, looking
into the distance as they talked.

“Have you received anything?”

“No. And you?”

“Me neither.”

“You think he’s telling the truth?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I’d
better!”

“You think so? Our places are booked anyway,
aren’t they? Everyone will have a place. Isn’t that what they
said?”

But his companion did not answer.

Charlie made up his mind and headed
determinedly toward the two mammoths. Without even noticing, he
went through their enormous bodies and continued on up the
stairway. Worrying that he had hesitated too long and would find
the door shut, he tripped on the first step in his haste and went
flat on his face on the metal stairs of the gangway. The noise made
by his heavy fall was practically inexistent. However, a vibration
ran along the gangway until it reached Senec, who felt it and
turned around, puzzled. He looked downstairs, but seeing nothing
went on his way, as Charlie got painfully to his feet, feeling
embarrassed at this new blunder. He who had felt so exhilarated a
few moments earlier had just come crashing back down to Earth. It
must be said that Charlie had never done anything in life but split
hairs and make fine speeches, straight-jacketed as he was, in a
deformed and clumsy body. It would obviously take him some time to
fully benefit from the new freedom of movement now available to
him.

21 THE COUNCIL

Five members of the Council were sitting in a
semi-circle in a large oval room next to the bridge. Senec came and
stood before them, without even bothering to look for somewhere to
sit. He remained standing, waiting for the questions. He seemed
used to the protocol and knew full well what was coming. Charlie
hung back, slightly behind him.

“I suppose you know why you have been brought
here?”