Persistence of Vision

  ***

  Doc and Karl made their way through the dim corridors. Other than having to dodge a few patrols, which hadn’t been difficult, they’d encountered no resistance at all.

  An itch at the back of Doc’s neck kept him looking over his shoulder.

  Finally, Doc and Karl reached their destination.

  Signaling to Karl that this was the place, Doc put a hand on the door. Karl placed a hand on Doc’s shoulder. When Doc turned to him, he motioned that he wanted to go first. Doc acquiesced.

  The door swung silently inward. Inside it was utterly dark. The dim light from the corridor showed them the first four feet of the hallway; the rest was inky blackness.

  Doc shivered. Six individuals made decisions here for hundreds of thousands of people. This was where the decision was made to forcibly assimilate individuals, to send Arachnimen and Trepids to do murder.

  The room was cold, and fittingly so; there was no warmth or inspiration here. There were only those who held almost absolute power and their glee at wielding it.

  Doc and Karl had decided beforehand to split up. Facing one of the Council members alone was daunting, but if they both entered a single room and were overpowered, they would have utterly failed. Splitting up gave them a better chance to get more done.

  Karl started around the left side of the conference table, so Doc turned to the right. Just then, he felt the hot whisper of a mouth near his ear.

  “Hello, Johann.” White-hot pain exploded in his brain. He hadn’t been prepared for it, and he screamed. “Did you really think,” the voice hissed, “that we didn’t know you were coming?”