Chapter Nine
Adin retold his father’s story about finding the ore and the different types they'd discovered. As the energy crisis peaked, the North American government had seized control of the area that used to be Iran. His father had gone hunting there for any remaining oil reserves. Seismic imaging had revealed an anomaly deep within the earth’s crust, and they dug for months before finally reaching it. They speculated that it was the resting place of Eden. At least, that was their best guess. Nothing in the world was like it. Despite their appearance, the crystals they found were more ore-like in composition and properties; so they called it Eden’s Ore. As they unearthed the different colors, they discovered the immense amount of energy locked inside each piece. They surmised that the ores had been the source of the garden’s perfection. Each unique color had a specific effect. Blue ore purified water of any quality, even the most toxic, and could gather moisture from the air. Green ore promoted plant growth at exponential rates. It appeared to affect animals in a similar way, or could make them completely docile. Red ore produced a constant low heat.
These life-giving colors were found surrounded by crystals of a very different color – a pitch black ore. It was like crystallized death, killing anything exposed to it within minutes. Handled incorrectly, it would release an uncontrollable, destructive energy. Dozens of workers were lost when they first unearthed it. The black ore had a strange aura that affected the other ores too – cancelling their effects and polluting them until they turned completely black. The white ore was discovered last. The crystal's soft glow seemed void of any effect, nothing like the others. Gabriel’s father had carried two of the largest shards everywhere he went.
"One piece went to you. The other to me." Adin continued. "All of the ore was taken out of the ground. It was supposed to solve the energy crisis, and, so far, it has. But it’s barely enough. Most of the radiant zones are shrinking in geographical size, even though they are increasing in population. There are whispers that it’s not enough."
"That's a scary thought." Gabriel couldn't imagine the chaos that would ensue if they didn't have enough power.
"The rumors about the ore are strange – like ore users." Adin stared at the road straight ahead.
Gabriel listened closely as Adin spoke.
"Ore users are so rare, they think there might only be a couple of thousand of them worldwide. Maybe even less. No one really knows." Adin shrugged. "Apparently, they found out about ore users because some of the researchers at TERA could work with the ore without any protection."
"Right." Gabriel remembered his father telling him about the polymer they'd invented to block the ore's effects.
"Most people are dead within a couple of hours of exposure to the ore. It just swallows their essence or something. The cells just begin to break down, and before long the entire body is in critical failure. At least, that’s what happens to normal people. Ore users can apparently control the ore somehow."
"What do you mean?" Gabriel frowned.
"No idea. This was all stories and hocus pocus until I saw that in you." Adin pointed at Gabriel's chest. "Supposedly, some people have a special ability to control the ore. Command it or something." He glanced at Gabriel. "Can you do anything with yours?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I don't know … it just cooks me."
"Well, that blast at the ranch came from you." Adin eyed the ore. "It does something."
Gabriel recalled the paramedics. "They were trying to sedate me. They were so aggressive. I told them to leave me alone. Then I just lost it. All I remember is a burning light. The paramedics were right there. I was so angry." The words made Gabriel feel sick to his stomach. "What happened to them?" No one else had been there when he woke up.
Adin swallowed hard. "It doesn't matter."
"Adin," he said sharply. "What happened to them?"
"They're dead." Adin didn't look at him. “The blast turned them to ash.”
"What?" Gabriel's head dropped down into his hands. "I … I didn't mean …"
"Hey!" Adin grabbed him by the shoulder. "Look at me! The ore did that, not you – the blast – that was the ore. That wasn't in your control."
"But I triggered it." Gabriel struggled to take a breath. "I killed both of them."
"Gabriel, it was an accident. Nothing else. You can't think about it that way. It’s the ore – not you."
"How else do I think about it? They're dead!" Gabriel's hands curled into fists and his chest burned with heat. "I don't want this thing." He clawed through the hole in his shirt. The shard in his chest glowed bright. He dragged his nails along its edge, drawing blood. "Get it out of me!"
"Gabriel!" Adin jerked the vehicle to the side of the road. It skidded to a stop as he slammed on the brakes and fought to grab Gabriel's hands. "Stop!" Horns blared at them as other vehicles passed.
Gabriel didn't want to stop, he wanted that thing out of his chest. Tears dripped down his face. "Just get it out," he spit through his teeth.
"We will. Take a breath." Adin stared into his eyes. "You need to be calm. Emotional trigger, remember? You can't freak out. You need to stay calm. That thing is glowing too much. Take it easy."
Gabriel swallowed hard. His heart raced in his chest, and the shard surged with every beat. Adin was right – he couldn't lose control. He breathed out several heavy breaths.
"Good." Adin let him go. "That's good. Just breathe."
Gabriel nodded, and focused on his breathing.
Adin pulled the SUV back onto the road. "We'll get it out. I just need to keep you hidden until I can figure some things out. TERA knows you were at the site and, if anyone saw that blast, they'll be looking for you. I think I was the only one who saw it. Maybe we got lucky."
Gabriel wanted this nightmare to be over. "Why would they want me?"
"TERA has a pretty strong interest in everything related to the ore, so they're going to take an interest in you. Anyone with a special connection to the ore seems to vanish." Adin hesitated. "The important part is that we got away in time."
“Vanish?” Gabriel swallowed hard.
“I don’t know.” Adin took a deep breath. “A couple of years ago, a girl on my research team was exposed to some ore in an experiment gone wrong.” He shook his head. “We all panicked. She just stood there, frozen in fear. The red piece of ore had burned through her protective glove. It sat there glowing in her hand. Not even burning her skin.” He paused. “A containment team came to get her, and she never came back to work. No one heard of her again.”
The story terrified Gabriel. "So where am I supposed to go?" Gabriel pulled the blanket back up around his shoulder and covered the shard with the fabric.
"We'll find something. A room somewhere – maybe a motel or a lodge in the city. Something quiet and private. No one will know you’re there." Adin grinned at him. "Just try to think of it like a vacation."
"Fat chance of that." Gabriel worried about Adin's connection to him. "What about you?"
"I'll play stupid. Pretend I never went to the ranch and have no idea where you are. In the meantime, I'll dig a little bit deeper at work – see what else I can find out about ore users." Adin squirmed in his seat. "I'll see if there's anyone we can trust."
"Okay." The tall towers of Denver crested in the horizon as Adin turned towards it. “The city’s gotten bigger.” Gabriel stared at the network of neighborhoods that stretched out across the horizon.
Adin drummed the steering wheel as they turned off the freeway and approached their first traffic light into the sprawling metropolis. “It's a little bigger than Burlington, huh? You will get used to it. It’s really all the same. Just a lot less elbow room.
“We need to stop at my place first. Get you some things. You should stay in the car though.”
Gabriel nodded.
Adin sighed. “I'm not going anywhere, Gabriel. We'll get through this.”
“I hope you’re right.” “We will. You just tru
st me.” Adin chuckled. “You listened better when you were little. You weren’t so stubborn.”
“I blame Nate.”
“So do I.” Adin paused. "Did he make it?"
Gabriel shrugged. "They couldn't tell me."
Adin hesitated. "He was a good man – tried his best with us." He reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re still here. We’ll find a rhythm – you and I. We'll figure out this thing in your chest.”
Again, he just nodded. What more was there to say? They didn't have any answers yet. About anything. “What’s with the old train?” He pointed out the window. "Sometimes new problems are fixed with old ideas." He quoted a huge sign that showed a steam engine from centuries past travelling along modern day streets.
“That’s a project I worked on. It was one of the first re-inventions Dr. Cymru thought of. It uses the power of the red ore as a heat source, producing an almost infinite amount of heat that is then used to boil water. We found a way to amplify the output using super efficient heat shields, thereby focusing the heat on a water containment system …” Adin went on for several minutes.
Gabriel blocked out the technical talk and stared out the window at the hundreds of people pouring out of the underground metro station. His arm stung as Adin jabbed at him. “Ow! Jerk!” He rubbed the spot Adin hit.
“You aren’t even listening to me.” Adin shook his head.
“I was, too.” He rolled his eyes. “You use red ore to produce heat for the water, creating steam. It powers the trains and then you collect all the steam using the blue ore, changing it back to water so you can reuse it. And voila! We have underground trains. It's not that hard.”
“Well,” Adin pointed at him. “The whole system is virtually self-perpetuating. There are some minor moisture losses, but it’s easy to top back up. It’s a clean energy system for public transit.”
Gabriel was impressed; he had thought they only used the ore in energy and food production. What else do they use the ore for now?
“It’s truly amazing what Dr. Cymru has invented. He’s finally gotten approval for all his systems to go commercial over the next six months. We’re going to fix a lot of problems. Who knows? Someday we might even be able to get energy back out to the dark zones.” Adin drummed his hands on the steering wheel as the traffic slowed. “Once the systems are fully implemented, everyone will have access to free energy.”
“I highly doubt TERA would give anything away for free.” Gabriel had grown up after the radiant zones were established. They were segmented areas of the country where the power grid had been upgraded for maximum efficiency. Everywhere else, power was just turned off. TERA claimed it was the first step to beating the energy crisis. Who really knew? The braver folks -- like his parents -- stayed behind and learned to live off the grid. It was a hard life without any support, especially when you had to contend with solar storms, radiated burnouts from the lack of ozone, and climate change. Some made it, but a lot didn’t. Most people just moved – leaving their old lives and homes – desperate for a spot in the new zones. Entire states had been wiped out, turned into nothing but dust bowls, full of abandon cities.
“Well, we will have to recoup the funds spent on the development of the technology by charging every user at first, but in the end we plan to make it free.”
“Always a catch.” Gabriel laughed. “You know, I still don’t really know what you do.”
“What?” Adin changed lanes gently. “How do you not know what I do?”
“Hey!” Gabriel put up his hands in defense. “You’re boring. That’s not my fault.”
“Maybe, if you tried listening, you would find out I do some pretty cool work with the Research and Development department for TERA. New technologies.”
“Yeah…still sounds boring.” Gabriel leaned his head against the window to stare up at the tall buildings they were passing.
“You’re hopeless.” Adin sniffed.
After several minutes they turned and descended into an underground parking structure, approaching a small set of gates and a guard shack. The Ion Pinnacle Apartments. “Let me do the talking and just act normal.” Adin pushed a button on his visor and an oddly shaped polygon projected onto the window.
“What’s that?”
“My parking pass – one of the new technologies I worked on. Pretty ingenious. Everyone has a different shape, and the gate scans the image as we drive up. Guards get everything they need before you even get to the shack.” The black SUV stopped at the gate, and a uniformed guard stepped up to the driver’s window.
Adin rolled down his window. “George.” He smiled at the guard.
“You’re all set, Mr. Roberts. Welcome home.”
The gates in front of them lowered into the pavement with a loud beep. Adin maneuvered through the parking structure quite quickly, and Gabriel lost his sense of direction. After they came to a stop in an unmarked stall, Adin got out and paused at the door. “Just stay put – I won’t be long. Just keep your head down.” He went around and pulled the chest out on the hatch of the SUV. “No point in you hauling this thing around. I’ll toss it upstairs for now.” He strolled to the wall in front of the vehicle.
Gabriel undid his seatbelt and stretched out, preparing for the wait. A loud buzz filled the air, and something vibrated under his feet. He nervously grabbed the door handle. The SUV was being lifted up off the ground.
“Relax!” Adin knocked on the window, and chuckled. “It’s just the anti-theft.”
“Huh?” Gabriel popped the door open, unsure if he should get out.
“The vehicles parked here are lifted just enough that the tires don’t touch. Basically, if you don’t have the code – you can’t move the vehicle.”
“That’s pretty damn smart.”
“If you’re impressed by that, you should see some of the other things my RD department came up with.”