Chapter Ten
‘The Hub’
The flight of stairs led to a long, narrow tunnel. Concealed lights, embedded in the smooth walls of the passageway, sprang to life as I stepped onto the glistening floor at the base of the staircase. The curved ceiling joined seamlessly to the silver walls that rounded into the mirrored floor. The reflective surfaces caused the light to bounce around the space giving it an almost magical appearance. At the far end of the corridor, I could make out a single metal door with a small blue control panel to its right. I could hear the gentle hum of electricity coursing through the walls and could feel its power pulsating under foot.
The Minister pressed the red button on ‘The Key’ and the previous roaring sound returned as the massive opening above us began to close. The deafening noise was even louder within the confines of this underground location. I leaned against the wall in an attempt to keep my balance, but found it difficult to get a grip on its silky surface. Light from the outside world slowly slipped away. The great opening closed with a final thud. The corridor now felt like a tomb sealing us inside for all time. Minister Drake paid little attention to the closure of the aperture.
“This way,” Drake said, his voice echoing in the passageway. Stepping past me, he continued his journey down the corridor. With nowhere else to go, I had little choice but to follow him.
“What is this place?” I asked in a hushed tone, for fear my mere presence would be considered an invasion.
“This is the Valiros Centre of New Technology and Science. We call it ‘The Hub’.”
“Why’s it underground?”
“Its existence is a highly guarded secret.”
“And what do you do here?” Up until this day, I hadn’t realised quite how inquisitive I was, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Many things.” The Minister paused. “It so happens it was on this exact site Broter Penn discovered the first light source.”
“You mean invented,” I corrected.
“I mean discovered,” he said again.
The corridor seemed pointlessly long. There were no other doors or access points. I hadn’t noticed initially, but the corridor was also on a slight incline taking us ever deeper underground.
Finally, we arrived at the large metal door. From what I could see there were no hinges or joins. The door appeared to almost bond to the surrounding wall as if it were welded shut. It was tall; conveniently the perfect height for Minister Drake. The panel to the right of the door was a flat square of glowing blue glass. There were no buttons to speak of.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Ready for what?”
Drake chuckled as he skimmed his hand over the small panel that instantly changed colour from blue to green.
I expected the door simply to open, glide to one side or perhaps be lifted into the ceiling; but instead it began to disappear. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but within seconds the door had completely faded away.
“How... how did you do that?”
“New technology and science Mr Parthy,” said Drake, as if that would answer all my questions. “There are many wonders to be discovered here.”
Beyond the vanishing door was a sizeable room. It looked as if someone had taken the corridor and expanded it to gigantic proportions. The room was dome shaped and had the same smooth walls and reflective floor as the corridor, with lighting that seemed to emanate from within the walls themselves. A second mezzanine level circled the control centre with a transparent floor and banister that made it look as if people were practically walking on air. The vast space was filled with scientists in white lab coats busily working, flitting from place to place in a cacophony of activity.
The room was adorned with various pieces of equipment consisting of monitors, dials and buttons all accompanied by flashing lights. Small viewing terminals were placed around the room displaying data for the scientists to read and analyse. In the centre of the room was a mammoth circular silver table, its surface covered with sheets of paper, files and folders. Surrounding the table were twelve uncomfortable looking high-backed metal chairs on wheels that would allow its dweller to roll to different points within the room. Each seat was occupied by a scientist, each of them busily speaking at the same time.
At the far end of the room was an enormous viewing terminal that dominated the entire wall. Information was constantly being displayed on the screen, changing every few seconds; statistics, images of Valiros and the Trojans, as well as names of villages, times and dates. There was also a list of names in the bottom left corner, names I knew all too well. They were the names of my family; my mother, grandfather, and at the very top; ‘Creyson Parthy’.
To me the room looked like organised chaos. I wondered how they could achieve anything in such a hectic environment.
As I watched the commotion in the room, something struck me as odd. Several of the scientists matched Drake’s height and slightly strange looking appearance. Each of them had the same peculiar device in their ear that I’d spotted on Minister Drake the previous day.
No-one paid much attention to the disappearing door or even acknowledged the arrival of Minister Drake.
“Welcome to The Hub,” he said with an undoubted level of pride.
“This place is amazing.”
“Come.” The Minister strolled into the room. He was like a proud father showing off his newborn.
I looked back at the doorway. The metal door had reappeared. This technology was incredible and could easily be mistaken for magic.
As well as scientists there were also military personnel placed around the room. One of them looked slightly nervous and held the Jolt as if he were afraid of electrocuting himself. His uniform didn’t fit properly, and he shuffled from one foot to the other. I’d recognise my friend anywhere.
“Benton.” I jogged over. He looked relieved to see me.
“Crey, what are you doing here?”
“That’s what I was going to ask you. Shouldn’t you be in training?”
“After they collected me yesterday they said training was being suspended. They said all military personnel were on active duty then assigned me here. It’s crazy, they gave me some other guy’s uniform, shoved a Jolt in my hand and told me ‘you’re a soldier’. I don’t even know how to fire this thing.”
“That’s not crazy, it’s stupid. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“Only what I’ve overheard. People are scared Crey. The Trojan Devices are coming to Dorow, and the power is failing all over Valiros.”
“What’s the military involvement?”
“Our orders are to keep the peace, but we haven’t been told what’s going on.”
“Why they won’t tell us what’s happening?”
“It’s typical of the government, would you expect anything less? If they’re not lying, then they’re not saying anything at all.”
“Have you heard anything else?”
“The Gateway Cavern has been mentioned a few times. The Scientists are really concerned about it.”
“Have they said why?”
“Not exactly. A couple of them were talking about trying to seal it. And your name keeps getting thrown around.”
“My name?”
“Yeah. ‘Where’s Creyson Parthy?’ ‘When’s Creyson Parthy getting here?’ I assumed you’d know more than I do.”
“Afraid not.”
“Do you know if Danton’s been evacuated?”
“Yesterday.”
“My family, are they…. are they safe?”
“I don’t know, Benton.”
“Mr Parthy,” called Drake.
“Look, I better go back.”
“It’s good to see you Crey.”
“You too. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Be careful.”
“Try not to electrocute yourself with the Jolt.”
“Funny.”
I ran back over and stepped ne
xt to the Minister.
“A friend of yours?”
“We’re from the same village. It’s only his second day as a soldier.”
“Minister Drake!” The high-pitched voice pierced above the bustle of activity. I searched for the source of the voice and spotted a somewhat preposterous looking scientist with large unkempt red hair, thick-rimmed glasses, odd matching shoes, and a rather mucky lab coat. The Valiron was a walking stereotype.
“Doctor Flon!” The Minister appeared pleased to see this madcap scientist.
I leaned into Drake and whispered, “You know him?”
“He’s one of our greatest minds.”
“Him?”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Mr Parthy.”
The idiotically presented doctor stumbled his way over to us, bumping into people as he went, apologising each time.
Drake continued. “Doctor Flon is head of research and development here at The Hub. He works directly for the High Darlon Council.”
“Head of research and development? Really?” I didn’t mean to sound so surprised.
“He’s what you’d call... unique,” he said with a sly smile.
Flon came to an overly dramatic halt; arms waving in the air in an excessively exaggerated manner, a smile beaming on his face.
“Minister Drake,” he exclaimed, enthusiastically offering his hand to the Minister. “It’s so very good to see you, sir.”
“Likewise.” The Minister took his hand, and Flon shook it fervently. After a moment, his gaze switched to me.
“Ah, is this...?”
“Yes it is.”
“Wonderful! Mr Creyson Parthy. I suspected you wouldn’t get here.” There was a familiar expression on his face that stirred a memory, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Drake proceeded with introductions “Mr Parthy, this is Doctor Cowry Flon. Doctor Flon, may I introduce Mr Creyson Parthy.”
“It’s an absolute pleasure,” said the doctor grabbing my hand and shaking it with more heartiness than he did Minister Drake’s. “An absolute pleasure,” he repeated. I was speechless so I simply forced an uncomfortable smile.
“Say hello Mr Parthy,” the Minister encouraged.
“Hello.”
“Hello!” His voice hurt my ears. “Oh, whatever must you think? I apologise for my appearance, it’s been quite a day.”
“Any change?” asked the Minister, a business tone returning to his voice.
“Change?” asked Flon to himself. “Change! Yes, change! That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” The Doctor still kept a firm grip on my hand. He looked at me with a wacky gaze. “You’re hand! I’m sure you’d like it back.”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” I said. I was beginning to find him quite amusing.
“Not at all.” He thankfully released his grip. “Right, down to business.” He paused, confusion spreading across his face. “What was I saying?” He directed his question to me.
“Erm... Change?” I warily answered.
“Change, yes of course. Thank you Creyson. Do you mind if I call you Creyson.”
“Not at all.”
He addressed the Minister. “We’ve lost power to over half of Valiros, and a further two hundred Trojan Devices have arrived in Dorow. The Trojans are currently at sixty-three percent power and rising.”
“I see.” The Minister was concerned but didn’t look surprised by the report. “How about the Gateway Cavern? Can we seal it?”
“I’ve run the calculations and, although theoretically plausible, to obtain the resources required will simply take more time than we have.” For a moment Minister Drake looked defeated. Flon continued in his upbeat manner “Let’s hope Creyson; do you mind if I call you Creyson?” Flon asked me again.
I smiled. “Feel free.”
“Let’s hope Creyson can put an end to this. Can you Mr Parthy?”
I paused, looking at Drake then back to Flon. “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. That’s... unfortunate.”
I felt as if I’d somehow let Flon down.
“What do all these people do here?”
“Oh, lots.” He addressed the room. “You all do lots of things, don’t you?” No-one answered. He turned back to me “Of course their attention is focused on the Trojan Devices at the moment. We can hopefully stop them from attacking.”
“Attacking!” I repeated with a gulp.
“Mr Parthy has not yet been briefed about the situation.” Drake quickly said.
Flon leaned into me as if delivering a piece of gossip. “Oh you’re in for a treat. It’s a fascinating story.”
“Doctor Flon,” Drake said, “why don’t you ask security to escort Mr Parthy to the guest suite. I believe there’s someone who would like to see him.”
“Who would want to see me?” I pondered aloud. It was Flon who answered.
“Ooo, she’s an irritating young girl who insists on moaning about absolutely everything. When I was questioning her she made some rather offensive comments about my appearance, and insisted on calling me Flob...”
“Thank you Doctor Flon.” The Minister interjected. He appeared to have a great deal of patience with the doctor. “She claims to be your life partner. I believe her name is...”
I finished his sentence. “Zeal Lotzer.”