Sunlight poured through the penthouse
windows, illuminating the inner facets of the twelve magical crystal rocks, now poised in front of
each god as they seated themselves around the old oak table in the Headquarters Meeting Room. Dell god of Mercantile handed out the weekly
reports. Today the Budget Meeting included additional handouts: Instructions for their new Crystal Skulls; everyone
was learning to use them together.
First on the list was 'In-Tunement'. Eyes
closed, King Atalon let out a deep hum, clutching the crown of his Crystal Skull and
holding the tone for as long as he could hold his breath… Stealing glimpses of one another, the gods followed suit with apparent trepidation.
"There!"
Gasping, Atalon opened his eyes to look around. "Could you feel that?"
The
group nodded in unison, mostly to appease, not wanting to discourage the king, optimistic they would learn to feel something. The truth was, most of them didn't really know
for sure if they could feel anything or if they just thought they
were feeling something.
"Its
coming..." Medena volunteered, cupping her hands over the
skull.
"Yes... I am beginning to
feel something..." Hedena chimed, following the lead.
"The Oracles are still
drawing the same divination from them" Bakkon didn't want to upset
Atalon but was swaying in Dell's direction, given the recent losses.
"What Oracles?"
Atalon hissed.
"It seems there really is
something to these skulls" Halios was supportive. "I've seen the test
results myself."
"I don't know" Bakkon
felt it was his duty to push through the resistance. "It doesn't
flow that easily to me, I don't feel anything and the Oracles aren't producing
any positive results, even if they can feel something."
"That's
because they're Serpents" Orius leapt at the opportunity to present his
pitch. "They've got different minds, they generate different energies, see
different dimensions."
"What
are you talking about!" Medena interjected.
"I suppose you would
know?" Atalon snarled.
"Indeed"
Orius smiled, caressing his Crystal Skull with genuine admiration, closing his
eyes. "I find the skull quite powerful..."
"Powerful?"
Atalon echoed.
"Yes..."
Orius replied, feeling the tug at his lure. "I saw a vision of
great fortune.... A new land, a sunny land... East
from here... Beyond a falling comet..."
"Go
on..." Atalon knew exactly where that sunny land would be... He watched with skeptical eye
as the god of Technology described with uncanny detail one of
the Top Secret agendas being discussed behind closed doors! Orius
could eavesdrop with his Crystal Skull?
"...
I saw the Atlan Empire…" Orius continued "... reaping a great
harvest, a Harvest of Plenty..."
"Really!" Atalon could hardly contain his interest, it was
a breakthrough, perhaps. "Well isn't that a coincidence?"
All
eyes turned on the king as he explained, for those who didn't already know.
"A
coincidence?"
"Or
not!" Atalon straightened his frown. "I happen to have just signed the budget proposal to
colonize Ebar!"
"What?"
"Ebar?"
"When?"
Atalon raised his hand to hush
the eager questions. "Right away. We have decided to utilize the Serpent
population over there for the Crystal Program."
"You're
moving the Crystal Program to Ebar?"
"But all the crystal is in
Lemuria!"
Those who knew already were either
relieved or angry that the secret was out, the rest were left feeling confused.
"Wow..." Orius replied,
eyes open. "That can't be a coincidence…"
"Coincidentally,
Halios has just designed a new pyramid for Ebar too, we can't colonize
Ebar until the new pyramid is built, therefore, he'll need someone to oversee
the construction. What do you think Halios, can Orius handle it?"
Halios
glanced at Orius. "Orius? Do you think you can handle it?"
Orius
was genuinely surprised now. "Well, I hadn't really thought about moving
to Ebar... I guess... Yes. I would be perfect for the job…"
"I
hear you already inquired about transfers" Atalon revealed.
Orius shifted, feeling the heat.
"HA-HAAAAA!" The gods
laughed out loud.
Orius felt so small he wanted to
leave for Ebar, immediately. "You're just jealous of my Serpent
Talents" he countered. The
laughter stopped. "You're right. Not only am I
the one best suited to organize the construction project, but because
I can divinate from the Crystal Skull, I am the only candidate available for developing your Remote
Communication technologies of which you spoke. Visions, from afar, via a
Crystal Skull are made possible, in part, by Serpent DNA."
The
table remained silent, the gods were speechless as Orius spoke so confidently
of the skulls power, no one could compete.
Atalon
liked what he was hearing, it was just more things snapping into place.
"Perhaps we will be so successful we'll be able to see everything you do,
Ha-haaa! From here! Ha-haaa!"
"Ha-haaa!"
Laughter broke the tensions once
again. Orius smiled, regardless of it being at his expense, again. Atalon had
bought his pitch, that was all that mattered.
But
just as a dark cloud obscured the sunlight from the room, the king stopped
laughing and grew serious once again. "I need the bomb to be at
manufacturing stage before you can go."
By the time Dell had finished his
dinner at the Grill, it was almost midnight, normally too late to knock on
Atalon's door, however the lights were still on, voices could be heard inside.
His timing was excellent, Atalon, Seton and Malodon were playing dice,
libations were flowing, he was joining an unannounced party.
"Tell
me" Atalon commanded, pouring him a goblet of wine. "You're worried
about the Crystal Program again? Ha-haaaa! Someone's
asking difficult questions?"
"Actually..."
Dell hesitated. "It's Nolan."
"Nolan…" Atalon
frowned, as if trying to recall what a 'Nolan' was.
"Yes...
The one you're grooming to be a god. He's not just another Orius you know, he's
worse."
"Worse?"
"Yes.
He lacks reason therefore he takes his ideas too far, he has only
a fraction of the wisdom and all the knowledge he needs plus twice as
much equipment than Orius had to learn on. I think the Atomic Program
is much too dangerous for him" he warned. "He's handsome, and talented, but he's not smart like Orius, he's already destroyed four blast room
doors, two students and over three dozen rabbits."
"Those rabbits have been
diseased lately, he's doing us a favor" Seton offered.
Atalon stared at Dell, void of
any expressions to indicate a reaction.
"He
makes Orius look harmless" Dell urged. "I really don't think we can
afford to keep him in the Atomic Program, I fear he may be too inexperienced to
handle the responsibilities respectfully."
"Does he keep up with his
assignments?" Atalon asked.
"Above and beyond, he's a
dynamo" Dell replied. "That's the trouble, he spends all of his
evenings working alone down there when he should be at the bars in Fina, he's
not exactly healthy, we can't have a Torus type working
above ground, building Atomic weapons below and no entertainment in sight, too
many questions will arise" Dell tapped his head, glancing at Seton for
backup. "He'd be a valuable asset in a more benign program."
"You
said he was the best!" Atalon couldn't hide his irritation, unsure of what
was being suggested. "So what is it you want me to do about it?"
"I
would like to transfer him to the Sensation Program instead. I think it will be
wiser for us to use him as an Actor or something, perhaps he can help design
fashions? He's very handsome you know, the goddesses flock to him, he could be
very useful in other ways. Mel says he has flaxen hair, maybe he can switch to
Dion's school."
"But you just told me he had
no interest in the club life" Atalon reminded. He tried to understand his
brother's concerns, he trusted Dell's observations but felt the power struggle
at play. "What type of gen is he?"
Dell hesitated, "Serpent. A
Gen II."
"Ahhh...
A Breeder.... And? Maybe he's a
Panther too? Breeding Panthers in the Sensation program? Are you out of your goddamned mind?"
Dell
was caught again.
"I
like the sounds of young Nolan" Atalon contested. "You've got nothing
better on offer, I think he's going to be just fine. So he wasted a few rabbits
and knocked off a few Useless Idiots, they were stupid to get in his way."
