73. Bad Books

        Bakkon god of the Skies spent most of his hours overlooking the smoky city from the observatory, towering above Headquarters, even towering above the Temple of Medel. The room was like a Museum of Telescopy, there were telescopes, star charts and ancient writings relating to the Divination Arts stored here that dated back to the Solarian Empire, and for most gens, and aribu and gens before them, the history of their past were never taught in school, even the Panthers were only offered a selection of the ancient texts to study. 

        Built into the domed copper ceiling were panels that moved apart to expose the starry sky, when the weather was good. Bakkon adjusted the focus on his telescope as he studied the appearance of a new comet in the sky, calculating the angle and direction it was travelling. Given it's exclusive access the observatory served as a private meeting place for the gods, away from critics and opinions, here they could discuss the future of Atlan in peace without any staff around, work out the more intimate complications before presenting ideas and deciding the best course to take. "Look... There it is! Come see! It's almost identical to the last one... A possible twin."

         Stoned on Soloha, Atalon barely flinched. He rocked back and forth in the old wicker chair, rubbing his crystal skull, trying to connect the link between the crystal and the high comet.

         "He's on another planet" Dion advised, taking a look through the telescope for himself.

         "These twin comets speak of division." Bakkon concluded. "Do you not agree it is travelling almost the exact same path as the last one?" 

         "Division is a good thing..." Dion reminded, focusing now on the astrological alignments being made in real time. "It’s being stuck together that’s so bad."

         "I agree…" Bakkon hesitated for a moment to see if the king was attentive at all... "Due to the duplicate direction it's travelling, given the prophecy thing, I think it's wise we make sure we're on the right side of the divide." 

         Dion felt a rush inside as he studied the comet in the telescope, brilliant, like a sword slicing the sky… It was headed this way.

         "This comet you see... It's not a coincidence is what I'm trying to say" Bakkon was skirting words now. "I was warned by one of the Oracles about this twin comet thing. Initially, I saw it as a good sign, but now I have some concerns... Just between you and I." He gestured towards the intoxicated king, suggestively.

         "The Oracle warned you about what?" Atalon was still somewhat coherent, unsure now of what Bakkon was suggesting.

         "The Oracle warned him about Orius" Dion interjected.

         "The Oracle warned you about Orius?" Atalon echoed. "Bah!" He waved his hand, dismissing concern. "I see Orius every day" he gestured to the skull. "Orius is POWERLESS over there, Ha-haaa! You know what it's like in the Hippo swamp, all he has is a bunch of Serpents to work with!"
         "And half the Hippo military, don't forget! With all due respect" Dion understood Bakkon’s concern, "I think it would be wise to make a physical inspection of the colony, just for peace of mind, don't you, Bakkon?"

         "Well... Yes, what a good idea!"

         Atalon grunted, listening now, it was indeed a good idea. Perhaps Orius didn't have the resources he once had, but he still had the knowledge, and friends in Lemuria.... 

         "I don't trust him" Dion sounded the alarm official.
         "He would never dare double cross me!" Atalon snapped through a cloud of white smoke. "Orius is a pussy! Besides, he has NO loyal followers, he betrayed his own serps, if he betrayed us, he would just be committing suicide!"

         "Your opinion is hypothetical" Dion argued.
         "Besides" Atalon continued, "Torus would notify me if there was something fishy going on. It would show up in the record keeping."

         "And you trust young Torus?" Bakkon re-concluded. "God of the Underworld, no less. I think we would be fools not to pay Orius a visit, just to be sure. How do we know Torus's nose is clean? What if he was cooking the books over there? What if he planned to pool resources? How would we know if Torus was in on his secrets? It's time we visit young Torus too!"

        "Bad Books and Hippos aside, don't forget, you did give him half our military reserve!" Dion reminded.

         "Seventy five percent" Atalon corrected. "Seventy five percent of the worst gens ever invested in." Angry, he took another puff even though there was none left. Although he hated to admit it, deep down he knew Dion was right, the Crystal Skull technology was yet to be proven over such long distances. Even though he believed in his divinations, he had to admit he had no solid proof of Orius's loyalties to the Empire.

         The magnitude of the disaster at Culloom exceeded anything Zara could have possibly imagined. Going back to Culloom at a time like this was much harder than she had anticipated, it was almost worse than the scene in the Moha Lab. The remains of dead and dying bodies were strewn everywhere, the stench was unbearable, it took all she had to focus on her task.

         "I never let the small things get to me!" Hedenas affirmations helped, she repeated them over and over again quietly to herself as she counted the cabinets and logged their dimensions on her tablet. Nolan had believed in her enough to give her a second chance, she had to remain composed and prove him right. She tried to imagine it was all just a dream, she tried not to look at the dead faces, some of them mutilated beyond recognition, some with frozen screams, piled up and stacked on carts like garbage from the street.

         Suddenly she noticed movement on the cart... Some were still moaning... They were crying for help? 

         "Oh my god..." For a moment she wondered if she had died and gone to Hellias. What was this? Weren't they being saved? Then; Was one of the dead children her Product? Wild imaginations began to take over, making her feel unstable, she was malfunctioning. Feeling herself hyperventilate, she closed her eyes and bit her tongue, forcing back a tsunami of tears.  

         "Nolan believes in me!" She tried to visualize the blinkers and the string, she tried to keep working but she kept forgetting the measurements, then she had to measure the cabinets again. No matter how much she repeated her affirmations, they weren't strong enough to counter the nightmare surrounding her. Panic was setting in, she couldn't focus on her task and time was running out... Now she was looking for him… 

         Dena was right. Feelings were her fatal flaw, a sign of weakness, this was exactly what she was talking about. She stiffened and blinked the tears away, reminding herself that Nolan believed in her, she couldn't risk any more malfunctions, especially now.

         But now she kept thinking she recognized her Product amidst the bloody faces scattered around her work place… When suddenly the gymnasium doors flew open and Bell marched in, tailed by his entourage of soldiers.