DORULL STORIES - PRISONER OF THE AMULET
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“Sit.” one of the battle vards
said, pushing Sanomis towards the sole, metal chair, standing in the middle of
the room.
The interrogation room as the
admiral Sariyk called it, was a lot smaller than the one before. It was some
six meters wide, and almost ten long. And was a lot brighter. Perhaps even too
much. But if nothing else, at least Sanomis could observe it better.
To the right of him, hugging the
wall, were two tables with built-in drawers and compartments below, and holders
for various tools above. Several positional lights were lined over the tables,
but were shut for now. One table was empty, but on the right one, Sanomis
spotted a couple of boxes and at least a dozen protective gloves and masks.
To the left, the wall was covered
with the shelves, completely filled with translucent containers, holding the
specimens of various creatures. Some of them, Sanomis realized, were still
showing the signs of life.
Behind the chair was a console,
holding a control unit in its exact center. It was a sphere, about one meter in
diameter. It was perfectly smooth, with pronounced front, housing dozens of
slots. Sanomis never saw such a device. But his experience was telling him it
must’ve been a part of the interrogation device.
“I said sit!” The battle vard
forced him on the chair.
Even if he wanted to, Sanomis had
no chance of resisting. Battle vard was at least ten times stronger than him.
The chair wasn’t uncomfortable, as it seemed at first glance. He realized why
as soon as he sat in it. It moved, changed and reshaped itself, binding his
arms, legs and his torso. The chair was made from a smart metal alloy. It was
programmed to keep the prisoner imprisoned.
There was no escape from the
chair. Sanomis knew he could not force his way out of it, even if he tried his
hardest. Only thing left was to sit and wait. He didn’t have to wait long. Only
two minutes later, Naarbul Sariyk followed by the captain and the overseer
appeared in the room. It was a sign for the two battle vards to leave. No one
said a word. They had no need of it, Sanomis concluded. This wasn’t the first
time they were doing this.
Nharsia went by Sanomis as if he
wasn’t even there. She was heading straight for the console behind his back.
The geologist was now even more interested in this device. Never mind the
predicament he found himself in. He was interested in its functions and the
ways they were using it. He was interested to learn if it could be used for
something else. He could probably find a thousand new means for it.
But that was just a wish of a
fool. He could not even look at it, let alone touch it. He could only listen.
Only that led to nothing. Beside the characteristic, silent hum, he heard since
the device powered on, nothing else gave away Nharsia’s actions.
In the meantime Avena approached
the tables, wanting to closely examine the content of the containers. First few
of them clearly weren’t holding anything of value. But as soon as she began
pulling a few of the bottles and vials out of them, Sanomis’ attention
turned to her. Quite soon, the captain had ten of them separated from the rest.
She proceeded to split them into three groups, before starting to mix them
together. Sanomis had no clue what mixtures. He was too far away to see. But
since she planned to use them on him, he figured these serums couldn’t contain
anything good.
The admiral on the other side
spent the entire time observing that collection of strange creatures, displayed
in see-through boxes. He carelessly paced from left to right and back again. He
occasionally stopped in front of those that peaked his interest. He even
knocked on the couple with his long, pointy finger, trying to provoke some kind
of reaction. To startle those creatures into movement. Their reflex, awkward
movements apparently offered him joy.
“Ready.” Nharsia suddenly spoke.
Sanomis immediately realized the
supervisor will remain behind him. The device she powered on, was important for
their interrogation.
“I am also ready.” Avena added not
a second later.
She was finishing filling the last
few of the twenty three ampules of the serum she made.
“Excellent!” Naarbul exclaimed,
turning around towards the prisoner “Can you tell us how, please, how did you
end up in here?”
“What do you mean?” Sanomis
stuttered “But you…”
“Do you know his name?” Naarbul
interrupted him, as she turned towards Avena.
“His name is Sanomis.” captain of
the Khoro answered.
“And he is a geologist?” Naarbul
asked “Are you a geologist?”
“I…I am.”
“Why did you turn your back to
your assignment?” Naarbul asked.
“I haven’t.” Sanomis defended
himself.
“So you weren’t away from the
Shteint these past several weeks?” Naarbul asked.
“Almost two months.” Avena added.
“Almost two months!” Naarbul
exclaimed.
“I was only searching for the
place for my new research.” Sanomis said.
“Without an official request?”
Nharsia asked.
“I needed much more time than the
regular one week pass.” Sanomis answered.
“You could’ve asked for the
special one.” Nharsia said.
“And lose months in waiting, just
to be denied after.” Sanomis said “I am already behind, because of the
transfer…”
“How could you even know that?”
Nharsia interrupted him.
“From experience.” Sanomis
answered “I was denied before.”
Nharsia glanced towards Avena.
“Three times.” captain of the
Khoro said.
“So what you're saying is, that
this is just one huge misunderstanding.” Naarbul said “You haven’t abandoned
your position. Your task.”
“Of course not.” Sanomis answered.
“Can you in that case explain to
me, since when is it necessary to break into the protected database, for your
research?” Naarbul asked.
Sanomis said nothing.
“Did you find what you were
looking for?” Naarbul drew closer.
Sanomis was silent.
“Did someone tell you to do such a
thing?” Naarbul wasn’t stopping with the questions.
The Admiral was carefully
observing the geologist, hoping he would spot any kind of reaction. But so far
Sanomis was still.
“Who do you work for?” Naarbul
asked “Who sent you to this expedition?”
Although his intrusion was
discovered, Sanomis was now sure they had no clue what he learned. Nor what
documents he gained access. What was more important, they were clueless on his
reason for that. They presumed he was someone's spy. And that presented another
worry on top of it all. For it meant one thing. They either presumed he was a
specialist, an undercovered lawman. Or a spy of a rival criminal enterprise.
For Sanomis either one of those options was equally dangerous.
“Who sent you?!” Naarbul raised
his voice, as he stepped forward “Tell me!”
He was just millimeters away from
Sanomis’ face. Puffing and panting at him. Grinding his teeth in anger. He
stood there for a long couple of seconds, before he decided to intensify the
interrogation. And drastically.
Narbul glanced to the left and
nodded. It was a signal for Avena. The one she eagerly anticipated since they
arrived. With an already prepared universal injector in her right hand, the
captain hastily approached Sanomis. She grabbed his shoulder with her left
hand, turning it towards her, to expose his neck. Moments later, she emptied
two of the ampules.
The serum acted instantly. It
attacked Sanomis’ nervous system, incapacitating his every function. The poison
had one other task, to weaken his mental fortitude. The grey haze invaded
Sanomis’ mind. It trapped him deep within the dark emptiness. Disabling the
access to his thoughts and memories. Sanomis knew they were there, but he had
no means to reach them. He had to try and resist. Only he had no idea how.
“I can help you.” the weak
voice of his module came from within the dark, in spite of his previous strict
order to stay inactive.
Sanomis was about to scold the
unit for breaking the silence, when he realized it hadn't. Instead, it found
the way to him, through all this mess. It found a way into his mind.
“Don’t!” Sanomis only had to
think.
The module could hear him, as it
established the direct connection with his thoughts. Something the geologist
forbade a long time ago. But this was an extraordinary circumstance. The module
presumed Sanomis would forgive him for it.
“But I can clear your mind.”
module said.
“Do not!” Sanomis repeated, “They
can’t detect you.”
“Are you sure?” module
sounded worried.
“Stay hidden from them, until I
say otherwise.” Sanomis was determined, despite thinking to ask for help not a
moment earlier.
Fortunately for him, this inner
conversation with the module was the only help he needed. For it opened a path
through this haze. It showed him a way he could fight the serum.
“Remember, you will be a part of
one noble, grandiose expedition on the planet Dorull. Our goal, once there,
will be to learn about them, in order to try and understand the origins and
growth of civilizations across the known universe.” was the first thought that
came up in Sanomis’ mind.
Coincidentally or not, those were
the first words Nharsia Santlev greeted him with, as she informed him he got
the spot on the ship. Those were the words which he now used to fight the
poisonous haze.
“First report we received is more
than promising. If they appear to be correct, we'll be earning ten times more
than we even expected in our wildest dreams.” was Sanomis’ second thought.
These were the first words he
stumbled upon when he was searching for the truth behind the Ch’ybal’s claims.
They confirmed the true intentions some of the vards had for this planet. The
intentions that were hidden from most of them for obvious, horrifying reasons.
Those words also originated from the chief overseer, in her correspondence with
Naarbul Sariyk. They almost completely removed the haze. Sanomis soon
understood why. The anger they created in him drastically enhanced the strength
and resistance of his mind.
“He is resisting, somehow.” Avena
noticed immediately.
“How is that even possible?”
Naarbul asked “Did you correctly measure and mix the dosages?”
“Of course I did.” Avena sounded
offended “It is him. His mind is too strong.”
“Come again?” Naarbul turned
towards Nharsia “Wouldn’t that be discovered during the first examination?”
“Of course.” chief supervisor
answered, as she gained access to the medical database “We were careful to pick
only candidates with the average results.”
“This candidate is obviously far
above average.” Naarbul said “Could it be he tricked the test?”
“Technically speaking, yes.”
Nharsia nodded “But for such a thing, it is necessary to have unlimited mental
capabilities.
“Similar to those needed to resist
the effect of the serum?” Naarbul asked.
“But that can’t be.” Nharsia
hastily approached the console of the device, placing the palm of her right
hand on top of the spherical controls.
“What is it?” Naarbul sounded
worried.
“He is almost completely freed
from the poison.” Nharsia said.
“Can’t we pump him with some
more?” Naarbul suggested.
“Yes.” Avena grunted “But that
wouldn’t do a thing.”
“How come?” Naarbul asked.
“He is probably already immune to
it.” Avena answered not taking her eyes from the geologist.
She was watching him this
entire time. She was the first noticing him trying to fight the serum out of
his system. And when he started coming around. She noticed he stopped
convulsing. And then she saw he opened his eyes. He looked straight at her, as
if he was telling her this was nothing. As if he was taunting her to try
better. As if he was trying to piss them off. And he managed to do so, by
provoking the admiral.
“Resist this!” Naarbul hissed
angrily, lunging towards the console.
He placed his hand on top of the
sphere, even before the chief overseer had a chance to move. Even before she
had a chance to close her opened programs. Admiral was already booting his
desired parameters, over already running programs. Only thing left for Nharsia
was to forcefully close them, before stepping away.
“What are you doing?” she asked
him, somewhat offended.
But Naarbul wasn’t asnwering. He
was far too focused on what he was doing. The sphere started rotating. At first
gently, but then faster and faster. Until it reached its optimal working speed
of six rotations per minute. Naarbul could finally remove his hands from the
surface. His module was now linked with the device. It was ready to perform all
of his commands.
“What are you planning to do?”
Nharsia asked him again.
But the admiral ignored her once
more. Instead, he decided to show her. He moved around the console in a few
long strides, until he was once again in front of the geologist.
“Who do you work for?” Naarbul
asked him “What is your assignment?”
Sanomis remained calm. Focused on
a single imaginary spot in front of him.
“This is one last chance to help
yourself.” Naarbul proclaimed.
Sanomis was still, not even
knowing how he was managing to do so.
“Very well.” Naarbul growled
“You’ve asked for it.”
He immediately booted the selected
program displayed on his visor. Sanomis could hear the sphere behind his back
releasing a clicking sound. He had no clue what that meant. Surely nothing
good, judging by the sinister smile appearing on the admiral’s face at that
exact moment.
Sanomis soon found out what
exactly, as he felt the surface of the chair start to shift underneath his
legs, bottom and his back. It was an insignificant move, perhaps only
millimeter or two. But it was enough for Sanomis to figure out what is going
on. This chair was made out of medem compound. He should’ve known that, before
it started to change its shape.
The chair let out a somewhat
intriguing sound, as it materialized several thousand tiny needles from its
surface. Every single one of them pierced Sanomis’ skin and tissue, latching
themselves onto the designated nerve endings. They were just a few millimeters
in. He could feel them all. In his arms and legs. And in his back and neck.
They were uncomfortable. Annoying if nothing else. If Sanomis knew what would
happen next, he’d wished that annoyance was to last for an eternity.
For as soon as the needles
completely attached to his nerve endings, the program booted. And with it came
the horrific, unbearable pain, he could not fathom. The needles pinched,
pulled, and twisted his nerves, doubling the pain of every subsequent point, as
they spread the impulse. Thousands upon thousands of impulses. And Sanomis
could feel every single one of them, as he simultaneously felt them together.
His eyes rolled inwards. His mouth
widened open, twice than ever before. Even more than it was physically
possible. It was unnatural. Horrendous. He tried to scream. To try and ease the
pain. But nothing came out. Not even a whimper of breath. He lost control of
his body. There was nothing there, except the pain. The pain and anguish.
The needles moved again. Another
wave of agony shook Sanomis’ body. Another scream tried to escape from his
throat. But he could muster just a barely audible grunt that appeared to be
coming from the deepest pits of his abdomen. The needles were now rotating,
winding the nerves like they were some sting. And again, Sanomis could feel
this all. This lasted for only three seconds. But to him, this felt like an
eternity.
One other thing changed. He found
his voice. And by the time the needles stopped turning, Sanomis was screaming
so loud, surely the entire Ganiwarthal could hear him. And they probably would,
if this room, among many other things, wasn’t completely soundproof. The
needles stopped for just one brief second they needed to release, snatch and
proceed to wind the nerves again.
“Would you be kind now, and say,
who do you work for?” Narbul asked.
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