His daughter, Althea, having helped him maintain their lonely section of the long-abandoned Pagos Base, felt that now may be the right time to know what in the world is she and her father doing, what are the documents' plans for, and why.
"Dad, is it true that all of this is for the Irisium Project?" she said curiously, while hacking the Jammers with the portal's small dial. "I saw the words 'Irisium' in the Old Peregrinian from your documents."
"Of course, Alli." calmly replied her father. "We are doing it for the country's greater good."
"Good?!" Althea's face paled in shock. "It's a superweapon that is absolutely banned under the Peregrinian Constitution of 3154! No wonder why the cops had been after us when we left Peregrinium!"
Dr. Roland remained calm, as he charged the portal's power system, managing to successfully concentrate while plugging in its wires and setting up its geothermal generators.
"Now, Alli, I shall explain to you, as clearly as possible. It is a defense system, of rockets and lasers, not only to destroy enemies that approach our Peregrinian borders, but also to shoot down the vile Tellurian satellite array that looms over our skies, preventing our spacecraft from leaving the atmosphere."
"Why did you take me there to help you in this sort of work? Don't you have other workers or ... minions of yours?"
"Better for you and your computer skills to help me than for you to spend fifty years sitting and starving in Ikaros Jail. Let's get back to work."
But as Dr. Roland finished speaking, the portal interface screen flashed green. At the same time, a little old radio, sitting inside a worn-out wooden shelf, started buzzing and blaring what sounded like an orchestral version of The Defenders' Creed.
"I haven't finished hacking through the Jammers, but it was as though they were down." Althea murmured.
The music gave way to a rough-accented, yet regal-toned, bellow of a man's voice, cut by white noise caused by the icy walls of (and poor transmission dishes outside) the Portal Chamber.
" ... This is General Parision here ... -bzzt- ... I've just done overthrowing the de ... dant government ... setti ... Irisi ... nces ... -bzzt- ... shutting down ... mers now ... -bzzt- ... "
"See?" said Dr. Roland, comforted that luck was in his side, "now even the police will not lay a finger on our plans to save -- "
His assurance was cut short as he heard crashes, whirrs, and possibly fighting outside the room, growing softly and then being silenced with a grim hyooon.
"The Tellurians are coming, Dad!" Althea screamed, as the portal flashed blue under her and the components. "Come to the portal. Quickly!"
The footsteps grew nearer, as Dr. Roland stumbled and scrambled for some of his documents.
"PRESS THE RED BUTTON, ALTHEA! PRESS IT!"
But it was not a band of the dreaded, yellow garment-wearing Tellurians. It was Mr. Baker and his two surviving colleagues.
"Dr. Roland, stop it! We arrest you as a criminal in the name of the President!"
Dr. Roland calmly threw away some of his documents towards his pursuers.
"I'm finished with my work here, intruders. Go and study it yourself."
The portal whooshed in a blinding flash of blue, and Dr. Roland, his daughter, and the components were gone.
Baker and his crew may have failed to stop his targets from pursuing their project, but they had to study it and its motives from the documents, as they wait for an hour to re-charge the portal.
***
" ... I couldn't believe it, Mr. Baker." said Miss Cromsley, after reading some of the extra notes Dr. Roland had left behind. "They've taken over the government that easily."
"No wonder why they left us more easily," joined in Mr. Glumbrow, "as their portal had a much more shorter delay than their previous one."
"Then, let us see it for ourselves." he replied.
After they had quickly finished their study, they returned to Peregrinus (the capital, where they came from) via the portal.
But this is not the Peregrinus they had known throughout their lives, not anymore.
Red-and-yellow banners flutter by the walls and balconies instead of the familiar blue-and-yellows. The streets are now lined with pairs and groups of soldiers, with throngs behind them shouting slogans. Propaganda in Old and modern Peregrinian blare on the newly-attached speakers and TV screens, crying for renewed warfare against the old enemy Tellurium, joined in by the crowds. Tanks rolled past them in the streets.
At least overhead, beyond their river of bystanders around them, they could be relieved that the array of hexagonal dots of Tellurian satellites were gone.
"Look, Bakes," said Mr. Glum, as he points furiously at their enemies, "there's ol' Ron and his girl, getting 'warded by Gen. Parision!"
The three detectives trundled their way towards the general, now in the overthrown President's uniform.
"Stop, rogue-general Parision, in the name of the Republic!"
"You are a foul traitor to the Constitution, an usurper, and a potential mass murderer!"
"Peregrinium will not recognise you as its ruler. Step down, in the name of the President!"
Upon hearing this, several people in the crowd immediately tackled them and handed them over to ten security officials, who took them towards the President. The parade and the celebrations stopped, as public attention has been turned towards the three "traitors". The bystanders now shout remarks and curses towards them.
"Your Excellency, what should be done to such traitorous scum as these?" one of the guards replied.
The crowd answered: "Traitors!" "Imprison them!" "Death!"
Parision raised his hand, silencing the crowds. He continued his speech:
"Listen, my people. These three 'traitors', as you put it, are loyal defenders against corruption for the Peregrinian state. I do not mind that they and many others had followed the corrupt baron Perimetros, hunting me and my followers down to prevent our nation from waking up; I desire to re-educate them, and reuse them, to serve the purposes of the Awakened State -- "
One person broke out on the opposite sidewalk, and shouted: "But, Your Excellency, they will revolt! They will turn against you!" He was joined in by several people, seeking death for that mere attempt to interrupt and attack their long-awaited avenger of the Tellurian War.
One of the guards then aimed his rifle at the very person who started it all, and shouted, "DO NOT INTERRUPT THE PRESIDENT WHEN HE SPEAKS!"
Then Parision grabbed his hand. "You do not shoot the innocent, I command you. Put down the rifle!"
The crowd kept quiet, as to allow their President to continue. They would not dare object to him any more, both out of love, and of fear of being harshly counted as "Tellurian agents".
"I order, therefore, that these three be re-trained and stationed under the Anti-Terror Squad." He then turned towards his guards, and said sternly, "Take them away, and leave them unharmed."
Resigned in defeat, and unsure on whether to continue serving their "corrupted state", the three detectives, as they were led by the guards to a prison van, kept quiet.
While all of this was taking place, Dr. Roland and his daughter were hastily led away to another truck, where they were taken to a domed network in the heartland, housing the Core of the Irisium Project. There, they will be required to keep the Core functional, to allow its System to retaliate undisturbed.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment