It's a cruel world and there are some very bad people out there. I mean seriously bad, deranged people. You know the one's I'm talking about. They are pure evil and don't care about anyone except themselves. We are nothing to them. Simply toys they can play with until we are broken or they get bored. When they will toss us aside to pick up the next toy. Yes that's correct I'm talking about the mass of people who know fuck all about anything, but are determined to tell you exactly how you should live your life. They are convinced they know best because another fuck wit spoke to them and they believed their bullshit. Why wouldn't they? Neither of them knows anything about real life. Their cosseted bubble of existence removes them from any hardship apart from the ones they make up. They know nothing, but they can talk endless shit about everything. Their illogical contradictions do not register on their bovine brains. They went to a thing, they heard some words and were told some stuff. They are now experts on every facet of our lives. They feel our suffering and our pain through all that money and privilege. Yet we are the over privileged ones. So the lesson is: DON'T LISTEN TO STUPID CUNTS JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR DOING FUCK ALL.
(The copyright to this image is the property of Peter Cook."
Scarlet, Daisy and Jake exited the former living quarters of a demigoddess. All of them chuckling like children. About something that was inexplicably funny, for no known reason. They were lucky not to encounter any of the others until they'd calmed down and sobered up.
"The offer still stands Daisy. You can do with him as you wish. He's no use to me." Scarlet announced.
Daisy demurred tactfully.
"Your actions last night give me reason to doubt that." She smiled.
"What can I say?" Her friend responded. "I've had a lot worse in my time. My experience has shown me that the ugly pathetic ones try a lot harder. The pretty ones don't really do a lot."
"You make a good point." Daisy giggled. Stopping short of returning to uncontrollable laughter.
"You know, I am still here." Jake griped.
"Sorry, I didn't notice you." His boss replied, linking arms with him. "Is that better? You'd think you'd be a lot happier given that you've got access to this." She preened herself. "And Daisy as well. The last woman who Norbert touched robbed him at gunpoint."
Jake sighed mournfully.
"You see that actually hurts. Being compared to Norbert, is not something I enjoy. Oh shit! He's been on his own for hours. There could be a panicking nerd on the loose. There's no telling where he might seek refuge from open spaces. He'll be in a closet or wardrobe by now."
"Relax. Poppy took care of him. He'll sleep like a baby for the next few hours. She's recording everything for him."
"Oh right. When I drug him into a coma it's bad. When she does it's fine."
"Yep. That's pretty much it. You really are going to have your work cut out curing him of his fear of the outside. I'm glad I'm not you. Which is pretty much the universal state of everyone who isn't you."
"I know you're only joking." He rejoined.
"No I'm not. Otherwise I'd be laughing."
That set Daisy off again.
They spent the rest of the day exploring the Palace. Even going out onto the top balcony that was cut into the pyramidal building. The view was spectacular. There was an even better one at the summit. The group took the steps up to the flattened top. In the middle of which was a dome. Filled with a moving mass of pale and dark blues that changed constantly. Another hypnotic sight. To compare with all the others. There were few places to compare with this city. Even its backdrop was awe inspiring. The Plateau of Africa was slightly lower than the apex of the building. At this distance you could ignore that lack of any movement and pretend it was really there. Reluctantly they headed back down after having something to eat.
That night was the only one they spent inside any of the structures. The whole party settling in to the Matriarch's dwelling. It was such a peaceful, relaxed space. Hard to imagine the drama's that must have taken place here. They even brought Norbert up on his motorized trolley. The after effects of whatever Poppy had administered, allowed him to experience some of what the others had. They all bedded down in the largest room. Scarlet coming to him before Jake had even rolled out his bed. She kissed him. He offered minimal resistance. Tonight he was on pillow duty. Perfectly content with that. There were a lot worse jobs and he'd done many of them in his time.
"What are you thinking?" She asked. "And I'm using that word in its loosest sense.
"Well as you've asked, I was thinking about how all those links we made with our little adventures and the Newkind, might not be true now. If they aren't due here until the future then they might not be responsible for any of the things that happened. Including the attempted destruction of Harrowmist."
She rose up from his chest.
"That's actually quite smart for you Sparky. I've had thoughts along the same lines. Trouble is it's entirely possible this is still their work. If the Simbri can predict the future so can others. My mind was wandering along the avenue of what the origin of the Newkind was. It's entirely possible they are related to the Diranni. A fusion of their DNA with that of mankind. They're both similarly psychopathic. I'm going to leave the speculation for now. When we get back we've got to have a conference with all the other captains. This change of plan needs to be agreed to."
"Do you think they will?"
She laid back down on him.
"They'll love it. The only problem will be Zhen and it isn't really him that's the problem. It's the Crystal Dragon. That ship has always been in The Never. Whenever Zhen goes back to earth or any other destination he does so aboard one of his other ships. The ship can do it, but getting up sufficient speed will take up a lot of energy. Energy there's no knowing when it can be replaced. If he can't go then none of us will. That's the code. Besides which the Dragon is vital in many ways. It might not be fast, but it packs as much punch as all the rest of us put together."
This was all new to him.
"So you mean we might not be going after all?"
"Of course we will. Zhen is completely insane. He's Chinese insane to. He'll trust his fate to fate. The crazy bastard once took on six other ships in a vessel smaller than the Harlot. Might have won to. Only, he ran out of ammunition after he'd sunk four of them. Had to surrender. Him and his crew spent two years in prison. Even I wouldn't take on six ships in battle. I'd have used some other ploy to beat them."
That was remarkably easy to believe.
"Have you ever lost in the 12 years you've been out here?" Jake inquired.
"Everybody loses in the end."
That was no answer.
"Yes, but have you?"
"Not yet. One day the odds will catch up with me. They always do. I wouldn't have gone up against six other ships though."
"You'd have seduced a couple of the captains wouldn't you?"
"If the opportunity had arisen. I would have done so. I'm always willing to take a couple for the team. Half a dozen at a pinch."
"You are an awful human being, but I love you so much." He kissed her head.
"Whatever." Scarlet dismissively retorted,
She was softening up.
They continued their slow meander back to the entrance arch. Taking side trips to see what they had missed in the darkness on the way in. Before too long they encountered the sphinx they'd passed on that inbound journey Jake avoided looking at it as much as he could. Holding back as the others walked around the statue. Pip had wandered into the space between those front paws. That drew his attention. Could it possibly be that this one might have a cavern beneath it. He began to walk towards the youngster, as she looked around. Something had caught her attention on the chest of the mythical beast. He sped up, not running. His legs were still in the final stages of recovery. That was until he spotted her reaching up towards a slightly different part of the structure he yelled a warning not to touch it. Too late. As he was falling through the air the thought flashed through his mind that the trap door had opened well behind her. In front of him, but behind her.
"Ow." Jake lay on his back where he'd landed.
Deja vu or what? Stunned into immobility, and badly winded, he watched the faces join Pip's at the hole that was swimming above him.
"What are you doing down there?" Scarlet called.
"I thought I'd have a lie down." Jake called back. "It's alright. I'll be up and about in a bit. Fully rested."
"Stop jerking about you fool. We can't trust you for five minutes. What can your see anyway?"
He rolled upright with a moan. Taking out his head lamp and turning it on. This cavern was a lot smaller. He could clearly see the walls to either side and behind him. The one in front was indistinct.
"Looks empty to me." He called back. "Do you want to come down and take a look?"
"No. We'll throw you a rope. Daisy says these things are common to all the sphinxes. They're a replica of the stores of knowledge they found from the race that preceded man on earth. Mostly left empty. They didn't want the Diranni coming back too soon, because they'd detected technology. A few might contain relics or artifacts. Without exploring all of them there's no way to know. Here's the rope you prawn."
He jumped out of the way as a few feet of it hit the ground near him. Jake then tied himself on and waited as they pulled him up. At the surface everyone was staring at him. He brushed himself off. Oh shit. They were waiting for him to explain why he'd run up to Pip. he stopped the brushing.
"I saw Pip about to press a button. I've been told not to touch anything. I'm not allowed to press stuff. I thought it might be important archaeology things."
"Well it wasn't. If you press it again it closes. You're an idiot. Pip might have stepped back when you shouted. She could have hurt herself. You should be more careful. Now stop dicking about. We've still got a ways to go and there's more than enough to see. We can't be wasting time rescuing your ass every five minutes. Pip's fine, but this might have been serious. She could have broken a leg. They can take hours to fix. Sometimes a whole day."
Ah well. As long as Pip was alright. He finished brushing himself down. Nobody knew this wasn't his first experience of dropping through a sphinx hole. Although what doing so twice said about him, didn't need examining too closely. They moved on again. He had Hermes working away now. These new injuries were wiped. A few minutes later Jake was only suffering the pains he'd become used to.
Two days later they emerged from the city. Stepping through the barrier at the arch without any problem. Daisy and Scarlet were studying the welcome above. That might be a problem.
"It must have been added by someone after the builders departed. It wasn't there when I passed through first time. There's something about it that sets off a tingling in the back of my brain."
"Me too." Scarlet agreed. "It's like a subliminal message has been encoded into the script. Which means it's intended for you in more ways than the obvious one. Anything floating around in that cavernous skull of yours?"
Jake assumed his innocent look, looking right back into her eyes.
"I'm aware of nothing."
"We know that. It might float to the surface at some point. Like a turd. If it does be sure to notify us. Someone knew you would be here. Someone not connected to the builders, but with access to their knowledge and some other stuff as well. Let's move out anyway. Radio Kayzee to let her know we're back and thank her for her courtesy."
As they walked towards the cave opening Jake took a look back.
"How long were we in there Morag?" He asked the engineer.
"Eight days. Weren't you there?"
"You are just being pedantic. I mean how long out here has passed, since we entered?"
She consulted her pad.
"A little over a day."
"So time moves eight times slower in there."
"You'd think that. Only with time you can never rely on common sense. It moves slower in there. That's about all you can say. Time can run faster out here than it did. Slower in there than it did and everywhere in between. Time is relative."
"Should we have turned the lights off when we left?" Everyone was looking at him again. "I was just asking."