Chapter 24: Connecting to the Past
Early the next morning, Demadrian gathered his team to begin tunnelling. They had two large tunnel drilling machines. They would alternate them so that the other would cool down. Two other machines that would collect the smashed rock would follow the tunnelling machines. Once these machines reached capacity, they would transport the rocks to the openings in the tunnel ceiling they had drilled a few days earlier. The machines would eject the rocks through these openings to the area above ground. A surface team would clear these rocks. A fuel vehicle also followed the tunnelling machines. This had become the most elaborate tunnelling exercise in Sapey’s history.
Meanwhile, Jenna and the remaining technicians explored the hidden city. Jenna was amazed at how sophisticated the city was.
There were pumps in front of most buildings. She presumed this enabled these buildings to have access to running water.
‘Hey, Benny,’ called out Jenna. ‘Could you try and get this pump to work?’
Benny walked over to the pump and began studying it.
‘You have to admit this is pretty impressive,’ she said to him.
Benny grabbed the pump handle. He pulled down with all his might, but it would not move.
‘It’s okay. Don’t hurt yourself,’ said Jenna. ‘I think it’s too old to work.’
‘It’s made from muidallap!’ exclaimed Benny. ‘Its rate of corrosion is incredibly slow.’
‘Do we have any equipment that could help us date this pump?’ asked Jenna as she photographed the pump.
‘I could take a sample of the metal,’ said Benny. ‘I could age it based on the extent of corrosion that would likely occur in this atmosphere.’
‘Great,’ said Jenna as she continued walking up the street. She stopped and looked down at the street. It appeared there were tracks in the street.
‘Seems like they had a basic form of transportation for their residents or possibly goods,’ she said to herself.
She looked over at Benny. Several other technicians had gathered around the pump.
‘Benny,’ Jenna called out. ‘I would be grateful if you could accompany me today. I think I might need your expert opinion on certain things.’
‘I’d be honoured, Miss Alset,’ said Benny as he bowed his head. He then turned to the other technicians, showing them two thumbs up. They nodded in approval.
Benny turned back around and scurried over to Jenna.
‘From what you have seen so far, how old do you think this city might be?’ asked Jenna as the two walked up the street together.
‘I can’t really say with any certainty,’ said Benny, rubbing his chin. ‘From what I have seen from the condition of the remains of these buildings, the streets, and that pump, I would guess around twenty to thirty thousand years.’
‘I was thinking along the same lines,’ replied Jenna as she rubbed her hands along one of the walls. ‘What we found earlier would not have been over a few thousand years old. Would I be arrogant to suggest this evidence strongly supports my loop theory?’
‘No, Miss Alset,’ replied Benny, shaking his head. ‘You are the most humble Linap I know.’
‘You are too sweet,’ said Jenna, smiling at him.
The two of them continued walking around the city for a few more hours. Jenna made many notes and took several photographs along the way. Benny instructed technicians to take samples from various objects they encountered.
Along one of the main walls, they encountered drawings similar to what they saw when they entered the first tunnel.
Jenna immediately noticed a few key differences. In the first tunnel, the drawings repeated nine times. For this set of drawings, they repeated once, then there was a gap, and then they were repeated once more.
These drawings were carved quite deeply into the wall but had deteriorated far more than the other ones. Jenna began inspecting the gap in the drawings. She felt the wall with her fingers. She felt nothing. It did not seem like anything had been carved into this space. She walked back to the start of the drawings. She opened her bag and pulled out a few of the photographs she had taken of the other drawings. She began to compare them. Benny looked over her shoulder at the photographs.
‘Looks like they are telling a different story,’ said Benny, pointing to the wall. ‘The one on the wall is much longer.’
‘I beg to differ,’ said Jenna. ‘I believe it is the same story, but the one we have here,’ she said, shaking the photographs, ‘is a truncated version of events. They felt the repeating nature of the story was more important than the details. Whereas this group had more time to elaborate on events,’ Jenna added while pointing to the wall.
Benny smiled and nodded.
Jenna pulled out her camera and photographed the drawings.
‘Let’s see if we can figure out this story,’ said Jenna as she turned to Benny. ‘I would love to hear your interpretation.’
Benny took a deep breath and said, ‘There is a scary monster. They fight the scary monster. They win. They are happy. Then they are not happy. Many of them die. Then they come back again. There are two groups. One group is unhappy. They fight. The scary monster comes back. One of them goes and hides. Then it repeats.’
‘Great, well told,’ said Jenna, grinning at Benny. ‘You told it as you saw it. No overthinking.’
‘I thought science was my only skill,’ said Benny as he pumped his fist in excitement. ‘Now I can give relationship advice and be a storyteller.’
‘That’s great,’ chuckled Jenna. ‘Still, I think science is your true calling. In fact, you are on track for a promotion.’
‘Wow, could this day get any better!’ gasped Benny in excitement.
Jenna looked back at the drawings. A tear began to form in her eye.
‘Is everything okay, Miss Alset?’ asked Benny, who was looking concerned.
‘It’s going to be,’ said Jenna as she looked at Benny fondly. ‘You’re my friend. You can call me Jenna.’
‘Jenna,’ said Benny with a smile.
Jenna reached out and held Benny’s hand.
‘Let’s go and get something to eat,’ said Jenna. ‘I believe there is cheesecake in today’s rations.’
A few weeks had passed. Demadrian and his team had tunnelled under Carrington. Demadrian was now trying to judge where to resurface. He wanted to tunnel into the basement of the Alset mansion. However, he was having a difficult time identifying buildings from beneath them. He stopped to consult with the technicians. They gathered behind the tunnel drilling machine.
‘This is really important,’ said Demadrian. ‘We need to be very precise with where we surface. We cannot drill up into the street or into some random Linap’s house. We need to tunnel into the west basement. It is next to the Alset annex.’
One of the technicians opened his mouth and pointed upwards.
‘Great,’ said Demadrian. ‘I put my faith in you. Take the wheel, and I’ll take the upper seat. I’ll leap out the hatch and give them all a surprise.’
The technician nodded excitedly as Demadrian climbed inside the tunnel drilling machine. They tunnelled a little further. The machine began to tilt backwards as the nose started to drive upwards.
‘Keep it steady,’ said Demadrian as his voice shuddered from the vibrations of the machine. ‘It wasn’t designed for this sort of incline, but it’ll do it anyway.’
The machine was surrounded by loud popping sounds.
‘Any time now,’ said Demadrian as the machine continued upwards. ‘Like I said, anytime now.’
The machine kept heading upwards. Suddenly, it smashed straight through the floor of the annex.
Demadrian slowly opened the hatch door. His father was standing on the other side of the room with his arms crossed.
‘What the hell have you done to my floor?’ he demanded angrily.
‘I have given this annex an amazing upgrade,’ said Demadrian as he shrugged his shoulders. ‘I have given you access to an elaborate network of tunnels as well as a hidden ancient city.’
‘Thanks, I guess,’ said his father, scratching his head. ‘Still, it would have made more sense to enter via the basement.’
There was a loud crashing sound followed by a whooshing sound coming from the road outside. Demadrian and his father walked to the window to see what had happened. When they looked out, they could see that the road had collapsed and that water was spraying up from the ground.
Demadrian’s father, Hadrian, turned to look at his son.
‘Could have been a coincidence,’ said Demadrian with an embarrassed grin.
Hadrian shook his head in annoyance.
That evening, Demadrian returned home. The lights were on in his house. The dining table had been set for one.
‘Something smells yummy,’ said Demadrian as he approached the table.
The chair floated back from the table, allowing Demadrian to sit down. Demadrian took his place at the table. A plate floated across the room. It was placed in front of him. A few seconds later, a bottle floated across the room. Some of its contents were poured into a glass placed next to the plate. The bottle floated across the table and landed gently in the middle. The room was silent; there was no more movement.
‘Do I have your permission to begin?’ said Demadrian as he looked straight ahead.
His girlfriend, the Hat Lady, appeared at the other end of the table. She had taken yet another form Demadrian had never seen before.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I want my tunnelling adventurer to enjoy a good meal and a well-deserved rest.’
Demadrian grabbed his spoon and began to tuck in. The Hat Lady watched him eat as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.
‘This is delicious,’ said Demadrian enthusiastically. ‘I truly appreciate the effort you made. How did you know I’d be here tonight?’
‘It’s pineapple rice,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘I got it out of a packet. Two minutes in the pan, and it was done. I felt the collapsed road and burst water mains might have been your calling card.’
‘I must admit you have a keen eye,’ said Demadrian as he nodded. ‘Just one of the many reasons I’m so drawn to you.’
Once again, she became invisible.
‘Another thing I love about you,’ said Demadrian as he glanced around the room. ‘You are so mysterious. Invisible one second and then shapeshifting the next. When I was fourteen, I shapeshifted into my father for ten minutes. After that, I had a headache for an hour. Most of us have lost touch with this amazing skill.’
She reappeared behind Demadrian in yet another form. She placed her hands on his shoulder.
‘You’ve never had to hide from anyone,’ she said as she leaned forward towards his left ear. ‘It is amazing how we can fine-tune a skill out of necessity.’ She became invisible again.
‘I love the mystery,’ said Demadrian, sounding a little nervous. ‘At some point, I need to get to know the real you. It would be nice to know your real name and what you actually look like. Otherwise, I’m not sure how we can progress this relationship.’
‘So you want a long-lasting, serious relationship?’ she asked. Her voice appeared to be coming from the other side of the room now, but she was still not visible.
‘Some of my family members are beginning to think I’m a bit of a playboy,’ chuckled Demadrian. ‘They see me with what they think are different girls.’
‘So typically Alset,’ said his girlfriend as she emerged from an unlit area of the room in the form of Demadrian’s mother. ‘Hence, the reason why we are together in the first place.’
‘Please, that makes me feel uncomfortable,’ said Demadrian as he cringed.
‘How sad that it makes you uncomfortable to see the mother who loves you so much,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘How disrespectful to those who have never even met their mothers.’
‘I never meant it that way,’ said Demadrian as he grew ever more uncomfortable.
The Hat Lady disappeared again. The room was silent for a little while. Demadrian was not sure what to do next.
She reappeared again. She was standing next to him in the form of a female technician.
‘You’re so anxious,’ she whispered. ‘You’ve been away so long. You deserve to relax.’
Demadrian turned to look at her. He was breathing quite heavily.
‘If you want your little secret to remain,’ the Hat Lady said calmly as she touched his knee, ‘our relationship is going to stay as it is.’
Demadrian timidly nodded.
She shapeshifted into Demadrian’s grandmother. ‘How about a bit of fun before bedtime?’ she said as she licked his face.
Demadrian quickly got up from his chair. ‘I think I’ll just go straight to bed,’ he said, sounding very flustered.
‘Suit yourself,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I’m leaving for North City tomorrow. I’ll be stopping over in the Capital for a bit. Do you want me to bring you back anything?’
Demadrian did not reply. He had locked himself in his bedroom.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
