Chapter 16: Fooling Me Fooling You
After the coronation, Julie went to Colin’s apartment to express her anger about Emperor Tiberius.
‘No cakes tonight,’ chuckled Colin as he opened his door to let Julie in.
‘Oh, you think this is so funny,’ raged Julie as she stormed past Colin.
‘Such an innovative response,’ said Colin as he followed Julie into his lounge.
‘Why didn’t Jennifer warn us he was thinking about Walter,’ said Julie angrily as she turned to look at Colin.
‘He wasn’t,’ replied Colin. ‘Apparently he was thinking about cake, and the name Walter popped into his head while he was on stage.’
‘He did it, just to piss me off,’ said Julie as she began pacing. ‘Walter is the worst of them, and his baking is terrible. How dare he insult me like that!’
‘Oh, so that’s what’s bugging you the most,’ chuckled Colin as he sat down on his sofa while he watched Julie continue to pace.
‘Let’s just let Jennifer completely take over him,’ said Julie aggressively as she turned to look at Colin. ‘Let the bastard be trapped in his own body with zero control.’
‘Absolutely not,’ replied Colin in a serious tone. ‘We need authenticity. Jennifer would ruin that. Besides, his brain is fried as it is. Too much of a push and we’ll be onto Emperor Walter in no time.’
‘Damn it!’ shouted Julie. ‘Duffo is older. He was born a thousand years ago. He should be next in line, not Walter.’
‘Walter has lived all his years,’ replied Colin as he looked up at Julie, who now had her hands on her hips. ‘Most of the Downs residents love him. He will overwhelmingly have their support. Miro isn’t going to push for Duffo. He isn’t an Alset. I don’t see this arrangement changing. For now, our wagon is firmly hitched to Emperor Tiberius.’
‘Collecting fruit in the wild sounds dangerous,’ said Julie with a slight smile on her face. ‘Anything could happen.’
‘Apparently, he’s with a really good team,’ said Colin in a reassuring tone. ‘I’m sure our charming prince will be fine.’
‘Go to hell!’ said Julie angrily as she stormed out of Colin’s apartment.
Meanwhile, in the underground Linap camp area, Tiberius had gone to visit his newly captured prisoner. She had been locked up in the cage Demadrian had been held in.
‘Our paths are forever intertwined,’ sighed Tiberius. ‘It has been both an annoyance and a pleasure.’
‘What are you going to do now?’ asked the Hat Lady as she leaned forward. ‘Are you going to finally finish the job?’
‘I have so many great options,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Killing you is the most boring.’
‘I think it’s because you’re afraid,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘The big tough Head Enforcer, Governor, Chief…’
‘Emperor!’ shouted Tiberius as he grabbed the cage. ‘You will show me the respect I deserve.’
‘No,’ replied the Hat Lady as she leaned back. ‘You’re the puppet who seeks applause while your masters pull your strings. I suppose they’ve just replaced your father.’
‘The cheap shots,’ said Tiberius as a smirk came over his face. ‘They are so unnecessary and so annoying. Then again, I put up with them because of all the good times. Cutting off your little friend’s legs was a real highlight.’
The Hat Lady stared intently at Tiberius.
‘The gift you gave your friends that sent them to their deaths was another classic,’ gloated Tiberius. ‘I heard you felt crushed.’
The Hat Lady continued to stare at Tiberius. Tiberius could see the hate burning in her eyes.
‘Tonight, your dear Demadrian gave you to me,’ continued Tiberius.
The Hat Lady, through the cage, grabbed Tiberius’ arm, and she shapeshifted him into a child.
‘Jennifer is wearing you like a cheap suit,’ said the Hat Lady as she squeezed Tiberius’ arm. ‘Your mummy and daddy are going to toss you away once they’ve had their fill. Once again, you will be erased from history. A legacy of nothing.’
Tiberius desperately tried to pull away, but he could not muster his strength.
‘The truth is written in your weak, cowardly, pathetic face,’ said the Hat Lady as she released Tiberius’ arm.
Tiberius shuffled across the floor away from the cage as he shapeshifted back into himself.
Polly opened the trailer door. The Hat Lady had shapeshifted into a little girl. Her clothes were drenched in blood.
‘He did this to me!' cried the Hat Lady as blood began to roll down her forehead.
Polly panicked. She recalled all the awful memories Jennifer had extracted from his brain, like how he had tortured the orphans in the North. Polly desperately grabbed the cage door and ripped it off its hinges.
The Hat Lady crawled out in her child form. She slowly stood up. The skin began to melt off her face. Polly stood back in fear.
‘Stop her!’ shouted Tiberius as the Hat Lady slowly walked towards the trailer door. ‘None of this is real, you stupid robot.’
Polly was frozen in fear. Jennifer did not take over. Instead, she absorbed Polly’s emotional response.
Tiberius grabbed the Hat Lady to stop her. She shapeshifted his arm so that it appeared the flesh was peeling off. He let go of her, and she walked out the door.
Tiberius’ arm shapeshifted back to normal. He hesitated for a few seconds, and then he ran out of the trailer. The Hat Lady had gone.
He turned around. Polly was standing in the doorway of the trailer. She appeared physically shaken.
‘Never again will you do that,’ said Polly in a shaky voice as a tear rolled down her cheek.
‘You were supposed to protect me,’ shouted Tiberius at Polly. ‘Jennifer, what are you doing?’
‘I’m learning and evolving,’ replied Jennifer through Polly.
‘All these wild emotions and responses are truly enlightening,’ replied Jennifer inside Tiberius’ head.
Half a dozen enforcers ran over to Tiberius.
‘Take me to Miro, now!’ commanded Tiberius.
Miro was in his apartment with Henders, Benny, and Louis. Louis was demonstrating how to edit the recordings of the coronation using the software installed on Henders’ computer.
‘This is absolutely brilliant,’ said Miro as he watched Louis seamlessly put together different clips of recordings.
There was a loud knock on the door.
‘Oh, another visitor,’ said Miro as he quickly got up to open the door.
Miro opened the door. It was Tiberius; two enforcers accompanied him.
‘We need to talk,’ said Tiberius as he walked into the apartment. ‘We have a huge security problem.’
‘I understand,’ said Miro as he followed Tiberius into his lounge. ‘You need an official imperial guard.’
‘I need more than that,’ said Tiberius as he glanced at Benny and Henders, who were sitting on the sofa. ‘L1 has emerged and she has freed Demadrian.’
‘How?’ replied Louis, sounding surprised. ‘I thought she was wheelchair-bound.’
‘It appears she got hold of some of our seaweed but didn’t have the full safe procedure,’ said Tiberius angrily as he turned to Louis.
‘Your safety is of paramount concern,’ said Miro in a deeply worried tone.
‘I want an official imperial guard consisting of our toughest enforcers,’ said Tiberius. ‘They need to be equipped with something that can detect invisibility or shapeshifting.’
‘We have some infrared goggles,’ replied Miro. ‘We used them to detect cult ambushes in the tunnels.’
‘Some!’ growled Tiberius. ‘How many is some?’
‘Maybe a dozen,’ replied Miro. ‘We kept most underground. We thought…’
‘Great!’ said Tiberius. ‘Give all to my imperial guards.’
‘Yes, of course,’ said Miro. ‘I’ll have this organised tonight for you.’
‘Henders!’ said Tiberius. ‘Check if you have this sort of technology in your warehouse. I want as many enforcers equipped as possible.’
Henders nodded.
‘I also need to form an official executive council,’ said Tiberius as he turned back to Miro. ‘We have a lot of work to do.’
‘Oh yes, I understand,’ said Miro, nodding his head.
‘What’s he doing?’ asked Tiberius as he looked at the computer.
‘He’s making a video of your coronation,’ said Benny, leaning forward. ‘It’s really good.’
‘Nice, you can show it at our first council meeting,’ said Tiberius. ‘I have positions for all four of you.’
Two days later, Tiberius called a meeting to announce the official positions in his executive council.
They gathered in the town hall. Tiberius had invited Duffo, Miro, Julie, Hermon, Colin, Henders, Benny, Eugene, Lendall, Louis, and Lily.
The eleven of them were seated around the large table, awaiting Tiberius’ arrival.
A dozen imperial guards entered the room. They were wearing helmets with built-in infrared vision visors. They positioned themselves around the edge of the room. A few seconds later, Tiberius entered. Commander Eric followed him.
‘All rise for the Emperor,’ shouted Miro.
Everyone stood up. Eric took his position at the edge of the room with the imperial guards, and Tiberius stood in front of his chair. Tiberius gestured for everyone to sit.
‘We have a major security issue,’ said Tiberius as he looked around the room. ‘Demadrian Alset has escaped with the help of L1 Linap.’
‘Just more proof of who’s the real troublemaker in the family,’ chuckled Hermon.
‘Do not fear,’ continued Tiberius. ‘I have taken appropriate measures to ensure everyone’s safety. We cannot let a couple of criminals distract from our goals. To achieve our goals, we need a strong Government led by a competent executive council. That is why I have called this meeting. Everyone around this table will be part of this council.’
Tiberius paused, and everyone around the table applauded.
‘As Emperor, I will lead the council,’ said Tiberius. ‘Miro and my two adopted sons, Walter and Duffo, will be my imperial advisors. In Walter’s absence, Julie will act as an advisor.’
‘That is most generous of you, Your Imperial Majesty,’ said Julie, nodding.
‘Eugene will remain as Head Enforcer, Colin will remain as head of the Economic Institute, and Lily will remain as Head Philosopher,’ said Tiberius as his eyes moved between those he called out. ‘Henders is now officially the new resource manager.’
Eugene raised both his thumbs up at Henders, who nodded energetically in response.
‘I have also created a few new positions, which I consider extremely important,’ continued Tiberius. ‘Lendall, you are the new head of security. Hermon, you are the new Head Scientist. Benny, you are the new Head Technician. Louis, you are the new Head Communications Officer.’
Louis smiled happily while Eugene stared intently at him.
‘We are now officially the executive council for the Emperor,’ announced Tiberius. ‘We will reconvene tomorrow to review our laws. Before we go, Louis would like to show us a video he made of the coronation.’
Louis turned on the large television, and his video began to play.
After the video, everyone applauded, even Eugene.
As everyone was leaving, Eugene approached Louis, who had just pulled his memory stick from the television.
‘Looks like you found your calling, friend,’ said Eugene as he raised his eyebrows.
‘Editing videos was my favourite hobby when I lived in Tarrus,’ replied Louis. ‘After the Sentray attack, I couldn’t do it anymore.’
‘Until Jennifer showed up, eh,’ said Eugene with a smug look on his face.
‘No, it’s because I made videos of my family,’ replied Louis, shaking his head. ‘They were killed in front of me by the Sentray. You clearly don’t understand.’
'Oh, friend,’ said Eugene as sadness came over his face.
‘It doesn’t matter now,’ said Louis as he turned around and left the town hall.
Eugene rubbed his face with his hands.
Once outside the town hall, Louis walked towards the House of Divine Knowledge temple. Once he reached a spot behind a building, which put him out of view of any camera, he stopped. He waited about half a minute and then became invisible.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 