Page 35 of Godslayer
Why am I acting like this?
More importantly, how do I fix it?
9 - FINN
As soon as the doorto the Looking Glass closes, the dome above and around me comes to life. But there’s a sputter—a moment when everything goes black again—before snapping back on.
A voice greets me, but it’s wrong. Warbled to the point of making the words incomprehensible.
“What the hell is this?” I mutter, walking over to the circular desk in the middle of the room. Once inside, I start tapping on the switches, trying to make the voice clearer.
It doesn’t work. The words coming from the screen seem slow and mushed together.
Great. It’s broke?—
But before I can even finish this thought, a loud screeching sound booms out from every direction, making me crouch, wince, and cover my ears with my hands.
Just as quick as it started, it stops. And the room blinks again, but this time it stays black.
I stand, unmoving and blind, waiting to see what happens next.
But the seconds tick off and… nothing.
I sigh, suddenly feeling weary—a dull throb beginning to pulse behind my eyes—and make my way out from inside the circular desk. My body feels achy and rundown as I start feeling my way back towards the door, ready to just give up on this place and leave. It’s not working so why bother blowing it up?
It’s a bad idea. I know this even before the thought finishes forming in my head. We can’t leave here without setting up the self-destruct sequence. If we do… well, I don’t know what will happen, but whatever it is, it won’t be good. And it will probably show up at the most inopportune time.
So instead of finding my way back outside, I go back inside the desk and close my eyes, picturing the glass top in the last Looking Glass room when all the little switches were illuminated. So far, every desk, every Looking Glass, has been exactly the same from tower to tower.
I let out a breath, eyes still closed, and see it. Allowing my fingers to slide across the glass, tapping on it, trying to get it to restart.
It takes several tries and many minutes of messing around before it flickers to life. I open my eyes, relieved that I’m back in business here, only to find jagged cracks running across the glass panels of the dome like a spider web.
Clearly the plates are damaged and it’s messing up the image being projected. The voice is back too, warbled and weird.
I can’t really make out what it’s saying but I can tell that whatever this message is, it’s repeating. Saying the same few words over and over again.
The surface of the glass desk isn’t really lit up, but it’s not completely dark, either. I find the panel that controls the sound and start tapping the switches—jumping back in surprise when the voice is suddenly clear and booming.
“Shut down-protocol has been initiated for Xi Factory – Dimension 702. Please evacuate until further—” It cuts out.There’s some squealing, like it speeds up again, then it repeats. “Shut down-protocol has been initiated for Xi Factory – Dimension 702. Please evacuate until further instructions are received.”
It keeps going, over and over again, and no matter how many times I tap the glass, it doesn’t stop.
“Great. Fucking wonderful.” I leave the center of the desk, heading for the door, when the message abruptly changes.
“Reset in progress. Twenty-one days until launch.”
“What the hell is this?” I turn, looking up and around as the voice continues.
“Reset in progress. Twenty-one days until launch.”
I leave the Looking Glass room, closing the door behind me, and everything goes abruptly silent. Jasina—oblivious to what just happened—is sleeping on the couch, right where I left her.
She stirs, as I approach. “What’s going on? Did you set it?”
“No. There’s some other program running.”
This makes Jasina sit up, swiping at her red hair to get it out of her eyes. “What?”
