“How will we get a body-scan of Raash?” she asked. “I don’t know if it can be done from one burnt appendage.”
“I don’t know either, but I bet you can find a nerd at Central who has the answer.”
She bit her lip, and she nodded. She began to work her tapper again in earnest, and she ordered a big cup of ice.
“What’s that for?”
“The claw, of course. Put it in the ice. You should have done that hours ago.”
“Oh…”
I did as she instructed, and when I went to pay the bill she took custody of the big finger in the cup. I was glad to have it out of my pocket, to tell you the truth.
Soon, we were out on the town again. We were in her car, but she had me drive.
“Should we just head straight for Central?” I asked.
“Yes, we can get help from the labs. I have… a few favors I can call in when it comes to pushing the limits of medicine and science.”
When we got there, the guards in the lobby wanted to search us. That was purely normal, but the thing in her big plastic cup definitely wasn’t.
“I can’t show you this,” she told them. “It’s related to a secret project.”
“Can we at least scan it for hazards?”
She allowed them to scan it, and I was impressed by the whole interchange. These hogs had never given me a break like this. I supposed it was because I was just some random legionnaire to them, not a high-level nerd-herder who worked in the deepest labs.
We went down, down, down into the depths under Central. We took a second elevator about two hundred levels down, then a third at level five hundred—that impressed me all over again.
“I’d heard there were more levels down here! Now it’s confirmed.”
Floramel glanced at me. “Don’t tell anyone, James… but there have always been more than five hundred levels.”
“What kind of freaky stuff is down here, anyways?”
“Things we don’t talk about. We don’t talk about the people down here, either.”
Shrugging, I let her have her little mystery. I figured I’d find out soon enough.
When we did finally get out at around floor minus five-twenty, it seemed to me that the basement was a little warmer this far down. I asked Floramel about it, and she confirmed the sensation was real.
“Every kilometer you descend into the Earth, the temperature and pressure rise significantly. At this depth, we’re experiencing several degrees of heat and increased atmospheric pressure on our bodies.”
“Huh… that’s weird.”
She didn’t answer me, she just kept walking. It seemed like her shoes were slapping on the hard floors for ten straight minutes. At last, she reached a zone labeled as “The Vault”. At least, that’s what the sign hanging from the ceiling said.
True to the name, there was a big round metal vault door nearby. The vault was hanging open, about a meter wide, and a guard sat at the entrance. He eyed us critically as we approached.
“Names?”
We gave our names, ranks, serial numbers, tapper ID codes—the works. The guard eyed me coldly when we were done.
“This man is denied entrance. In fact, you shouldn’t even have brought him down here, Director.”
“He has information vital to a project I’m working on.”
The hog looked at me dubiously. He could tell at a glance I was no scientist.
“I don’t see how that’s possible, but I’m going to let him in on your recognizance.”
“Good enough. Is there anyone else working in the consultation chamber?”
“No. The place is all clear. If you hear any voices, you should run out screaming.” The hog seemed to think this was hilarious, and he huffed out a laugh. We ignored him and went inside.
“What was that about?” I asked her. “Is this place haunted or something?”
Floramel looked at me seriously. “In a manner of speaking, yes it is.”
That was surely an odd response. Curious, I followed her skinny form into the vault. Had she said something about a “consultation?” What did that mean? Was there some kind of freaky-smart AI down here? That would be cool, and I was already thinking that Natasha would be jealous as hell if she ever found out I’d been on this little field-trip.
The interior of the vault was lit with a soft bluish glow. All the corners and crevices were pitch-black, but I could still see some things, and what I saw was alarming.
The place reminded me of an underwater base at the bottom of the ocean. Liquids in clear pipes chugged and gurgled above us. These pipes went back and forth all over the ceiling, crisscrossing everywhere. The soft blue light source seemed to be coming from overhead, beyond those pipes, and as it came through the flowing liquids it became kind of wavy.
There were rows of cylindrical tanks against the walls. These weren’t very big, each one was maybe the size of a party keg full of beer. The tanks were murky inside, full of dark films and oozes. I stepped close to one, peering inside. I tapped on the glass twice, but Floramel caught my hand before I could poke at it a third time.
“What is wrong with you?” she hissed. “Are you a child?”
I pointed at the tank. “I think there’s something in there.”
“Of course there is. These beings are tormented enough. Don’t bother them if you don’t have to. Don’t add anything new to their misery.”
“Huh?”
She walked away, and I followed her, glancing back now and then at the tank I’d been molesting. I thought I saw a little floating movement, but it
