Gravity Wielder - Book 2 of Re-Forge

From the Mouths of Babes

In the Last Cavern, Marc DuPont's new assistant, Alex, said: "Debbie says that the third tunnel heat sensor has failed." Then in a strained voice, Alex said: "At this rate, we have mere months, before magma breaches our cavern. I... I don't want my family to die, Marc."

Marc replied in a calming tone: "I agree that escaping certain death looks like a lost cause Alex, but at the same time, there has to be a solution, it's for that reason the mayor and his councillors entrusted this group with such a great responsibility. They believe that if anyone can do it, we can."

"We have to remain steadfast, and we mustn't listen to those people who have already decided we are doomed. If we accept that, then we have already failed. It's that simple. I for one, do not want the doomsayers proved right. If they are, we all die. I just won't accept that outcome."

"I'm sorry, Marc," said Alex: "I can't help it. I'm beginning to believe everyone else is right. I can't see any way out of this cavern either, no matter how I strain my brain for solutions. There is just nowhere to go. Escape to the surface is sure death. We have no large digging machinery, so tunnelling is out, and we have no technology that can stop the magma melting its way through the last of the rock separating this last cavern from disaster."

Alex sat forward abruptly to emphasise his next words: "What can we achieve in these remaining months that we haven't been able to discover in the last century?"

"Our 'all-powerful' forefathers are responsible for this entire mess; a mess they believed history would applaud them for as the saviours of the righteous. They failed, Marc, and worse yet; they had no time to destroy the records proving their deceit. They destroyed the world, they destroyed the lunar colony... and they failed their children, their own descendants."

Alex's shoulders visibly sagged as he vented his tirade and finished in a hoarse whisper. His eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears, as he said: "I want to spend time with my family before the end."

Marc felt Alex's despair and was deeply saddened that he appeared to be giving up the fight. Marc's mind looked back into the past momentarily and remembered Alex as he was in the beginning. Alex had begun his time as Marc's assistant with such high aspirations of discovery and hopes of success.

Now though, Marc observed Alex's depression worsening with each failure along the way and lately it seemed that in Alex's mind at least, painful death for the pitiful remains of humanity was an imminent and unavoidable fate.

Alex giving up just like the other survivors trapped in this last stronghold bought tears to Marc's eyes. He could not face this now. He placed a consoling hand on Alex's shoulder and said: "Okay Alex, we're finished for today, go home to your family, and we'll talk later."

Marc escorted Alex to the front door and remained there leaning against the door frame, observing Alex as he walked in the direction of his home through a shadow-filled underworld. As Alex was swallowed by the shadows of adjacent buildings, Marc could not help but notice that Alex's body language shouted defeat. Marc expelled a soft sigh of disappointment and gave a quick shake of his head, then turned tiredly back into his quiet office.

Seeing the wine bottle and glass on the side table was all the prompting Marc needed to help himself to some artificial relaxant. Marc watched the fragrant red wine tumble and swirl in the glass as he filled it, and he thought; "At least there's plenty of good wine left to last till the end. We won't have time for that to run out."

Hours passed and two empty wine bottles later Marc reclined in his office chair with his feet on his desk, sipping at the last glass. He thought groggily about many of the good ideas that his team of innovative thinkers dreamed up over the past nine months, but had failed to deliver on, for any of a thousand reasons. Mostly, it was due to a lack of sophisticated equipment or the inability to manufacture the essential component needed to make a great idea into a reality.