Ragnarok

Chapter 63 - Crystal

Mia had stood with some impatience as a small group of female researchers draped her in a woolen cloth, covered in yellow, red and orange patterns. The fringe of the cloth was decorated with turquoise, Peruvian opals, and small discs of gold. Around her waist was a similarly decorated sash, and the large square of cloth was held in place with large, ornamental pins that seemed big enough to use as small knives. The ensemble was completed with a pair of hide sandals upon her feet, and a headdress that wrapped itself around her long, dark hair.

There was a knock at the door, and Mr Ibis was standing there, looking approvingly at Mia's new clothes. "Is all this really necessary?" Mia asked. She had a love of fashion that had originally inspired her hobby of clothing design, but she didn't see much point to dressing up like a traditional Incan woman, right down to the replicated llama hide on her shoes.

Mr Ibis shrugged. "Don't forget that it has been five hundred years since the Gate had last been stepped through, and we have no idea what defenses lay on the other side, since none of the probes we sent in lasted for more than a few minutes. If there are any automated systems, they may be set to recognize whether a supplicant is dressed 'properly'." Mr Ibis spread his hands. "Minimizing whatever risk there may be seemed logical, especially since you'll be taking the sun disc with you when you step through."

Mia frowned. "I would have thought it was unnecessary to take the disc along. Didn't Amaru leave the disc with the local priesthood when he went through?"

"Amaru also never returned," Ibis reminded her. "Once you've activated the Gaia System, you might have to make a quick exit. We suspect there may be another gate on the other side, one that leads to somewhere else on the surface ... some of us suspect the Gate of the Sun, which is not terribly far from here. Regardless of where you end up, there is a tracking device in your clothing, which will allow us to retrieve you once you make it to the surface."

"All of which assumes that I can make it through the Gate, survive whatever's on the other side, somehow activate an alien technology that we don't remotely understand, and then find this theoretical way out. All before a hundred-mile-high monstrosity from deep space arrives and smashes the globe into bite-sized pieces." Mia knew she was complaining, but the whole thing was so insane, she felt like she had to vent a little before she outright exploded.

Mr. Ibis just looked at her, a sorrowful expression on his long face. "I do wish there were some other way. Pulling you from your home, right after your experiences on the rogue world, to return to this heavy world and take on the burden of saving humanity."

Mia waved his words away. "It has to be someone, right? Might as well be me. I'm just ... scared, is all. Scared I'll fail and the whole Earth will die because of me. I don't mind coming back to Earth... I spend most of my free time in simulations of it. I love my homeworld, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her."

Ibis nodded slowly. "I would think something amiss if you were not at least a little frightened. As I said, it is a heavy burden." He reached into his pocket, then, and pulled out the same silver case he had shown her before. She felt her body tense at the sight, and her eyes immediately locked onto it. She could feel some kind of tingle up and down her spinal column.

"Do you know," Ibis said softly, "we tried several variations on the sun disc design, before we were able to find one that worked. Not the exterior—we knew exactly what was needed for that. The issue was how pure the gold had to be... but it had one other requirement. Are you familiar with the crystal trees on Eris?"

Mia nodded. "I understand they're a fairly valuable commodity. Nuclear chemists have discovered several new elements by studying them. And they're the first form of life we've discovered that isn't carbon-based." She paused, then added. "I've also heard rumors that the crystals can enhance psychic ability, so they're highly sought after by spiritualists."

Ibis nodded. "The missing element was a shard of Eris crystal, which lies at the heart of the sun disc. The crystal nodes that make up the Gaian grid are of a similar material to the Erisian trees, and without that element present, even the purest gold would not work to unlock the Gate. Once we added the crystal, we knew that we had it."

He finally held the case out to Mia, who took it with only the slightest hesitation. Just holding the case the disc was in made her senses suddenly feel sharper, as if she'd been given a shot of adrenaline. She gasped a little, holding the case in both hands as though the disc would try to escape if she didn't keep it shut.

"I guess those rumors were true," Mia murmured. "Just holding it, my senses feel enhanced. It's odd, but not unpleasant." She smiled a bit. "And for some reason, I feel a lot more confident. Like the disc is telling me I can do it."

Ibis smiled approvingly. "Perhaps it is, Miss Mia. Perhaps it is." He stood, then and gestured to the door. "Now then, if you are prepared, let us go. It is time to send you through the Gate. I hope the Gods will indeed be with you."

Mia smirked a bit. "Which Gods, though?"

Ibis shrugged. "Whichever ones wish the Earth to remain in the heavens... which, I should hope, would be most of them."