Resonance

Chapter 3 - Kalis Blackthorn

The people kept staring as I walked by, Alpha, Delta, and Epsilon striding along besides me. I could hear the bystanders whispering about how "weird" or "strange" I was but honestly, I didn't care; they were all idiots after all, failing to understand the superiority of the machine to the human.

Delta, the largest of my android creations, carried my baggage. I had created him as a second thought originally, but the more I worked on him, the more I began to see his usefulness. In all honesty, he was the image of what my parents had wanted me to be. Tall, strong, good looking, and muscular, I snorted.

"What's wrong, Kalis?" he replied, bending over besides me. The large axe on his back swung way too close for my liking, and I immediately moved away from him.

"Nothing. Unless you accidentally behead me, that is."

He straightened up and shrugged, his massive cerulean body shaking with laughter. "What do you mean? I would never ever do that!" A few books fell out from the container he carried, and I smirked. Even though he tried his best, Delta often overlooked small things. It was a flaw in his programming, I admit, but if he was too perfect I would feel a bit nervous. Not that it matters to me or anything.

Alpha bent over and picked them up, shoving them into the pack again. "Watch it, dummy."

"Who're you calling dummy?! I'll show you!"

I sighed and quickly pressed a button on the side of the container - the lid sealed just in time, as Delta tackled his counterpart, knocking her onto the ground. Their human personality was something I was really proud of. Especially Alpha, my second android.

After the success of Epsilon, I set my ambitions higher than just a robot that carries out specific commands to assist me in the lab; she was designed to replicate a famous Scorian queen, and be capable of independent actions. So far, though, there was a 98.7% success rate; most times, she made mature human-like decisions, but other times Alpha made me scratch my head. Like right now.

She pushed Delta off of her and took his axe, taunting him. "Slow!" Turning, she ran ahead. Delta got up and sprinted after her, determined to get his axe back. I sighed and put on a pair of sunglasses. Those two might be like humans, but they seemed so childish at times. Walking down the road, I gazed off into the distance, where the towering Galawayne mountains stood like many jagged horns jutting out of the ground. From the modern town of Peimonu, we were pretty much able to go anywhere.

In ancient times, this area served as a shelter for those who escaped from the burning of the old Peimonu. Like its forbearer, it was located in the center of the continent so many traders from all over came here. Peimonu was regarded to be neutral territory, but I knew of many who wanted to control it. Our king, for example, had sent many troops here to "protect our traders". Even an idiot would know what his actual purpose was, yet the only other nation that had responded was Flaxus. As I strolled down the road, many armed soldiers from both Scoria and Flaxus exchanged glares and rude gestures at each other.

For some reason, it felt like there was a heavier and more threatening military presence than usual. Just last week, the night after I arrived here, I had gone into the bar and saw a few Flaxian and Scorian soldiers drinking together. But now, they were completely split and were openly hostile to each other in the middle of the day. Something was off.

"Epsilon. Approximate the number of soldiers here."

She looked around and did a quick count. "Density is estimated to be 17 to 100. Town population approximately 200,000. Estimation of 34,000 soldiers from either nationality combined."

My eyes widened. "34,000? That can't be! There's only 30,000 or so Scorian troops on active duty, so why would there be so many here?" Unless King Wilmes wished to aggravate the Flaxians into a battle, I thought. As we continued down the street, Alpha and Delta returned, and I could see that he had his axe back. "Be careful, you two, and don't run off again." They nodded in sync.

I wanted to check something out in the older section of the city today, so we headed over down the main street and up the older road that led towards the ruins. 260 years ago, when Peimonu still belonged to the country of Navidia, a great fire destroyed everything here; tens of thousands died in the catastrophe, and the survivors were left baffled as to why. All efforts to stop the inferno failed, and hardly anything remained. I'd done research on this before, but the pieces still seemed unclear - all records show the origin to be in the Northwest half of the city, in a villa that belonged to the Vivas family. Of course, curiosity got the better of me, so that's why I was here.

As we approached the few stone foundations covered with grasses and moss that marked our destination, my jaw dropped. Even after being exposed to the elements for several hundred years, most of the old murals still remained intact. The Navidian craftsmanship was flawless as always, I thought in awe. Maybe I should have moved my lab there afterall. Unlike Scoria, they might be more open to my discoveries and inventions. I shook my head.

"Hey. Do a scan of this place."

"On it," Alpha said, pressing her palm to the ground. Her eyes glowed bright blue, and I silently hoped that there would be something interesting. "Nothing yet..."

I sat on a nearby stone and hunched over, massaging my temples. Seriously? If it turned out that I had spent over a weeks worth of time and got absolutely nothing out of it, my parents would be disappointed. Mother would be especially mad that I had wasted all those years studying the secrets of the world and still couldn't figure out how a "stupid fire started". And what would those sons of female dogs and those wretches that dared call themselves my classmates say?

A few veins throbbed in my neck, and I shook my head. No. This expedition of sorts would not be a failure. I had created three companions who were better than humans - more powerful, better looking, more useful, and more, well, nice. I had garnered fame and riches as an inventor, and I had gathered respect as a scientist. I was no failure, and nothing I did would ever fail. Could ever fail.

I picked up a small rock, and turned it over in my hand. The fragment of a mural depicted a sick man visiting a doctor, his eyes wide open and his mouth frothing. Perhaps this was a hospital of sorts, I thought. But no hospital would waste money on art - after all, medicine costed money. On the other hand, this might be a sort of clinic of the massive Vivas villa, so they would be tempted to spend money here. But the sort of horrible disease that this man was suffering was probably not a cold or something, and 260 years ago medicine wasn't really developed at all. 260 years ago...?

My brow furrowed, and I racked my brain, trying to recall something that was mentioned in the history books. What else happened that year? There was the Great Famine, and there was the series of revolts over Scoria and Mayu. What else? Oh. Right. It's said that King Torrest the First stepped down because of the devastation across the continent, and his successor Torrest the Second instituted the barbaric practice of human sacrifice in an attempt to appease the gods and stop the plague. Who was the first girl to be buried alive? Tera? Theresa? Oh, it was Therea! Therea...Vivas.

I froze.

Vivas. Therea Vivas! I felt there had to be some connection. The fires started in the Vivas estate that year, and Therea Vivas was the first sacrifice. Could that mean -

"Wait. I see something."

I looked up in surprise. "What? Where?"

Alpha pointed at the rock I sat on, and I stood up, suspecting already what she might have found. "What is it?"

She shook her head. Bending over, I examined the stone I had been sitting on closely. It was square - shaped, and was covered in many faint inscriptions. She knelt besides it and ran her hand over the surface, feeling for something. "There."

I heard a faint click, and the ground began to shake; Delta quickly picked me up and placed me on his back. Around us, the earthen field began to sink as a massive circular hole opened up. I rubbed my hands together eagerly, feeling the ever so sweet feel of discovery coursing through my veins, making me feel younger once more. When the dust and dirt had settled, I leaned over and looked down.