Theseus and the Goddess of Time

Espionage and Cooking with an Alien

"You said that was Ismari made?" I asked Theseus as I hurried down the staircase again.

"Definitely," he replied. "In my line of work, those droids were common. Mainly used for keeping the peace, though. I've never seen one go rogue like that. That's very bad."

"Those things kept the peace?" I asked, disbelief in my tone.

"When you're part of a species that doesn't need to open its mouth to talk, droids that can detect brain waves are extremely helpful," Theseus explained, like every planet had versions of those robots.

"So you're telepathic too, that's what you're telling me?" I asked.

"Exactly, but only with other Ismari," Theseus said. "I'd try and form a bond with you, but if more espionage droids come through, them sensing I'm trying to speak telepathically with you might get us both killed."

"God, is there anything you guys can't do?" I wondered.

"We're not shapeshifters, if that counts for anything," Theseus suggested. I nodded and rushed down into the basement for the umpteenth time that day.

I immediately heard an extremely high pitched ringing, and I clapped my hands over my ears. Theseus heard it too and howled in pain. As soon as he yelled, the noise stopped, and after a moment, I heard a light tapping sound from deep within the labyrinth.

I turned back to Theseus, but he was doubled over with his face practically buried in his mask. I could tell he was dangerously winded, and he looked on the verge of passing out. Between Theseus' heavy breaths, the tapping got faster, and I got a sick feeling in my gut.

For some reason, my mind went to Mom's remote. I understood that if this thing was trying to find its way through the labyrinth, it would need some kind of navigation technique.

Then, I realized it. The tapping was likely for echolocation. It was creating a sonar map.

I reached into my pocket and brought out the remote. I quickly switched the setting from one to nineteen, a pattern of strange cubic shapes.

You wanna find a way through? I thought. Let's change that.

I pressed the screen and waited. The labyrinth instantly started to change, the walls shifting and interlocking into a new pattern. The thing in the labyrinth let out a very low rumble that I felt in my feet. Theseus growled in his throat, which startled me enough to turn around.

"That's another espionage droid," he snarled. "They're meant to be small so they can evade us. We're too big to sneak around."

"I can see that," I said. "I can go in there instead. Lure it out. Then you can use your cool mind powers on that thing." I couldn't believe what I was saying, but I couldn't let this thing go unchecked in Mom's basement.

Theseus took one more breath before hooking his mask on his shoulder again. "Go. You can do this. You know that labyrinth better than anyone else. I'll wait out here."

Feeling incredibly bold and stupid at the same time, I started headfirst into the labyrinth.

The droid had gone silent, but when I entered, it began tapping again. This time, I tapped back. The droid stopped tapping, but when it started again, I had an idea. It made a three beat pattern - ta-ta-tat, ta-ta-tat - and I repeated the pattern as I walked slowly into the labyrinth.

Then, the droid began to run.

I froze, knowing that this thing would need to see me. It needed a target to lock onto, at least I thought. I looked behind me, then in front of me again. The droid had slowed down as it narrowed in on my location. To make sure it found me, I tapped three times and listened very closely.