Temporis XXIX - The Epicenter

Xeol - The price of a life

- Hello Gastain. I thought this would be your last fight when that jerk plucked your good arm.

- Demn, I thought so, too. I admit I thanked the Gods. I can hardly wait to escape from this never-ending torment.

Anyway, that piece of junk didn't deserve to win.

- But keep up like this, always winning. Laughed Demn.

- I'm making a lot of money with you. I'll even pay for a new arm as a proof of my happiness. And you can also find something special in the simulators!

- Now we're talking, Demn!

- Tell me, what makes you spend a lot of time in this shitty place?

- Do you really like it or are you punishing yourself?

Sounds like punishment. Demn thought deeply.

- I like this goddamn place. He said at last.

- I've been a pilot for many years, working in cargo spaceships for Viper. After that I began to make money with fights here in Xeol and I found it convenient to live this way since then. Obviously, it's very fun to see others being fucked up while you make a lot of money.

- What were you convicted for?

- I belonged to one of the heiress family of the primordial circles and we were deposed after a fratricidal war. I was one of the few in my family who survived. My sentence was to be in an eternal exile in this hell hole until I die. All our assets were shared with other families. This act was the worst of all treasons.

- We had so many friends, so many peace treats. All in vain in the end!

- Is that why you fight here in Xeol? Because your life is worthless?

- I fight because my life will pay the price for my vengeance. And revenge is a very powerful medicine.

- I don't understand your last sentence, Gastain.

- I had a plan when I got here, but I need the right people to execute it. The time is now and frankly, my dear, you're part of my plan.

- If money, deception or a lot of blood is involved, you can count on me. I also resent the primordial circles, but for other reasons, obviously. Before anything else, let's fix you and give you a new arm to this old body.

Damian had met an endless list of scumbags here in Xeol who wanted to revenge the primordial circles.

For the moment, he would wind this crazy up. At least until he believes this plan would be good enough to reach his goals. Then he would help him completely.

2

Xeol was on the fourth dimension of Capricorn V station and was used at the beginning of times to create the basic infrastructure of the station.

Now it's visited only sporadically for repairs or police interventions when things get complicated.

Xeol is the recent name given to describe the fourth dimension, originally called Tartarus by the ancient people.

There wasn't any applicable law here in Xeol. There was no interest by Capricorn V in controlling rats, cockroaches (that's how they used to call people who lived here).

Despite being a paradox, there wasn't any other kind of biological life here.

In few rare occasions, some crazy extremist would show up and require an ostensive police action.

Any problem that would affect directly the gains would be immediately dealt by the chiefs in Xeol. They proved to be very efficient in solving their own problems.

The chiefs in Xeol, as they were called, were composed of a group of criminals that had physical power or influence inside Xeol. No one could call them by their real names. Perhaps they were afraid, and, in some cases, they wanted to protect their families in Capricorn V station or in the primordial circles.

Since I never had any family here, I didn't hide my real name, not even from those few who were still alive.

The high society in Capricorn V station usually come to Xeol to watch the fights, take drugs or to take part in simulations deleted from the official catalogue by the censorship.

How funny it was to see those wolves in sheep's clothing, consume so explicitly what society found so outrageous and sordid.

Who was the real junk after all?

3

Damian lived off negotiating prohibited simulations and recovered material from the pirates.

He loved bets, especially those that involved fighting until death.

Death seemed funny from the cyber people's viewpoint.

Where they lived only transmuted human or cyber people with a lot of money could buy space to store their personal data, make periodic synchronizations and buy some hulls so they could live eternally.

I've been fan of Gastain's for a long time. As far as I could remember, it was during a Gastain's fight against four other opponents. His eyes had an incomparable wrath. Now that he talked to him a little, he could understand his ancestral anger.

Since Damian had been transmuted he had never had any maintenance in his unit of life support (whose slang was hull), and for this reason he was known as the old man or old Demn.

- Gastain, I have a question!

- Go ahead, Demn!

- What do you do exactly with the money of the fights?

- That's a strange question, but I'll answer it anyway, because we're tied up to this vendetta that will certainly lead us to death.

Almost all money I get, I use to make a perfect bait for the rulers of the primordial circle.

- My exile is perpetual, but if it were possible for me to return to the primordial circles, I'm sure I would be killed immediately. I have a well-kept secret near here, and it will make considerable destruction. The beauty of this plan is that nobody has a complete view of it except me. It will soon begin with my death on my ultimate fight in this arena.

- You will make a lot of money with this fight so you will promptly know that your plan will be in progress and from there on, nothing will stop you. There is only one way, death. I know this sounds insane and for the time being, you should wait because everything will be explained in due time.

- Insane? Totally crazy, I would say. Since I don't have a place to go anyway, let's go on with this plan.

What if it doesn't go as planned. It's just like you said I will get some additional credits, and I like this.

Damian knew all the portals to Capricorn V and Xeol. He had worked day and night there since the beginning of his career.

He knew every room and space as well as every security breach that could affect life in the station.

At first, he thought of destructing everything, but with the passing of time, he began to like the transformation, or better yet, the deterioration of Xeol into a real underworld. The right place for a man to pay for all his sins.

And with the use of Capricorn V's elite and with the money they brought, he began to imagine that his sentence would be switched and he could return to the primordial circles as a rich man again.

On this fourth dimension, the darkness was permanent. The day or something similar didn't exist. In certain moments, it was possible to feel the heavy atmosphere formed by toxic residues. Not even a machine with constant maintenance would last longer here in Xeol.