In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 8

Davis Carpino, the Starfire‘s first mate, had finally found Lee Bailey hiding in the ship’s engine room. The chief engineer had crawled under a rack of pipes at the back of the room. Davis would have missed him entirely if he hadn’t noticed his shoe sticking out.

“So there you are!” Davis grumbled. “I’ve spent the past three hours looking for you.”

“I’ve just been inspecting some pipes,” Lee replied as he crawled out from under them. “You can never be too careful.”

“Those pipes haven’t been used in six years,” Davis replied. “You know that! They’re clogged or something.”

“Maybe I was trying to fix them,” Lee said.

Davis glared at him. “I’d sooner believe that the bats were trying to fix them. What are they doing here in the engine room, anyway?”

“They don’t want to stay in the cargo area anymore,” Lee replied. “They say that the ghosts scare them. They’re living in here now.”

“Just what we need,” Davis grumbled. “Can anything else go wrong?”

At that moment the lights went out. There was a grinding noise and all of the machinery went dead. Davis stood still and listened as the ship’s engines came to a stop. A moment later everything was quiet.

“And what did you do this time?” Davis demanded.

“It’s dark!” Lee whimpered. “I can’t see anything.”

Davis fished a small flashlight out of his pocket and shone the light directly on Lee’s face. The engineer blinked and turned away. “Well?” Davis said.

“I didn’t do anything,” Lee replied. “I’ve been under those pipes all morning! This isn’t my fault.”

“You’re the chief engineer!” Davis shouted. “Everything that happens in the engine room is your fault. Your job is to keep things going and fix them when they break. Guess what – they’re broken! That means, by definition, this is your fault.”

As Lee opened his mouth to protest they both heard ghostly laughter. Glowing blue lights began darting around the room. In the distance they saw pipes get ripped off the wall and tossed around. A ghostly figure went to a neutrino turbine and ripped it right off the floor, then threw it right through a bulkhead.

In an instant Lee dove back under the pipes. Davis followed right behind him. “Ok, ok. Maybe this time it’s not your fault.”

As they remained hidden the room was suddenly filled with a soft white light. A brilliant figure, clothed in light, appeared in the middle of the room. The moment the Poneri saw her they tried to run but it was too late. A weapon that Davis couldn’t see very well started firing and all of the Poneri dissipated.

“You can come out now,” a voice said. The light faded and they saw a teenage girl standing in the center of the room. She was a tall girl with bronze skin and long, dark hair. The girl looked at them and giggled. “You know, that’s really not a very good hiding place.”

Davis crawled out from underneath the pipes, and Lee followed. “Sorry, ma’am,” Davis replied. “It was the best we could do under the circumstances. We were kind of caught by surprise.”

The girl walked up to them and handed Davis her weapon. “If the Poneri come back just point this at them and fire away. That should persuade them to leave you alone.”

“Thanks,” Davis said warmly.

“Don’t I get one?” Lee asked.

“Are you kidding?” the girl replied. “You?” She shook her head and disappeared.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Lee asked.

Davis smiled. “Apparently she’s familiar with your work!”

* * * * *

On the passenger deck Vernon Fisher was sitting in his cabin typing. He was in the middle of writing an authentication routine for a software package when the ship’s lights suddenly went off.

“Hey!” he shouted. “I’m trying to work here!”

The room was completely dark. He sat still, not sure what to do next but hoping the problem would quickly fix itself. In the distance he heard some commotion, which gave him a vaguely nervous feeling. Experience had taught him that unexpected commotion on this ship was never a good thing.

A moment later his room was filled with a gentle white light. The light had no visible source, but it drove away the darkness and made Vernon happy. He then glanced at his computer and saw that it was still dead. He frowned. “What’s going on? That battery had hours of life left in it!”

Vernon picked it up, turned it over, and shook his head. He tried turning it on but it would not activate. “What’s going on here?” he shouted.

“It’s been destroyed,” a voice said from behind him. The programmer turned around and saw a teenage girl standing at the far end of the room. She appeared to be about 14.

“How is that possible?” he asked.

“The Poneri emitted an electromagnetic pulse that destroyed all electronics on board this ship,” she explained. “I’m afraid your computer was collateral damage. I’ll come back and fix it later.”

“Who are the Poneri?” Vernon asked. “If I’ve lost any files I’m going to sue them! I’ve spent days working on that code. This is a disaster!”

“The Poneri are ghosts from the Old World,” the girl said.

Vernon sniffed. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“They believe in you,” the girl replied.

Vernon looked at his computer, dismayed. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“You could try reading a book,” the girl said. She then vanished, leaving Vernon alone.

* * * * *

When the ship’s lights went out Reverend Gene Knight left his dark cabin and stepped into the hallway. It was pitch black, but he had his flashlight with him. He turned it on and glanced up and down the hall. “Is anyone there?” he called out.

At the end of the hallway he saw a glowing field of blue energy. He watched as it coalesced into a tall being. Two others formed behind it. They stared at Reverend Knight and began walking toward him with grim determination.

He instantly knew what they were. Instead of retreating, however, he stepped toward them. He looked the first one in the eye. “You have no power here, child of darkness. I am a creature of the light, a servant of the Most High God! You cannot touch me.”

The group of energy beings stopped. The one in front glared at the evangelist. “This ship belongs to us. It is our prize and we will not yield it to you.”

Reverend Knight took another step forward. “You have no choice. Depart from here, all of you, and go back to the darkness from whence you came. The Most High has judged your kind and brought them to an end.”

Before the preacher even finished his sentence the three beings disappeared. He relaxed.

“I guess you won’t be needing this, then,” a female voice called out behind him. He turned around and saw a teenage girl standing behind him, carrying a large weapon.

Reverend Knight shook his head. “I do not need it, but thank you for coming, Amy Stryker.”

The girl looked at him, astonished. “How do you know who I am? Are you a seer?”

The elderly preacher shook his head. “I have the gift of discernment, not the gift of prophecy. I do, however, know that there are others on board who need your assistance. I fear that the Captain is having trouble on the bridge.”

“I’m on my way,” Amy replied.

“One more thing,” he called out, as the girl turned to leave. “After this is over can you pay me visit before you go? I have some questions for you and your sister.”

“Sure,” Amy replied. She then vanished.