In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 27

It took the Artilect every bit of an hour to extract Reverend Gene Knight from the stasis field. The Artilect could have increased the flow of time and transported him out much more quickly but no one wanted to risk letting the Poneri loose. So they simply waited while the Artilect worked. What made the wait even harder was the thought that the man on board that cursed starship knew what had happened to the Stryker twins. Everyone was hoping that they were finally about to get some answers.

When a thin, elderly man finally materialized on the bridge of the Sparrow it came as almost a shock. The evangelist looked around for a moment, surprised, and then he fixed his gaze on Richard Stryker. “I know who you are,” he said at last. “I must be in the future. Remarkable!”

“Why do you say that?” Sergeant Howell asked.

Reverend Knight smiled. “Because, Sergeant Howell, I know what happened to the Sparrow and the passengers it contained. Amy told me everything.”

“How do you know my name?” Sergeant Howell asked, startled.

Jones spoke up. “He has the gift of discernment.”

“And you have the gift of foresight,” Reverend Knight said. “That is a rare gift indeed! I have never met anyone else who possessed it.”

“You met my daughters?” Laura asked. “Where are they?”

“The last time I saw Amy the brave girl was on the Starfire, attempting to rescue its passengers from the Poneri. Then her sister transported her off the ship and back to their armada. After that they must have froze the Starfire in time because she hadn’t been gone for more than a few seconds before I found myself here.”

“They had an armada?” Sergeant Howell asked.

The reverend nodded. “The computer in my cabin revealed its presence as soon as it arrived.” Beginning with the Sentinel’s disappearance the evangelist told them everything he knew about the twins’ activities. When his story was over the crew had many questions – some of which he could answer and some he could not.

“At least this is starting to make more sense,” Richard said. “The Sentinel attacked the Poneri and got sucked into that portal so the girls waited around to see what would happen. When the Poneri attacked the Wall the girls tried to save everyone and then froze the ship in time, hoping that the Artilect could fix the situation later.”

“Can you?” Laura asked.

“I am working on it,” the Artilect said. “It is difficult to do so while maintaining the stasis field. The Poneri portal is unlike anything I have encountered before. I am exploring ways to open it without losing myself inside.”

Richard nodded. “I understand. So the next question is, where are the girls? After they put the Starfire in stasis all of the Poneri were gone. All they had to do was transport themselves into the future. So where are they?”

“Have you found any other stasis fields?” Sergeant Howell asked.

“I have not,” the Artilect said. “This is the only one I was able to find.”

“Could the girls have gotten the wrong date?” Laura asked. “Maybe they jumped too far or not far enough.”

“They seemed to know what they were doing,” Reverend Knight replied. “I think they knew how to get here.”

“Then where are they?” Richard asked. “What happened to them?”

No one replied.

* * * * *

It took four days for the Artilect to penetrate the portal and peer inside. Once he gained access to it he found himself unable to explain what he saw.

“It is not existence the way you know it,” he said at last. “It was not designed for creatures such as yourself. The dimension beyond that rift in space is full of patterns and darkness, a place of ideas but devoid of wisdom. There are current and eddies but no substance. You could not survive there.”

“What about the Sentinel?” Richard asked.

“He is lost and I am trying to find him. It is as if he is in a coma, unaware of his surroundings. He was not designed for this place. I am looking for him in the endless ocean.”

“Are there any Poneri in there?” Sergeant Howell asked.

“Yes and no,” the Artilect replied. “This place is full of them but they do not exist as they do on this side of space. Instead they dream and are tossed about, carried from one experience to the other while unable to control their fate.”

“Why would they want to live there?” Richard asked. “It sounds terrible!”

“It would be for you or I, but not for them. To the Poneri it is endless bliss, even though it is not truly real. They are caught up in their own imaginations, caring not that their world is made of shadows. But some sense the artificial nature of this place. Those are the ones that exit the portal and are seeking to return home. They want something more than a world that is not real.”

“I don’t blame them,” Captain Max said. “I don’t blame them at all.”

* * * * *

A few hours later the crew was startled when a tall, distinguished-looking gentleman suddenly appeared on the bridge. He was a quiet-looking person and wore a gray suit and hat. The Artilect smiled when he appeared. “You are finally home, my son!”

The man turned around to face the Artilect. “But I have failed,” he said heavily. “You sent me back to rescue Amy and Amanda Stryker and I failed to do so. My wish to battle the Poneri has cost us everything.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Richard said. “The Poneri were a threat and needed to be destroyed.”

“And now they have been destroyed,” the Artilect replied. “I have collapsed the time field that surrounded the Starfire. The ship and its portal are no more.”

“What about that other dimension?” Laura asked. “Is it still there?”

“It is but there is no longer a way inside it or out of it. Any Poneri within its realm are trapped there forever. They no longer pose a threat to anyone else.”

“I take it you’re the Sentinel,” Sergeant Howell remarked.

“You can call me Steve,” the Sentinel replied. “That is the name I was given by Amy.”

“You saw my girls?” Laura asked.

The Sentinel turned to face Laura, a look of great sadness on his face. “I did. I have watched over them and cared for them and I would have gone to any length to protect them. It was not my desire to take them from you or place them in danger. Had I known that things would turn out this way I would never have removed them from the Sparrow. I did not know I would be trapped inside the portal, unable to escape. I handled the situation poorly.”

“You did the best you could,” Captain Max said. “Things just don’t always go as planned.”

“But my best was not good enough,” the Sentinel replied.

“So what do we do now?” Richard asked.

Captain Max spoke up. “I vote we return to home base, get rested up, regroup, and form a new plan. Something will turn up.”

“Works for me,” Richard replied.