Death Drive

Chapter 28

He followed Thomas inside the Ampere factory, his stomach tying itself in knots. On the way there he had received a message from Amber:

[You'll find what you need in a flowerpot on the left-hand side of the entrance. Get close and aim for the neck. Love, Amber <3]

He had thought he would only be needed to lead the lamb to the slaughter. But now he was expected to commit the deed as well? Could he pull the trigger? And what if it didn't work?

"Steel your heart," he thought, swallowing to wet his parched throat, but his mouth was dry as well. "This will all be over soon."

The larger man moved ahead, keeping an eye on every corner, hall and hiding place in case someone happened by. In other words, he paid no attention to Lucas as he sidled to the flowerpot and grabbed the gun hid within. To his relief he found it was not a firearm but a weapon that shot out darts intended to sedate its target. He creeped behind the other man, lifted the gun with both hands to stop it from shaking and pulled the trigger. The device let out a sharp hiss and Thomas raised his arm to the back of his neck, drawing the now empty needle out. He examined it quickly, gave him a disbelieving look and sunk to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head.

He stood above his catch, breathing deeply. He wondered if he should call Amber and inform her that he had succeeded when an exultant blast of trumpets made him jump. Turning to the sound he beheld two rows of floating instruments playing a triumphant fanfare. Three knights in brilliantly gleaming armor embellished with sun motifs emerged from the hallway beyond and marched down the corridor of invisible performers. Without saying a word to him they grabbed the unconscious man by the arms and started dragging him away.

"Well done, Lucas." He turned towards the resonant, sonorous voice and found himself back at the root of the grand obelisk with the sun of thousand eyes looking down on him.

"You have served me well. But it still not the time for me to fulfill my ultimate promise to you. But I shall bestow you with a taste of things to come. Follow the signs on your navigation display." Just like that the vision disappeared, so had no time to argue or ask for elaboration.

Guided by virtual guideposts he entered a room with a large many-wired contraption taking up most of the space. He recognized it from what he had seen online: a cyberreality platform, with the capability to simulate sights, sounds, feel, pressure and resistance and even, in a limited fashion, texture and some for the most common smells. His high hopes crashed to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I can't go in there," he whined. "I can't stand cramped spaces. Believe me, I've tried but I haven't even been able to use a haptic feedback suit even though it's one of the things I want the most."

"Fear not," the disembodied voice intoned in his ears. "I have discovered a solution, a chemical concoction that eases the nerves as well as lowers mindfulness of the state of one's physical body, allowing you to unshackle yourself from your bodily prison more effectively than ever before. For you, it will make it possible to get over your claustrophobia. For others, it will serve to immerse them in the reality I have prepared for them."

An industrial arm robot came alive, picking up a needle from a nearby table. It pivoted smoothly around, holding the needle so it was right above the armrest of an adjacent chair. The implication was self-evident, and he sat down, pulling up the sleeve of his hoodie. The mechanical appendage eyed his limb for a moment, adjusting its angle before plunging the needle into one of the superficial veins of his forearm. He grimaced but after the first prick the sensation quickly grew tolerable. Not only that but the various aches and pains all over his body, that he had gotten so used to he hardly paid them any mind, seemed to melt away. He got up and had to look at his feet to make sure they were in the appropriate position for walking as he was starting to feel like he was just an incorporeal consciousness floating in the air. He drifted to the harness, stepping inside the suit with gusto. He could see the cybersuit knit itself closed around him but not even the sealing of the helmet brought any anxiety he was accustomed to. And why should it? He was not confined, detained in the jail of physical limitations no more. His body might have been enclosed but that same act had set his mind free and made it possible for him to escape that dismal existence of unjustness.