Death Drive

Chapter 26

Lucas had secured a spot at a distance from the others, where he could forget them completely but have them still close enough to offer some safety and the ease of mind of a group. Internet connection had been spotty in the tunnels, causing him offline anxiety he hadn't had to suffer for years before, but thankfully the sewer grate above permitted not just fresh air but wavelengths necessary for him. With his glasses on he was not stuck in a damp sewer with a bunch of unfamiliar people; instead, he reposed on the untouched white sand of a desert that extended farther than the eye could see in every direction. The moon shone its pale light overhead amongst a sea of stars, every one of which was bright as a diamond. Such a simulation was supposed to be impossible with the technology he had, but he could not deny what was in front of his eyes. He had not looked for this kind of virtual space, but it had been waiting for him, built for him without asking which was also unprecedented. The desert was very calming and peaceful, so he suspected it had been created specifically for him to soothe his overtaxed nerves. He had tried to launch a few programs and summon his virtual characters along, but the system had been unresponsive to his commands. So, he just waited, marveling at the stars and pitying the people who could only see the stained concrete walls of the decaying cesspit they were holed in. His earbuds cancelled outside noise blocking out the repulsive hisses, gurgles and splashes of the drainage system, replaced by the gentle sound of sand rustling in the slight breeze.

A woman's laughter roused him, but he could not see anyone else on the surrounding sand expanse. Then he heard it again, a pleasing and musical giggling carried by the wind. He got up and headed for where the sound seemed to be coming from. The smooth sand ahead rippled, and before his eyes a stone portal arose from the dune. On both sides of the entrance stood obelisks decorated with carvings of eyes and suns, the same motif continuing on the inside walls of the tunnel.

His heart fluttered in his chest and a broad smile spread across his face.

"Amun-Ra must be looking to contact me again," he thought, stepping eagerly into the tunnel. He admired the hieroglyphs adorning the walls, thinking that he had never seen such sharp and realistic images rendered in real time over 3D-mapped geography. It was stunning! As he followed the ornate symbols, a narrative seemed to arise. It depicted a man, surrounded by light, going against darkness abounding with monsters detailed with metallic colors and banishing them to release the sun from its prison to the joy and salvation of the people.

The laugh pulled his attention away and he caught a glimpse of Lyra at the end of the tunnel before she frolicked around the corner. He jogged to catch up with her, trusting that the AI would watch over his path so he would not run straight into a pile of rusted, jagged metal or a bottomless pit or anything of the sort. A diaphanous purple curtain hung at the end of the tunnel, sunlight streaming from its edges and making the fine cloth gleam sublimely. He put his hand out instinctively to push the screen aside, stopping to study his arm as he did so. They were not his physical limbs, scrawny and awkwardly proportioned, but the muscular arms similar to those of his heroic virtual avatar. But even they had been upgraded, the skin so high-resolution he could count the little dots were hairs sticked up, with pale blue veins visible under the skin. Both of his digital arms now had brilliant, aureate tattoos on them, tattoos in a state of a flux, like molten gold or surface of the sun. The tattoos on both of his palms pictured a sun with an eye in it, similar designs running up his arms to his shoulders.

His grin was so wide it almost split his face and he blinked away tears. He was glorious! Magnificent! Finally, he had been given what he knew he had always deserved. He stepped through the gauze, ready to accept his destiny.

He found himself in a yard of a temple atop a mountain, with a golden obelisk reaching all the way to the clouds, possibly higher. The sun was in zenith, impossibly large and dotted with eyes all gazing in different directions. At this range a real sun would have scorched the Earth, but as he did not have gear simulating sensory experiences, he had to try and ignore the clammy feeling of damp sewer air sticking to the exposed parts of his skin. He walked to Lyra, who stood at the foot of a dais crowned by an ornate marble throne. She curtsied, and a tremendous roar thundered from all around, a yell of triumph coming from countless throats at once. Turning quickly, he realized that what he had at a glance taken to be grass of many colors growing on the surroundings hills was actually a great mass of people packed shoulder to shoulder, all facing up to the temple.