Generation-6
692 Words
LOBA WAS IN NIRVANA. He had achieved a state of perfection. He floated in infinity, where time and space were without end, and where his spirit poured forth and returned replenished, fulfilled, endless, and enduring in the void. Colors with no names whirled through his perception, and indescribable emotions washed over him in blissful waves, cleansing his soul, bathing his mind, washing his ego free of corrupting impurities. For an eternity, it seemed, he existed, each moment filled with limitless joy.
A great bell sounded from behind him. What was this intrusion? Loba turned and tried to gaze into the abyss, but he couldn’t find the source of the sound. Again, it rang in his ears, discordant, breaking the serene flow of the universe. He grew confused. Where was the noise coming from? How had it entered the everlasting cosmos?
A third time the bell rang, and Loba cried out as all creation began to disintegrate around him. The terrible noise of the bell was breaking everything apart. He had to find it. He had to stop its chiming before it was too late. He had to destroy it.
Loba flailed in his bunk so hard he fell out and hit the floor with a thump. The shock and pain of his fall brought him somewhat back to reality, and he realized the sound he’d been hearing, which had intruded into his drug-induced state of euphoria, was his door chime. But it was too soon. Someone had disturbed him before the effects of mythranil had worn off.
As if at the flick of a switch, Loba’s mood altered from befuddlement to black rage. He took a moment to figure out where each of his limbs were before rising to a crouch and staggering to his feet. Hands trembling and chest heaving, he snatched the meridian map from the floor and put it in his closet before shutting the door. He put the vial of mythranil and needle into the ebony box and snapped it closed.
He staggered to his cabin door just as the chime sounded for the fourth time. Whoever it was, the i***t still hadn’t realized the grave mistake he was making. Loba turned on his video link to the corridor. A woman. A member of an RA team. He couldn’t remember her name. “Door, open.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he bellowed. “Are you blind or stupid? How dare you disturb me...” Loba tailed off. The woman was speaking at the same time as him, apparently unaffected by his anger.
She repeated herself when he paused. “Master Loba, we found something on the planet surface you need to see urgently.”
“What? Now? What the hell’s so important...?”
“I can’t explain. You must come with me to the planet. You must come with me immediately.”
“The hell I’m going to. I’m not going anywhere. Explain yourself. What is this about? What did you find there? Pah, I don’t care what it is. File a report like you’re supposed to and stop bothering me...” The world spun. He grabbed the door frame.
“It’s very important,” the woman said. “Very valuable. You must come with me and see for yourself. There’s no other way.”
What was wrong with her? Why wouldn’t she obey him? He was master. Loba clutched his head. Was this even real? Or was he still in a mythranil dream? His initial fury began to melt into bewilderment and confusion. Maybe he should go with the woman. If this was all part of his vision, he might return to bliss by doing what she said.
He peered at her. Why hadn’t she reacted to his fury? He felt chilly, and with sudden horror, he realized he was standing there in his underwear. The woman hadn’t reacted to that either.
Calm descended on Loba. None of it was real. He was still under the influence of mythranil. But it was strange. He’d never run like this before. Maybe he’d gotten the dosage or position wrong. He would just have to go with the flow, see the vision through, and then perhaps he would return to paradise for some time before he woke up.
“Okay, I’ll come with you.”
The woman seemed satisfied.
Chapter Six
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- Writer
