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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 4 - Demons Within

Part 4.4 - Machines and Myths

Alex led Dune not back to the entrance of the main hall of the headquarters, but further into the building's massive ground floor. The group moved at a brisk pace straight down the main hall, with many rooms large and small quickly passing into and back out of Dune's sight. The building, at least on this level, looked very much like a typical government office building, with conferences being held in many of the large rooms and workers quietly tending to their bureaucratic responsibilities in the smaller ones. Every once and a while someone would pass by and quickly wave at Alex or Indie(and some of them waved to his strange pet as well), but outside of the conference rooms the building was strangely quiet. It seemed everyone in the building was busy preparing for something big.

Dune took one last glance at the bright welcoming lights and gleaming marble floors of the main hall before Alex abruptly turned a corner, then another, and led them into a narrow corridor with only the bare minimum lighting and a harsh concrete floor. There was not a single door in the small hallway, save one large and tightly shut double door at the end. The door was a rusty red and bore the crossed pickaxe and feather that was the city's symbol. A low hum of some large machine, probably a generator, could be heard coming from behind and below the doors. There were no signs posted anywhere, and no other sign of human life save themselves. Occasionally one of the dim bulbs hanging above their heads would flicker, threatening to go out completely, then come back on. The air in the hallway also seemed to be less fresh than the air in the rest of the building, and much cooler. It was a mixture of the artificial air of underground habitation and the more alive air of the surface. Dune wondered more than once if it really was the air in the room that felt cold and dead, or just himself.

The stark contrast between the two areas seemed to have no effect on Indie or Alex, who no doubt had traveled this passage many times in the past. Even Indie's pet seemed right at home in this dank space, much to Dune's embarrassment. What could possibly be behind those doors? As long as his companions knew what they were doing, Dune guessed he shouldn't be worrying so much. He still clutched at his pocket in spite of his best efforts to remain calm.

In fact, Indie's and Alex's moods seemed to be improving as they made their way further from Kruz and Dehr and closer to the oil and steam of the mechanical underground caverns of Narsille. As they made their way towards the door Indie breathed in deeply to take in the aroma of hard working machines, then let it out noisily, with an appeased look on his face. He looked at Alex and gave him one of his large toothy grins. For the first time since Dune had seen him on the cat walk outside the Figaro, Alex smiled himself.

With a loud hissing sound and spurt of steam, the large rusty-looking doors opened automatically for Alex, and the group stepped inside a small cabin that looked exactly like the elevator Dune and the Captain had ridden in. This time the elevator was going down, and from the look of the tall list of buttons on the side panel of the cabin, this elevator went way down. Alex casually pressed one of the buttons at the very bottom of the panel, then settled himself in for a long wait as the doors clanged shut.

For the first time since leaving their meeting with Dehr, Indie spoke up. His voice was harsh, but there was still that good humor mingled with his words.

"So, Alex! What do you think made that mangy old seadog Jonah Levi decide to get involved in all this? Government work like this isn't really his style."

Alex quickly glanced at Dune, then decided it was pointless to keep acting so guarded and glum. He let out a gruff laugh of resignation and answered Indie in the same harsh, but happy, tone.

"Same as always. Money. Jonah has always been a greedy bastard. I'm sure the Committee paid him his ship's weight in gil for this mission. Another chance to make a fool of Mobius is probably part of it as well."

"I had really hoped we'd seen the last of that man, but he's like a cockroach. No matter how many times you step on him, he keeps coming back to foul up your day. You want to watch out for him, Dune. If you think the Committee crew's bad, wait 'til you get a load of this guy. He's not to be trusted, or pitied."

Dune looked up from his reverie, startled at being included in the conversation between the two old friends. He wasn't sure what Indie meant by pity, but it sounded like this Jonah Levi was not someone he wanted to meet.

"Uh...yes, I'll try to remember that Profes...I mean, Indie."

"Hah, there you go! I'm not like Mobius, you see. He cringes every time someone calls him anything but 'Captain'. The man has entirely too much pride in his position, I say. He's a helluva good man, though. Exact opposite of Levi. From what I heard from Alex, he took good care of you during the expedition on the Thanas. With him and me along for the next one, you couldn't ask for better security. We're going to need it, though. The Mordic Ocean is not a good place for anyone to travel too far into. I sure hope we find what we're supposed to be looking for fast and get the hell out of there before things get ugly."

At this, Indie leaned over to Dune and spoke to him confidingly, but not so much that Alex couldn't still easily hear everything he said. There were no secrets between these two men. Indie did this more out of respect for Dune's obvious unease than secrecy.

"Speaking of which, that was some move you tried to pull on the Committee by hiding that crystal of yours, Dune! What in blazes were you thinking? You can't play games with them, not when they are making the rules. I know you may find this hard to believe, but you would've been killed if they didn't still need you so bad. You couldn't have known that when you lied to them, though...right?"

Now Dune was feeling quite uncomfortable with the conversation, but he felt he could trust these two men. They definitely seemed to know much about what was going on, perhaps as much as the Committee? Maybe Dune could get some answers from them that he wouldn't have dared push Dehr for. He gulped and tried his best to sound as calm and collected as they did when he spoke.

"No, I really don't know anything about what's been going on since I got back from the Thanas. I just...acted on instinct, I suppose. Many strange things have happened to me since then, and no one seems to want to explain them to me. Do either of you know what is going on? What did I find? And why am I so important in all of this? Please, if you know something I don't, tell me!"

Both Indie and Alex remained silent for a few moments. They looked like they communicated telepathically almost. The many years spent in each other's company made it easy for them to come to agreements without needing to speak. A simply look or gesture was usually enough for them to get a message across to the other. After what seemed an eternity to Dune, Alex nodded at Indie. Indie nodded as well, then cleared his throat.

"I think...that you're not ready to know what we know, Dune."

Dune gave a start of disapproval before Indie even started his next sentence. But Indie waved him off with his gnarled hand and smiled again.

"Hold on there, buster. We can tell you some things you may find interesting, yet. How about this - we'll ask you some questions first, and I think the answers you give will tell us what we can tell you. The big stuff you'll be learning soon enough, if you play your cards right down here. Now then, I think Alex will start."

Ask him questions? But Dune didn't know anything at all about what was going on. What could he possibly tell them that they don't already know? Dune may have been lost by Indie's request, but Alex seemed to be on the same track and crossed his arms over his chest and looked squarely at Dune.

"Okay, Dune. What exactly do you think happened out there in the Thanas Desert a month ago? Do you believe what the Committee said about the storm? And what I said myself about the destroyed search tower?"

Dune didn't know what to say to this. He found the claims by the Committee that there was no storm, and Dr. Atma's decree that he had actually caused those injuries himself to be ridiculous, and yet they had proof while he did not. As for Alex's own statements during the meeting, he didn't like them, but they seemed true enough, and came from a man he trusted more than Dehr, Atma, or certainly Sade. Besides, did he really want to call this man a liar when he held his life in his hands?

"Well...I find it hard to believe what they said after being there myself, but I am a man of science and if the facts are laid before me, I have no choice but to accept them. As much as my own memory seems to disagree, I have to side with both you and the Committee on those matters."

Both Indie and Alex couldn't help but laugh, although they didn't do so mockingly.

"No, Dune, I wasn't lying. And neither was the Committee. And most importantly of all, neither were the reports. According to every piece of technology we have at our disposal, and all of our knowledge and experience in interpreting it, there was no storm in the Thanas, and that tower was destroyed by the hand of man, not nature."

This further confirmation of his own false memories hit Dune hard. If there was no storm and everyone on both sides agreed on this, then what happened?

"I think Indie should take it from here. After all, he is the premier meteorologist in Narsille, and if I'm not mistaken he carried out the investigation into the weather patterns in the Thanas and wrote up the final reports himself, am I right?"

Indie looked like he was enjoying this little game of theirs immensely. He gathered himself up and continued Alex's train of thought.

"Of course you are, Alex. No one knows the ways of the weather better than me, Dune. I can say with absolute certainty that every readout on every instrument measured zero change in the conditions over the Thanas that day. I checked them all myself and the figures do not lie. But...lying and simply not being aware of the truth are two very different things. I'm afraid what we have here is a case of woefully ignorant machines. It breaks my heart to see such lacking in our technology."

Dune wasn't sure what they were talking about, but they sure seemed to be having a good time explaining themselves. It was as if they had been waiting a long time to discuss this with him, and they were savoring the moment as long as they could. Dune wasn't enjoying himself at all and was impatient to get to the real issue here.

"So was there a storm or wasn't there?"

"Oh there was a storm alright. A damn big one from the looks of things. Just not the kind that shows up on any radar or computer screen. The storm that occurred in the Thanas that day was the kind that, if it doesn't want to be detected, won't be. What you got yourself caught right in the middle of was magical in origin, Dune. M-A-G-I-C. Hah! What do you say to that?"

"I think you're theory is crazier than the Committee's," is what Dune thought, but he was too taken aback to say much of anything yet. The two greatest scientists in Narsille. Two people who Dune had practically idolized as unwavering bastions of rational thought in the face of the often times irrational masses. These two men...spouting stories about magic? Magic. Dune had no use for this word. How could Alex and Indie expect him to take them seriously when they were jabbering on like foolish children trying to explain to each other the world they were just experiencing for the first time? But these two men were anything but children, and definitely not fools. No. They must still be playing a game with him. Magic. Yeah right. And dragons and demons too.

Oh but there are demons, child. Blacker than your darkest nightmares and more real than your deepest fears. Or have you forgotten me already?

It was a small voice, and Dune didn't hear it(or perhaps chose not to), but he felt it in every inch of his body as the crystal filled him with a sudden cold reminder of its presence.

"You're joking, right? There's obviously no such thing as magic."

"But there is," Alex spoke up, still grinning, although there was no joy in his grin now. "Is it not a scientist's job to prove what is real and what is fantasy? What are you looking for in this world, Dune, if not the truth? And the truth is, there is magic. Behind every layer of science we have constructed there is a second, deeper layer that still defies our best efforts to understand it. Magic."

"But! I refuse to believe such silly child's tales. Magic is fantasy. You don't even have to have the cold rationality of a scientist to see that! I think you two are getting too old for this if that is what you really believe."

"You refuse to believe? Refuse? Listen to yourself. I thought better of you than this, Dune. It is not your job to pick and choose what you may believe, and it is definitely not your job to outright refuse the truth when it is offered to you. What your job is, Dune, is doing your absolute best to uncover the lies and false leads that confront your mind. You sort through them, picking out the ones that don't stand up to scrutiny. When all other avenues have been exhausted, what you have left must be the truth, however improbable, or fantastic, it may seem. In this case, magic is the only path left for us to pursue. The question we are asking you now is this: Will you follow this path, will you allow yourself to see the truth?"

What was Dune supposed to say to this? Never in his life had he been faced with a problem like this. He had always laughed at the people who blindly followed their faith, and ignored the truth of science that was right in front of them when it didn't flow with their ideas...and yet here he was acting as stony as the people he had mocked about his own personal religion of science. Or was he?

No! Science is about rationality, and every scientific instinct in his body told him the idea of magic(just trying to take the word seriously made Dune cringe) was as irrational as that of gods and devils and all the other religious guff he had put up with over the years. There was another explanation, a logical one, and he would find it. He was not going to fall victim to the pretty words that were being thrown at him. He was not a sheep to be herded. The world he lived in wasn't perfect, and it certainly didn't make sense sometimes, but he wasn't going to fall back on some utopian catch all of "magic" to ease his mind. The road of a scientist was a difficult one, and he would not be lured off track by easy answers.

"I don't believe you."

Both scientists looked like they had expected as much. They sighed and said no more for the rest of the ride down. After what seemed like a very long silence, the elevator slowed and then shuddered to a stop, the hissing of the opening doors the only sound. Alex led them out and into a familiar tangle of passages. Although the familiarity was deceiving. Surely, these halls looked like the same ones Dune had glimpsed when he entered Narsille with the Captain, but they must be many miles away from the entrance of the city. Dune felt that if Alex and Indie weren't around, he could get lost in these passages for the rest of his life. He suddenly felt ashamed of his stubbornness, but what choice did he have? He wasn't going to convert to their cult of magic at the drop of a hat.

Alex led them further along, veering first left then right as he maneuvered his way through the maze-like passages. The air down here was thin and musty, and the same low hum of generators filled every corridor. It was just as dimly lit here as it was in the corridor above, but the passages were wider, and taller. They looked like hallways for giants to Dune. He wondered just what the purpose of all these intertwining passages could be. Perhaps they were old mining tunnels that were converted into hallways when the city started its technological phase and no longer needed mining for resources. Or maybe they were designed this way on purpose to keep unwanted guests out? Or in? Dune could only guess, but he felt the answer was mostly likely all three.

Eventually Alex led him to a large open area that was better lit and looked like it was in much better condition than the hallways around it. The room was in the shape of a large circle, and many more hallways were flowing away from it like spokes from a wheel. Signs were posted above each of the larger hallways, making it easy to know which path to take to get to wherever you were going, at least until you got out of the main area. If the other hallways were like the one they had just left, you were still apt to get very lost very quick without a guide once you left the room.

The area seemed to be the central hub of the underground city beneath Narsille, and Dune wondered just how many people worked down here. Lived down here? This wasn't the kind of place he thought he would enjoy living in for too long, and hoped his stay here would really be a brief one, like Dehr had promised. Dune was not like Indie or Alex. He did not like being surrounded by machines and noise and stale air. He was a scientist who preferred to work out in nature, digging in the dirt and exploring real caves, not these artificial abominations.

Alex continued leading Dune down into the hub until they reached a hallway about three-quarters around the circular room from where they came in. The room was surprisingly empty, and despite its vast size had very little machinery in it. There were a few vehicles and lifts to make traveling easier, and televisions scattered about on tables and desks to remind the folk of this world that it was still sunny and bright above, but not much else. It was simply a crossroads where all the hallways connected.

Down the new hallway they went, and Dune wondered just how far away his new home was now. Alex made more twists and turns and at one point almost seemed unsure of where to go next, but regained his former confidence after a brief glance at some well-hidden signs and maps that Dune had not noticed until Alex put his finger on one and traced their route.

A few more minutes of walking and it seemed they had reached their destination. There was nothing special about where they were at all. Dune had half-expected some sort of grim welcoming committee to pad them down and a military style barracks with long lines of rooms with nothing more than bunk beds and sinks in them. What he found was a room strangely similar to his own apartment. It was well lit, well furnished, and even well-ventilated. The air in this room was cool and breezy, and felt just like the real thing. There were several plants to make the place seem more inviting, and the furniture looked like something you'd find in any well-to-do home, not in a bleak internment camp. There was even a television to keep him occupied while he waited. There was no phone or any other means of contacting the outside world, however. Just an intercom system that Alex quickly showed him how to use in case he needed anything.

As Alex and Indie were turning to go, they both stopped at the doorway and looked at Dune carefully. Indie's pet also gave Dune a curious look. Alex was the only one who spoke.

"Well, Dune, this is where we part company for now. We didn't expect you to believe what we had to say so easily, but you must believe nonetheless. The truth is out there, and it's closer than you may think. I think it is time you stopped being a naive child and opened your eyes to the world behind the world. But it is you who must choose to see in the end. That is why we are not forcing you to believe us. We'd be no better than the Committee or the Order of the Pearl if we did that."

"I'm sorry for my reaction before, but you can't honestly expect me to believe in magic in this day and age, especially not on your word alone. As much respect as I have for the both of you, something like that demands proof. If you can show me proof of this 'magic' you think is behind everything, I'll listen to what you have to say more readily. As a scientist I can't turn my head when there is proof in front of me and I can at least offer to listen and be reasonable, even if I still don't fully believe you."

Alex seemed to be encouraged by Dunes words. Maybe he is ready for what's coming. At least more than many would be if given the choice of believing in magic or not. Alex knew it wouldn't matter what anyone believed soon, if the Prophecy was right, but dammit, people deserve to know the truth before it hits them in the face like a sucker punch. Especially Dune. Yes, Alex supposed if there was anyone who deserved to know what was really happening, it was him. The fact that he had the crystal and still lived was proof enough of that.

Proof.

If that's what Dune wants...

"Listen to me Dune. The proof you seek is right here. Down in these catacombs are many things, not just safe houses or machinery stores. The Order of the Pearl has their most sacred meeting place in these halls, although it is not accessible to the public, or even the workers down here. If you want the truth, then that is where you must go to find it. I will give you what you need to find it, but no more. What you do when you get there is your business, as is getting back here safely and undetected. For now, just sit here and wait. I will contact you when I am ready. Do you understand?"

"I think so...do you really think I can sneak into the Order of the Pearl safely, though? I'm not very skilled in espionage, you know. But, I'm willing to try if it means getting the answers I want."

"Yes, I can see that. I won't lie to you, Dune. It will be dangerous, and even I don't know how much has changed since the last time I visited that place. I'm sure everything you need to know is still there, though. We are going to leave you now, but we will be back when it's time to leave this place. In the meantime, wait for my instructions. That's all I can say, except good luck. Let's go, Indie."

And with a final nod from both of them, Dune was alone.