Chapter 50

Explosive revelations

They all looked toward the refinery. The smokestacks had stopped fuming. Eric congratulated himself for having dealt untold damage to the machinery from such a long distance, but now he was more worried about what was hidden beneath it. If Ahimsa's suspicions were correct, the reason why MAL was keeping Dr. Blight's body and forcing every computer on Earth to work toward protein regeneration was not due to unresolved mommy issues, but a careful return plan directed by Dr. Blight herself. MAL wasn't trying to revive her; she was trying to revive herself.

"What would happen if Dr. Blight returns to her original body?" asked Sichi.

"There's no telling which of MAL's capabilities her mind could bring along," replied Ahimsa. "A computer system in an enclosed organic substrate would be unreachable for any hacker."

"But not for you," said Eric. "In fact, you're the only one with any chance of stopping her."

Ahimsa shook her head. "If her heart has become completely corrupted by evil intentions, not even I can stop her. I can't move a dirty heart, just like you can't move dirty water."

"Then we know what we need to do," said Sichi. "We stop her before she gets revived."

They looked toward the refinery once again. Under the unforgiving sun of Egypt, they started walking.


A tremor shook the sand and made them lose their balance.

"Wind!" Rodrigo lifted them all, and they saw a huge gate opening from beneath the sand. A hundred robots were marching out and pointed their arms in the Planeteers' direction.

"They have guns!" shouted Rodrigo, and Sichi raised a cloud of sand to conceal the team. Rodrigo concentrated on his ring, and the four of them were pushed in separate directions.

Then they heard Ahimsa's voice in their heads. "I'm forcing the robots to hold their fire. I think you can run past them into the underground complex."

Rodrigo carefully landed them and Sichi made the sand swirl into every robotic joint and every ventilation opening, until it was just an army of useless dolls.

"MAL isn't so challenging anymore," said Sichi.

"Be careful," said Eric. "I thought that once, and then I met the upgrades."

They walked down the ramp and got into a series of corridors with no signs for directions. "Which way?" said Sichi.

Ahimsa concentrated for a moment and looked worried. "There aren't any minds, organic or otherwise, in this place."

"Not even MAL?" asked Rodrigo.

Ahimsa shook her head. "I don't detect MAL, and I'm beginning to think I wouldn't be able to. The robots we just passed were being remotely controlled, but it could have been from a very long distance."

"MAL uses microwaves," said Eric.

Sichi walked to the end of the corridor and knocked on the metallic wall. "We're surrounded by compacted sand on all sides. Ahimsa, do you know whether solid materials block your power's range?"

Ahimsa looked puzzled. "I have never tested that. It's not like I can ask you to walk into a bank vault and then try to reach your mind."

"We must expect nasty surprises," said Eric. "Let's assume MAL is already trying to kill us. How would he or she do it?"

Rodrigo looked up. "Poison gas through the ventilation system."

Eric followed his eyes to the tiny opening. He placed his hand in front of it, and could sense a slight draft. "Taking away our oxygen would be subtler. Sichi, can you jam the entrance so it stays open?"

"On it," she said, and walked up the ramp.

"OK," said Eric. "We need to think this well. We're looking for the MAL mainframe, and Sichi said there were huge water pipes surrounding it. How about we simply push through the ground and make a direct entrance?"

Ahimsa raised a hand to let Eric know he was going too fast. "In Sichi's memories of her underground exploration I can see there are also plenty of explosives everywhere. They're proximity bombs; she had to force the sand to group together to contain the explosions she triggered."

Sichi returned from the door and added, "She's right. The tunnels sound like a much safer option."

Eric turned to Sichi. "We're completely surrounded by metallic floors, walls, and ceilings. Can you control metals?"

"I'm sure processed and refined metals count as artificial."

"Please try."

"Earth." The wall didn't respond. "No, it's not natural enough."

"It will get worse," said Rodrigo. "Our powers will be weaker the closer we get to the refinery and its waste."

"Then we should not use the tunnels," said Eric. "With no usable earth or water, we're at a big disadvantage in here."

Rodrigo nodded. "Sichi, you've already caused a few detonations. Can you take us through the same route so we won't be within the range of the other bombs?"

"I think I can do that. Earth." A hole appeared in the wall, perforated by swirling sand from the outside. The hole gradually widened, the metal twisting and giving way to the accelerated abrasion, until they could all fit through it. "Ahimsa, I'm going to need your help in getting my memories right. Specifically, I need to know how this particular wall relates to the rest of the underground structure I've already visited."

Ahimsa's image led the way, and the rest followed.


Sichi made the sand give way until she perforated another wall. Here the place was less empty: there were pipes in the ceiling, and isolated cables on the floor. "We're close to the mainframe now," she said.

Eric said, "Everyone, keep your eyes—"

"Jump!" yelled Sichi, and pushed the boys back into the sand tunnel.

"What happened?" said Rodrigo.

Sichi sat up and looked into the corridor. "I sensed my hair move on its own, and then it occurred to me that MAL was electrifying the inner surface of the corridor."

"Thanks for the fast thinking," said Eric. "So how do we get in without getting fried?"

"I'm taking a look," signed Ahimsa, and her image disappeared. A moment later, she appeared again, and said, "These corridors all bend around a huge space I cannot enter. I didn't sense any physical barrier; I suspect the Heart of Conquest is blocking my power."

"So Ma-Ti is here," said Rodrigo.

"We must be careful to not think of him as an ally," said Eric. "As long as he's wearing the glove, he's open to Zarm's influence."

Ahimsa turned to Eric. "You used one of Zarm's gloves today. How did you resist him?"

"I didn't. I actually took that chance to get to know him better."

"And?"

"Remember when Gaia called for help to redeem Nukey McNukeface? I think we're going to need the same approach with Zarm."

Rodrigo tested a current of air over the metallic floor, then quit the attempt. "How exactly do you plan to turn Zarm good?"

"Oh, that one was Ahimsa's idea." Rodrigo and Sichi looked at Ahimsa, then at Eric, still not understanding. He explained, "It's not that he hasn't got any goodness. I think he just forgot where he left it."

Rodrigo chuckled and turned to Sichi. "We can't keep losing time. Can you get us in through the way Ahimsa described?"

"Sure. Come this way."


This time they triggered half a dozen bombs that took all of Sichi's effort to contain. Combined with the inherent instability of tunnels made entirely of sand, the situation was demanding full concentration in the power of Earth. When they made their way into another corridor, Sichi sat for a while to catch her breath.

Eric gasped. "Didn't it occur to you to test the metalic floor before you sat on it?"

Ahimsa smiled. "It's OK. There are human employees in this area."

That made Rodrigo worry. "This is going to be an ugly fight. We need to move the people out."

They followed the sound of machinery and conversation to a lower floor, full of chemical equipment and people. "We can walk freely," signed Ahimsa. "I'm keeping us removed from their perception."

Eric walked to one of the tables and examined the notes left in a folder. "I recognize these reactions. They're producing biopolymers."

Sichi took the folder and read. "That's an odd field of research for a petroleum company to be in. The entire field of biopolymers was all but abandoned when plastic proved cheaper to make from petroleum."

Then they heard concern in Rodrigo's voice. "It's going to be more dangerous than we thought."

"Huh?" said Eric.

"Look at this poster." He pointed at other walls. "It's everywhere."

In bright, cheerful colors, the sign said, TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER TO WORK DAY.

"This is bad," signed Ahimsa. "We can attempt to be as careful as we want, but MAL won't hold back just because there are children in here."