ALL RIGHT! It's been forever since I updated this, but lately I've been getting more reviews, and so I decided to go for it. The long awaited Chapter Six!
Chapter Seven IS in production now, and will be posted sometime later. Enjoy!
Chapter Six: Mind over Matter
English Version
??? – Day ???
Gordon rolled over onto a rock. He leapt to his feet, instantly alert, pulling a non-existent crowbar/pistol from his non-existent holster and aiming it at the rock, which in his delirium was a non-existent headcrab. The non-existent headcrab let out a non-existent screech, and jumped towards Gordon. He yelped and dived for cover. When he came up from cowering, the headcrab was gone. All that was left was a rock, right where it had been sitting.
Gordon sighed, and put the non-existent weapon back into its non-existent holster. This had been going on all day. Here it was, somewhere after mid-day on the Zoc't'vician planet named Cex, and he had already suffered from three hallucinations. It didn't help the fact that he had experienced a dream that made him begin to question his own sanity. These hallucinations answered the question.
Gordon didn't like to admit it, but he was going insane. There was no point in denying it. After being kept without food for five days, and getting very little REM, he was beginning to suffer from the textbook example of losing touch on reality.
Speaking of that dream last night, what was that? What did it mean? Was it just another tip-off that he was losing his mind? Or had he already lost it? These were too many questions to be asked by a man who only had days to live.
Then the question of "Why should he care" reared its ugly head. Why not just give up? There really wasn't any point in trying anymore. He was doomed to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. He might as well just go off into his imaginary world and spend his last few days there, never coming out.
Well, that just wouldn't work, Gordon. It was the G-Man again.
"And why not?" Gordon was tired of thinking, so he just spoke aloud.
Because then I couldn't have fun with you, of course.
"Of course," Gordon muttered. He pretended to take the imaginary crowbar out of the imaginary holster and have a duel with the rock, which he was pretending was an imaginary headcrab. The G-Man sighed inside his head and the rock disappeared.
"Great, so now who am I going to kill?" Gordon looked around, trying to determine where the G-Man might be. As he did so, he put the imaginary crowbar back into his imaginary holster, and pulled out an imaginary Magnum.
Gordon….Gordon, Gordon, Gordon…You think I cannot see what you are…"holding?" He let out a slow laugh. Gordon thought it might have been forced, but he was going insane, so he didn't have a right to assume things. I can see into your imagination, and I must say, you are persistent. The imaginary Magnum disappeared magically, and Gordon's hand went limp.
"What's going on, G? C'mon, talk to me. They don't call me Dr. Freeman for nothing, you know." There was much more than just a touch of irony in his voice.
The G-Man didn't respond, but suddenly Gordon lost control of his body again. He was flung up against a wall, and then against another. The walls were made of stone, so Gordon assumed that he was in a cave. Quite a nice cave, too. Not one of those dreary, moss-covered damp caves you used to see on TV. This was a dry, rocky cave. Gordon like it.
Will you pay attention while I'm torturing you? The G-Man's voice was slightly elevated, and sounded disturbed. The G-Man, the master of emotional discretion, was breaking.
I don't know. I mean, what color should the cave paintings be? I think red would look nice, but then again, yellow would stand out more. I'll let you decide. Gordon's voice was high-pitched, and his brain was working in spasm. He was past the point of no return.
How about I show you the remainder of Earth, Mr. Freeman? The G-Man decided to stop calling Gordon by his first name as he could probably call him Cheese-Wiz and he'd respond.
That'd be…super….duper…..G-Diddy….. The G-Man took Gordon to the center of a city. Or, rather, what was left of a city. New York City, to be precise. Thousands of humans were chained around the neck and the legs, walking in a straight line with Zoc't'vicians whipping them on their backs. Each person was carrying a large slab of concrete. When a person reached the end of a line, which was a giant pit in the middle of the street, they tossed the slab into the hole and were unchained thrown into a cage. In the pit there were many more people, working on grinding the concrete. One group of people were putting the slabs in a type of funnel, where another group of people were smashing the stone into powder with blunt, rusty pickaxes. After the stones were made into powder, they poured through the funnel into crudely-made stone bowls. The bowls were picked up by two people and carried to another section of the pit. In this section, people turned over the powder into square molds. Another group would pour some kind of black liquid into the mold, and more people would mix the two substances together. Eventually, a stone block would be made. Each person would then individually carry a stone block up the side of the pit (which was about 30 feet deep), and carry it to another group of people. This group was taking the blocks and constructing a large building. This building would eventually turn into the palace for the Overlord.
"Hey, hey, hey, kiddies! Will you look at…that? We can…Do amazing things….When we all work…To…to…toge….together…" Gordon's voice trailed off, and his eyes rolled into his head. He collapsed to the ground.
Wake up, Gordon. Wake up and….smell the ashes. Gordon heard the G-Man whispering in his mind, saying something that Gordon hadn't heard for a very, very long time. He slowly opened his eyes, but had to instantly squint them due to an extraordinarily bright light coming from a unknown source.
"…" Gordon tried to speak, but he couldn't move his mouth. It even took him a moment to realize he could think again. Seeing as he couldn't talk, Gordon decided to try communicating to the G-Man through thought patterns again.
What did you do to me? Gordon tried to think straight, but the bright light impaired his mind. He was developing a splitting headache.
Now, now, Gordon…Is that any way to thank your savior? Gordon could actually feel the G-Ma sneer. He hadn't been able to do that. Ever.
Savior? Savior? SAVIOR? Gordon's eye's glared upwards. He tried to turn his head, to look behind him, but Gordon realized he couldn't move his head either. In fact, Gordon couldn't move any body parts at all. He was completely paralyzed, save the eyes and eyebrows.
Why, yes, Gordon. Your savior. Who pulled you back up the cliff of insanity and brought you away from it? You had lost your mind, Mr. Freeman, and I found it and gave it back to you. I gave you new life. I saved you. Now, I'll be expecting a "thank you," and then we can get on with my life.
Why can't I move? Gordon couldn't even feel his body parts.
Why do you think? I've immobilized you, Mr. Freeman.
What happened to our first-name basis?
I decided I didn't like you getting too close to me. I want to keep this purely business. I don't allow my love life to interfere with my business life. Gordon was slightly dumfounded.
So you do have a sense of humor that's not dark and twisted? There was silence for a few seconds, and then the G-Man replied.
No. I used to, but that part of me is long gone. I must depart, Mr. Freeman. However, I will see you up ahead. Again with the memory jogging of the past.
Why do you torment me with my past life?! Gordon felt his eyes bulging. He didn't like remembering what had happened back in Europe.
I just don't want you to forget our little….Family vacation. Gordon felt the G-Man beginning to move away from his mind.
Wait! What about me? An instant later, a full-body mirror appeared in front of Gordon. He was missing all body parts except for his head. He didn't have a mouth anymore, either. Gordon's mind began to reel, and he tried to close his eyes. They wouldn't close anymore. He had lost complete control.
The G-Man was back in his personal universe, drifting slowly throughout the space he had just created. Small colonies were flying throughout the open air in space ships, and colliding into his body, which was trillions times larger than them in comparison. The G-Man didn't even notice. He was too busy, deep in thought.
What's happening to me? The G-Man hadn't been the same since he had that dream, and he wasn't even sure how long ago the disturbing dream had taken place. It was so real… He could still feel the letters in his hands… He could still hear the echoing of his feet down the hallway. But that was impossible. It was a dream. Sometimes dreams can deceive the mind; alter perception. There was no possible way that the dream could physically have existed.
But then again…In this universe, the physics that bound the Terra universe would not necessarily be the same as they are here. Where had they been during that period of sleep? Had they left the Terra universe? Had they warped into this universe? Had they entered an entirely new universe, altogether? Did it matter?
Yes, the G-Man decided. It did matter, and it also mattered that he keep his mind.
"Mustn't let the figment of one's imagination deter one from one's imminent accomplishment." He hadn't even realize that he had spoken those words aloud, until a small space pod containing a message in response to what he had said flew over to him. It glided into his face and bounced off his nose. Annoyed by the distraction, the G-Man flicked the pod away, causing it to collide into a nearby son, which caused the fuel capacitors in the pod to supercharge the sun into going supernova, which ultimately wiped out the entire miniature solar system. This gave the G-Man an idea.
Yes. Every action causes a chain reaction. It is unavoidable. One cannot attempt to avoid this chain reaction, which would be me trying to avoid my painful demise, but one must learn to work with this chain reaction, using it to one's own advantage. Perhaps, if one could come to understand how the Zoc't'vicians renegaded against oneself, one could take this knowledge and stop the first event causing this reaction. The G-Man began to think. What could have caused him to be murdered by his allies, his army? What could have caused a group of alien slaves to kill their master? The G-Man knew that the Zoc't'vicians hated him. But they were powerless against him. The G-Man had, long ago, harnessed the technology Nihilanth utilized on the Vortigaunt slaves to work on other species. Then, after peace had came over the world again, and the G-Man was fired, he had stolen the neck chains and fled the country.
Wandering from country to country, as an exile, he eventually came across a very intelligent old man that was known by the name of Lio. Although he had a doctorate in physics, he chose not to go by Dr. Lio, but instead just Lio. Lio had been working, for the past half-century, on a teleportation device. Now, the G-Man already knew every secret about Xen teleportation, but he wanted to witness this man discover it on his own. So, choosing not to reveal his own information, the G-Man sat back and watched. Soon, Lio had broken the code, and had successfully transported a large bull from one end of Asia to the other, without the bull dying.
Overjoyed, Lio asked the G-Man what he should do with his new, ground-breaking invention. The G-Man was about to say he should patent it, but then an idea struck him. He was exiled from his the United States, and he had nowhere he could call a home. Essentially, he had no place on this planet. So, why not leave the planet? The G-Man asked Lio if he had attempted to transport a living, breathing, human being through the portal. Of course, Lio answered "No." Being the deceitful, intelligent man the G-Man is, he asked Lio if he could be the test subject. Lio, trusting the G-Man, fell for his trap, and agreed. As Lio began recording some observations in another room, the G-Man changed around some of the coding to randomly transport him somewhere into another dimension.
Lio came back, and asked the G-Man if he was ready. The G-Man said he was, so Lio fired up the machine. Soon, the portal was glowing green. Lio told the G-Man it was ready, and to step through in exactly three seconds. The G-Man counted out the seconds perfectly, and then took a deep breathe, and stepped through.
It was a feeling unlike anything else the G-Man had experienced before. He felt as if every aspect of his body was crushed and separated, then fixed again. Suddenly, he was under great pressure. He couldn't breath. The G-Man figured he was in a liquid of some sort. Then he was gone. He was being teleported again. The G-Man appeared on a desert-like landscape, on all fours, gasping and coughing up the liquid. It was purple, and didn't look healthy. There were noises all around the G-Man, so he looked up. He was surrounded by maybe twenty large, green, aliens. They were all holding some sort of violent weapon.
It took many years, but eventually, the G-Man tricked the aliens, who were the Zoc't'vicians, into moving him to the top. There, he was able to use the power of the Vortigaunt's slave harness on the chief leader. By doing that, he was able to control the rest of the Zoc't'vicians, as they didn't think individually, but by orders given by the emperor. The G-Man needed revenge against his country, and over the years, his hatred twisted into a desire for revenge against the entire planet. That's how he became the leader of the Zoc't'vicians, and that's how he started his domination.
But how can I use this to use this to stop my downfall? The G-Man couldn't think of anything, Perhaps his mind was going away. Perhaps I am meant to die. He shook his head silently.
"No. Nothing is certain. God doesn't exist, and neither does fate. They are both badly written fables, whimsical to think about, but horrible to clog the mind. I learned that while I was still in my youth, and I shan't forget it now. There's nothing more to think about now, but I'll ponder this predicament later." There was a flash of light, vaporizing everything in the area, and the G-Man was gone; gone back to the world of destruction and despair.