CHAPTER THREE: THE OFFER
Mirage opened her eyes abruptly. She shivered as she rested on her side, her cheek pressed to the floor, a cold, polished hard surface. Her hands were bound, held together with metal restraints. She could not move as her body felt heavy like lead. Her eyes were unable to focus properly: Looking out ahead of her, she could only see a grey blur.
As she struggled to regain her senses, she recalled the chain of events that had happened before she had lost consciousness: a fight with an aggressor, a dash down the stairs, being caught off guard by another man waiting outside and a blinding flash of light.
Mirage took a deep breath. The dry air, smelling like strong antiseptic, made her cough. Slowly she moved up her arms to spread her fingers against the floor and with her remaining strength, pushed up her shoulders and lifted her head up. The room she was in swayed back and forth as a heavy bout of vertigo rushed over her. It took her an eternity to stand up, as her legs like felt like jelly. She leaned against the wall. Mirage's neck was sore. She felt a small bruise on its side as she touched it that made a bump similar to a bee sting. She could focus again now.
Mirage stood in what appeared to be a small cell. The room, just a few square meters in size, was featureless except for a low shelf attached to one of its walls, which served as a bunk. It had no apparent door. All the walls were smooth, made of a greyish substance that seemed neither rock nor steel. In fact, they were totally plain, with no openings for ventilation even light fixtures. A cold, greyish light emanated from them, enveloping Mirage in a sickly halo.
How long have I been here? Mirage tried to search her memory, to gain any possible clue about her situation. She gave up, finding nothing, only feeling completely disoriented. Her body ached, a raging thirst adding to the discomfort. She realized she couldn't stay there for long, as the cell contained no amenities. Mirage then thought about air circulation or more importantly, of the apparent lack of it. She struggled to fight back a rush of anxiety, hoping whoever put her there had not forgotten her.
Mirage focused on her restraints. She had wanted instinctively to transmutate out of them, but was stunned by the fact nothing had happened. She tried again, holding back panic as she realized her attempt had failed.
Mirage struggled to stay calm. She had lost her powers.
Prisoner, turn around.
Mirage froze as she heard the command. It took her a second to realize that she actually had not heard the voice, but rather had heard it resonate inside her head.
Prisoner, turn around, the voice repeated, in the same flat, authoritative tone.
Mirage decided to hesitate in obeying, hoping to create a reaction from her captors. She regretted that decision immediately: A sudden wave of excruciating pain, intense like she had never felt, as if every nerve in her body had been pinched hard at the same time, made her collapse to the floor. Mirage shrieked, helpless, her body convulsing as the torture was unbearable. Then, as quickly as it had started, the pain stopped.
Prisoner, stand up. Mirage slowly got to her feet, her legs shaking.
Prisoner, turn around. She did not wait long to do so this time.
The wall in front of her suddenly slid open silently. Mirage instinctively stepped back as she saw the opening. On the other side, stood a pair of androids.
Mirage didn't doubt this a second, as the guards in front of her obviously looked like machines. What intrigued her most is that they were made of a substance like she had never seen before: Their armature had neither the appearance of steel nor flesh, but appeared to be similar to stone, with the difference of being flexible and transparent. As Mirage looked more carefully, she could see liquid flowing below the surface of their armour, as one would see inside microscopic cells.
Prisoner, step forward. Mirage did so, too eager to get out of the cell. She stood between the two androids which dwarfed her by their height. They looked down to her, the features of their faces like statues, their gaze cold and empty. Mirage looked around her. Her cell was located in the middle of an immense corridor, lost in what seemed to be hundreds of similar doors. All were numbered and beside them, a small red button glowed, its light reflecting off the polished grey walls.
Mirage shivered again. She was still dressed the same way as the night of her abduction. Her bare feet were hurting from the cold floor.
Prisoner, move forward. Mirage obeyed the telepathic command. The small group silently walked towards one of the ends of the long corridor, to reach an open elevator. The doors closed silently behind them as they stepped in. The elevator gently hummed. Mirage felt they were moving upwards at high speed.
The ride took more than a minute. Mirage had no idea how high they had gone, but without the outside world to glance at, it would have been possible that they were still underground.
The elevator stopped. The doors opened. One of the androids pointed a finger towards Mirage's shackles, making them open and fall to the floor. The other android grabbed her by the shoulders, and without a word, roughly pushed her out of the elevator, while they both remained inside. She turned to see the door close on them.
Mirage was alone. She stood in complete darkness, except for the dim red light of the button of the elevator. For the first time in her life, she found being in darkness disturbing. Mirage held her breath, blind in the total obscurity, listening out for any sound, only to hear her own heartbeat. She decided to step forward. The empty sound her footsteps made gave her the indication she was inside a very large room.
Mirage gave a sigh of relief. For as soon as she had started moving, the darkness around her began to recede. A light source had turned on, slowly growing in intensity, like the light of dawn would.
The strange architecture revealed in the dim light caught her attention: She stood at the entrance of what seemed to be some sort of large cathedral: On each side of her, rows of giant translucent stone pillars rose to reach each other in a gentle arc, so high it could barely be seen in the feeble light.
But something else happened as she had stepped forward. High up, between every other pillar, luminous displays appeared: They were holograms, circular and hanging in mid air. They each showed different illustrations, scenes composed out of a mosaic of light, like stained glass adorning windows of churches.
Mirage looked at them but could not figure out what they could mean: The one closest to her showed a stylized lion, standing erect on its hind legs, fighting what appeared to be a group of monkeys. The next, a silver mechanical man held a sword in one hand and a heart in the other.
Mirage walked slowly forward, looking up, as curiosity got the better of her. They were now different characters in the holographic stained glass floating above: a straw man -as it was obvious he was one, for he had straw coming out of his sleeves- was portrayed from the waist up with a serene look on his face, turning on his side, looking at what was a display of complex mathematical symbols. Mirage had recognized Pythagoras's Theorem, amongst others.
Mirage stopped after the next pillar. The hologram there showed a young girl, her eyes looking to the horizon, to what looked like an incoming tornado. On the opposite side, another hologram displayed a large castle painted on the horizon with a multitude of shining turrets decorated with flags. A yellow road snaked towards it.
Mirage had reached the end of the hall. She had stopped in front of what seemed to be an altar. It was a few steps up above her, large and made of the same translucent stone. The feet of the structure were sculpted in the shape of a small dog posed with its head up in a hopeful expression, like it had been waiting for the return of a long gone master.
Mirage suddenly realized she had been alone for a while now. She turned around to look behind her. She heard nothing but silence. If she focused more, she realized she could still hear her heartbeat, its pulse faintly echoing on the walls.
She then noticed the floors were not cold anymore. In fact, the whole room was comfortably warm now. She looked to her left. A door there was ajar. As she got closer, her ears detected the sound of a running stream. The intense thirst she felt made her put aside all precautions as she now focused entirely on the sound of the water.
She crossed the threshold of the door only to stop in amazement at what she saw: The door opened on the top of a few stone steps that overlooked an immense empty greenhouse, its windows as tall as the ceiling of the cathedral. The light that shone through could only have been the rays of a late afternoon sun.
In the middle of the floor below her, a fountain ran. Mirage immediately stepped down the stairs, rushing towards it.
She looked at the water. It flowed, pure, crystalline, and as tempting as an oasis in the desert could have ever been. She cupped her hands to gather some of the liquid, and eagerly drank it. She felt relieved.
"So, you're finally here. Come, we've been waiting for you," a voice behind her calmly said.
Mirage turned around. In the middle of another door that Mirage had not noticed yet, a person stood. Mirage's eyes widened, as she had never seen anyone so unusual. The figure standing in the doorway did not look like anything remotely human: The woman, as her delicate features suggested she could have been, stood at least tree meters tall. She was completely bald, her body reed thin, -much thinner than Mirage's- with fingers long and fine coming from a hand so big, it could easily wrap itself around Mirage's head. But her most striking features were fiery orange eyes and deep blue skin. She was draped in a loose, semi-transparent dress that flowed to the ground.
"We've been waiting for you," she said again. The woman stepped forward. She walked gracefully and quietly towards Mirage. In fact it seemed she glided instead of walking. She stopped in front of Mirage. "You are tall, for a human female," she said. "We were not told about this. We will have to make some adjustments. Come with me, we must prepare you to meet the Master."
"Who are you and where am I?" Mirage asked defiantly, not ready to follow the stranger without some form of explanation.
"All in due time, human. We must not keep the Baron waiting. It would most unpleasant for all of us."
Mirage wanted to object. But before she could open her mouth, she heard the woman's voice resonate loud and clear inside her head. Mirage suddenly understood she had no choice but to follow her.
They went through the door that the woman had appeared from. They were now beside the steps of a large pool, filled with hot water. The air was perfumed with the scent of tropical flowers. An immense bay window let daylight inside.
Mirage looked outside. She could see that they were on the last floor of a very tall building, so tall in fact, that it towered above the clouds. She could see in the distance other gigantic structures here and there, similar in their construction, their architecture of gigantic pillars of luminous crystal separated by elongated arcs and so high, they all pierced an opaque cloud cover that spread to infinity like dense fog.
Mirage had never seen anything like it.
"You must bathe and change before meeting with the Baron, human," the woman said, waving her hand towards the pool.
She clapped her hands. Four young women came out of another door, barefoot and giggling. They encircled Mirage, curiously touching her with their delicate fingers, and immediately proceeded to remove what little clothes she had on. One of them then took her by the hand.
"Come, you must bathe," they said in unison, laughing as they gently coaxed Mirage towards the water. Mirage didn't offer much resistance. She entered the pool, following them.
The water was hot and soothing, perfumed with delicate oils and scented salts. The bath was a welcome break from what had been a brutal awakening.
Mirage noticed they had taken her clothes away. Before long, another servant had then entered the room holding a beautiful long white dress. It was made of what seemed to be the finest material, translucent and iridescent, the light shining through the cloth separating into a myriad of different colors, as it would when entering a diamond.
She didn't question that the dress had been intended for her. It fit perfectly as she tried it on. The smooth, flowing see-through fabric subtly revealed Mirage's gracious silhouette. The women around her cooed their approval.
"The Baron will see you now," the tall creature said to Mirage. And, as if she had read Mirage's mind she added, "The Baron will answer all your queries. Be patient." She gestured towards the side door. "This way please."
The creature silently glided out of the door. Mirage followed her as the others remained behind.
They walked quietly alongside a corridor where the stone walls had an inner luminescence that glowed bluish green, similar to black light.
When they reached a large hall, the woman stopped and gestured Mirage to stay where she was. The woman bowed, stepped backwards and closed the door behind her.
The features of the room mirage had entered were similar to those of the cathedral she had walked through. Large pillars of luminescent crystal reached to the ceiling to form arches of gothic shape and proportion. They gave off a faint bluish-green glow that was the only source of light in the room, except for a fire roaring in a large stone fireplace, built inside the opposite wall. There were no windows. A long dinner table, carved out in heavy stone, had been lavishly prepared to receive guests: Enticing food and drink had been served on it, in large gold plates and delicate crystal glasses. Mirage walked towards the table, each step of her bare feet faintly echoing on the stone walls.
"Welcome, welcome!" A voice suddenly said, thunderous. It made Mirage jump.
A man bristly walked towards her, his arms open. He was tall and thin, wearing a red cape over his black jump suit, the collar of which was emblazoned with decorations of military type. His black hair was cropped short and he wore a small goatee finished in a sharp point that elongated his facial features. He stopped in front of Mirage, quickly glancing at her while holding his hands together. He smiled.
"Miss Moresso, I must say, you look absolutely ravishing. A relief, for my tired eyes." He gestured, pointing to the chair closest to the one near the end. Mirage would obviously be the guest of honour.
"Oh, but where are my manners," he added, snapping his heels together as he said that, in typical military fashion.
"Allow me to present myself: I am Baron Von Zordel. Horatio Von Zordel. And I am most thrilled and honoured to have you at my table, Miss Moresso." He took her hand, bent down and kissed it. "You must be famished. Sit down, please and feast."
Mirage sat down, without uttering a word. As he did so himself, he clapped his hands. Servants immediately came to the table, carrying trays filled with all sorts of meats and vegetables. Mirage sat straight and still, refusing to touch any food.
Mirage finally spoke. "Would it be rude of my part to ask you for an explanation on what happened? Where Am I? Why did you kidnap me?"
The Baron shook his head. "Oh, kidnap… It's such an ugly word." He leaned his elbows on the table as he looked into her eyes. "You see, Miss Moresso, or if I may, Mirage, I did bring you here. I'm terribly sorry if you were in any which way mistreated... Bear in mind that the fools who dared lay a hand on you have been dealt with."
Mirage was now irritated by all his pompous posturing. "You had no right to kidnap me. I am entitled to an explanation," she said, dryly.
The Baron put his hands together. His eyes narrowed on her.
"Do you really want to know, Mirage? The truth might displease you…"
He snickered. "Where do you think you are, Mirage?" He paused. "Or should I say, when do you think you are?"
Mirage said nothing. The idea her host had put forward sounded at first glance preposterous, but everything she had seen up to now told her he could not have been lying.
The Baron opened his hands. "Welcome to the future, Mirage," he said. "Welcome to Paradise."
Mirage tried to conceal her shock. The Baron added: "Yes, Mirage, your future, my present."
He was wild eyed now. "I'll let you guess how many years ahead of your era we actually are, Mirage. Forgive me if I have a bit of fun at your expense."
Mirage's hands grabbed the arms of the chair she sat in, but the Baron motioned her to stay seated.
"It would be most advisable for you to remain where you are and to listen to me," the Baron said, leaning back in his chair. "There is nowhere for you to go. You would be wise not to debate this."
The Baron poured Mirage a glass of wine. "I have a proposition for you, Mirage," he said, presenting her the drink. "An offer you'll surely find interesting…"
The Baron took a sip from his glass. He looked elated, as he eyed her up and down. "I must say," he said, "time travel is truly amazing. But before we dwell on how marvellous science is, you must allow me to explain myself first. The main reason I had you brought here, Mirage, is that you are in possession of something that is very dear to me."
Mirage did not react.
The Baron went on. "Actually, Mirage, I need to be more specific. It is not something that belongs to you that I'm interested in. It has more to do with your special relationship with someone: I am interested in your father's work, Doctor William Moresso."
Mirage was stunned to hear her father's name. She took a second before answering slowly. "There is nothing I can tell you about my father's work. And even if I could, I wouldn't, for I am certain your intentions are far from honourable."
The Baron spoke again, not looking surprised about Mirage's uncooperative behaviour. "William Moresso was chief director at the CERN laboratory. His work was highly classified. CERN, Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, the old French acronym standing for European Council for Nuclear Research, had its laboratories located on the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. It contained the world's largest particle accelerator of the era, an immense ring-shaped tube surrounded by powerful magnets, dozens of kilometres in circumference. Oh yes, we know all that, Mirage."
The Baron's eyes gleamed as he spoke. "Your father's work, if you truly ignore its nature, focused on sub-atomic particle research. It seems your father had found the Holy Grail of Science: He had discovered some of the key elements that proved that a theory, which the scientific community called the Grand Unification Theory, was true. That Theory unified all the known types of forces in the universe with a common bond: gravity, magnetism and the forces that bind atoms together. Before, they were all considered separate entities, but his discoveries led science towards finding a common thread, an underlying link, deep into the smallest recesses of the sub atomic realm. We have achieved wonders with this knowledge since then, incredible progress in all fields of science and technology."
The Baron paused, smiling. "And also, therefore in Society and Civilisation. And, as in any flourishing civilisation, in the control of subversive elements," he added, more quietly.
His tone became sombre. "A lot of people did not understand that by not wanting to abide by society's rules, created as they had forgotten, for their own well being, they became a threat to the powers established. And by doing so, they became a threat to themselves."
The Baron stabbed a piece of meat from his plate and brought it up, waving it gently in front of Mirage's face. "They don't understand the government is well meaning, Mirage. They don't understand that we have to protect them for themselves. They don't understand that they are wrong in their beliefs."
He paused. "I'm talking about Supers, Mirage, your kind."
Mirage stared at him, her face impassive.
He looked at her sideways. "Having superpowers can make you very dangerous, Mirage," he said. "One could easily be temped to use those powers for an illegitimate cause. We must not let this happen. That is why I agree with the government's official position: The complete and definitive eradication of all Supers. The government has been hunting them down for many years now, and has been quite successful in controlling their numbers. It is known that only a handful remains. And we will find them, Mirage."
Mirage's blood had frozen in her veins. The situation had suddenly turned for the worse.
The Baron smiled. "You are a Super, Mirage. Yes, we know a lot of things about you. I'm sorry by the way, about having your powers neutralized. It's just a safety precaution. But don't worry, the process is reversible. We have accomplished wonders in the field of genetics since your time."
"I'm losing myself in trivial details again," the Baron said, "so I'll come to the point now: The important thing to remember is that whoever controls the forces of nature, controls the Supers and therefore, controls the world…"
The Baron leaned forward. "And for this, I need you, Mirage Moresso."
The Baron put his hand on Mirage's. "Oh don't worry. If you cooperate, the powers in place will gladly close their eyes on your status. We can have your powers neutralized permanently, and you'll be granted asylum. The future is a most, most incredible place, Mirage," he added, waving his hand around, "and I would be delighted to take you for a tour after dinner if you didn't mind…"
Mirage took her hand away.
The Baron went on. "We know that your father left you and your mother when you were a young child. It was speculated that the sensitivity of his research had made him a targeted man. By going abroad and officially severing ties, leaving you behind and out of the picture, he thought he could have had in a way, protected you. Maybe he was right to do so, for he suddenly one day disappeared, never to be seen again."
The Baron looked concerned: "Your father left a lot of loose ends when he vanished. His findings had caused quite an uproar in the scientific community and when it was discovered he had omitted to include important elements from his last research paper, scientists felt they had been left with a great irreparable loss."
Mirage lowered her eyes. She remembered too well the pain she felt of just being able to hear about her father only through newspapers articles. She remembered the anguish she felt as she had read about her father's sudden disappearance. She had speculated ever since on what had happened to him.
"I know nothing of my father's work," she said coldly.
"Aren't you hungry?" The Baron asked her, seeing her reluctance to touch anything. "Ah yes," he added. "It must be the meat. It had slipped my mind you were a vegetarian. These, then, should be more to your tastes," he said, as he showed her a plate of exotic fruits.
Mirage shook her head: "If you know that I've barely had any interaction with my father, then how could I know anything about his work?" Mirage became sombre. "And if I did, may I ask then of your immediate intentions?"
"We have been working for some time the Government and I," said the Baron, "on a device based on your father's experiments and knowledge. But we have gone so far. Your father's disappearance was most untimely… We need to go on, we need more information, and you can give it to us, Mirage. The Government would be most grateful for your cooperation. You would be greatly rewarded. So, Please, I invite you to cooperate."
Mirage frowned as stared at him. "So this is what it's all about? You just want me to collaborate with you? To seek and destroy Supers?" Mirage sneered at him. "Do you honestly think that forcefully imposing your will upon me and then trying to seduce me with all this superficial display of power will make me want to help you? I'm very sorry my dear Baron, but you will have to look elsewhere for assistance."
"Oh I'm sorry, but you will help us," the Baron said. "You possess knowledge that is buried, deep inside your memory. We've been gathering intelligence for quite a while and yes, it all comes down to you." The Baron picked an apple from the bowl in front of him. "Don't you remember that you and your father played mathematical puzzles together?"
Mirage remembered. As a young girl, she loved to hide in her father's study, in the large house they lived in, in the woods of the countryside. Her father gave her brainteasers to develop her logical skills. She always solved the puzzles.
"It appears one of those puzzles is the key to what we are looking for," Zordel said.
Mirage shook her head. "How could I recall such a small detail from my childhood? There are too many…" Mirage's tone became colder. "I'm afraid will not be of any use to you."
The Baron smiled at her with a cold, wide smile. "I'm sorry to disagree with you, Mirage."
He snapped his fingers. Two androids, similar to Mirage's jail keepers, approached from behind, to stand beside her.
The Baron sighed. "I wished you could have been more cooperative. But, we were expecting that. You have to understand I need this information, Mirage."
He snapped his fingers again. The androids quickly grabbed Mirage by the arms, forcefully lifting her out of the chair. She struggled in vain.
"Take her to the laboratory. Have the doctor take care of her." Mirage tried to fight back, but the robots were too strong for her.
The Baron sat alone at the table now, absentmindedly sipping his wine. With a gesture of his hand, he waved to a man to come out from the shadows of one of the pillars – as he had been hiding there - and come forward to him.
"So, my dear Romulus, what do you think of our guest?" the Baron asked the person.
The man had approached the table. He was an older man, fat and slumping, walking slow, as his short stubby legs could not carry him far on one stride. His skin, spotted and scarred, greyish and dull, sagged on his bare arms. He was covered in blood stained ragged clothes, dirty and worn out, dragging on the floor, like those of a monk who would have had inflicted upon himself too many corporal punishments. He struggled as he breathed, his long, oily hair fluttering in front of his dry mouth, each breath he took ending in a forced wheeze. He held a long dagger of fine craftsmanship, made of gold and silver and decorated with precious stones.
"Ooh, Your Lordship," the man said, trembling as he whispered in the Baron's ears. "Ooh. She is a Witch. I saw it in her eyes. She is one of them… Please, my Lord, please. I beg you... Let Kieria, my Trusted Blade, take care of her. Let it pierce her flesh and her blood be spilled in the name of the Great Auz."
"My dear Romulus, tell me something I don't know already," the Baron said, annoyed with the man's enthusiasm. "You know I don't subscribe to what you call your Faith, but, as you have been helpful to me in the past, I will give you the chance. Just let the plan go on accordingly. If all goes well, you can do whatever you want with her when the time comes."
The man's body shivered in anticipation. "Ooh, thank you. Thank you, Your Grace," he said, walking away from the Baron, bowing ostentatiously to him until he disappeared back in the shadow.
The Baron looked briefly at Mirage's empty seat, and continued drinking his wine.
The androids had taken Mirage away to a medical laboratory. The room had a large operating table, equipped with steel restraints. Mirage lay on her back, her forearms and legs tightly bound to the table by the metal shackles. She could not move her head for a frame of steel clamps, like fingers from an open hand, held it back tightly against the table.
The robots left the room as a man, clad in a long white lab coat, walked to the table. Without a word, he looked down at Mirage, as if he studied her. His face had a cold and stern expression.
He put on a pair of rubber gloves that were on a tray, set beside the table. It had different sorts of surgical instruments on it, spread out on a cotton sheet.
He ran a gloved finger on Mirage's forehead back and forth, as if he had been looking for a peculiar spot.
He spoke quietly. "It is sad, sad indeed, that we must come this, Miss Moresso, but we have to retrieve that information."
He went on. "The brain, is somewhat like a sponge: Deep inside it, are stored every event you've ever witnessed, every emotion you've ever felt. And with the proper tools, we can now read into it rather easily." The doctor leaned over her. "There is a catch though: To be successful, we have to retrieve a rather large sample of your brain tissue… Oh, don't worry, the procedure is painless, a little bit discomforting at the worst, as you must remain conscious."
"You should be content to know," he added coolly, "that those who survived the procedure never noticed the change in their personality."
The doctor smiled. "In fact, you'll never be unhappy ever again…"
Mirage tried to move, desperate to escape. The doctor looked at her. "Your powers", he said. "Oh, no, no, no... You must have noticed by now. I've taken care of this when we brought you in."
The doctor walked to a console. He pressed a button. "It is time now," he said, calmly.
Above the table, a multi-jointed mechanical arm started moving, to come down and take position just a few centimeters above Mirage's head. Its end had a large sharp tipped stainless steel needle. A drop of cold fluid dripped out of its tip to fall on Mirage's forehead.
"Please just relax, don't fight. It will only make things worse," the doctor said.
The arm moved again, slowly bringing the needle downward. Mirage could only watch as the sharp point came closer.