Age is a delicate topic for those affected by it. All breathing creatures are destined to end in some kind of grave after a while. The way there is just more or less complicated regarding whom you are looking at. Some fine people live their entire lives in the town they were born, together with simple jobs, simple families, and simple goals. They stride out of existence with a contemplative smile leaving what they had for further generations.
Others like to spice things up with more interesting careers, creative hobbies, or creative substance abuse. Some even shorten the length of their existence, by choice or by accident. And all of them are in pursuit of this fuzzy goal of leaving their mark on history.
Dr. Johann Wilhelm Möbius was one of the people who had pressed his mark onto the face of the world. As one of the most ingenious engineers and physicists, his academic chair had been part of several significant breakthroughs that had reshaped the face of science.
The reward for that were numerous published nature papers, a reputation that had no rival, and a nomination for the Nobel prize for his theory about the manipulation of gravitational fields through the use of anti-matter currents. Though he still waited for Oslo to get back to him about that soon.
All this fame always attracted people and he had to almost every day reject young post-docs that wanted to work beside him or eager university deans that wanted to offer him a new professorship for amounts of money unheard of in his field. But nothing and no one was so peculiar, so odd, so alien as the creature that had visited him during the stormy September evening in the year 1981.
He had been over some smaller calculations on his old Atari 800 when all of a sudden, the creature stood in front of his desk. No announcement no flickering lights, everything that he would have expected from something just appearing somewhere didn't come true, he was just there from one second to another.
The creature back then called himself Advisor and Möbius quickly understood that the name was saying it all. Back then the Advisor didn't bother with vanities and explained boldly, but in a manner that wouldn't tolerate a no, that he had to stop working on his hyperdrive concept.
To the question of why the Advisor back then just said. 'You all are drifting through a vicious vengeful sea thinking it is a peaceful pond. Your first meager steps into space were not noticed but there are vigilant eyes in the distance. And right now, you do not have the slightest protection should they notice.'
The words, back then, frightened something deep inside Möbius's core. His eyes, always directed to the sky, feared the emptiness between the stars after that night. He postponed his research the day after that and simply converted it to its theoretical concept. Although not the triumphant machine he imagined the whole thing still was good enough for a Nobel prize nomination.
'When would this damn call from Oslo come?' Present Möbius thought as he sat in his comfortable armchair. The bungalow he lived in on the outskirts of Petropolis was almost clichédly furnished for a man his age. His living room for example had the mentioned armchair which upholstery had that certain kind of brown tone that had not been modern since the late 70s.
His TV was placed in a big walnut wood wall unit that had all kinds of little drawers and vitrines filled with spirits or ugly porcelain. A couch and a coffee table in the same color scheme gave the final touches to the room.
'These Nobel people have some nerves…' Möbius couldn't take the tension anymore and grabbed his phone to call Oslo himself as he saw it. How long was he sitting there and since when was he wearing a suit? Slowly he let the phone sink down as a well-known kind of headache began to spread.
"Advisor…" he said quietly and nodded towards the creature who was drinking from a teacup.
"Johann." The Advisor nodded back and smiled his usual wide foreboding smile. "It has been a while."
"About 30 years."
"Not quite…" The Advisor shook his head. "You might remember a night in the year 1998 and a name. Dudley Puppy."
"I… do not…" Möbius was trying to object but his mind suddenly spew out a movie for him to watch. He remembered the guy. Dudley was a white-furred dog. Big mouth, big black nose.
He was there back then and Möbius and the Advisor had put him in some kind of device. A device he himself had built at the behest of the Advisor. Also, the plans for it were given to Möbius by him.
"Did…did it work?" asked the scientist suddenly sweating profusely.
The Advisor nodded solemnly. "It did. He returned and was able to do what he was supposed to… but you should know that from the news already."
"So, the plan was… saving the power plant?" Möbius panted as his headaches got worse. Was it just because of the Advisor or did the flood of memories add to the pain?
"No. I did not care about your reactor." The Advisor explained. "He destroyed the portal and by that, the artifact that was misused in creating it. The rest were, not insignificant, but still subsidiary matters."
"I see… what is it I can do for you then?"
"First of all," The Advisor slowly said and took a sip. "Congratulations on your prize."
"I don't know if I have won yet."
"I do." Smiled the being and took another sip. "Second, I need something of which you accidentally acquired possession."
"I do?" Möbius looked confused at the creature.
What could he possibly have that he needed? He tried to remember what he recently had bought but besides a few orders via the internet and his obvious food runs to the supermarket, he couldn't remember getting the hold of something interesting.
"You have it in your right pocket."
Möbius reached into the pocket of his cord pants but all he could find was an old silver-gray quarter.
"The coin? Really?"
"Oh, believe me, it is necessary." The Advisor extended his open hand toward Möbius.
What could he need a coin for? Eyeing the coin critically Möbius mumbled. "It doesn't look special." With a firm move, he pushed the coin into the Advisor's palm.
"It does not have to look special or be special to do a great deed." The creature closed his hand and pulled it back. "Thank you for sharing a part of your wealth with me, Johann."
"You're welcome… I guess." Möbius said and out of a reflex touched his nose. A drop of blood had started to run down his lip.
"Before I leave, I must issue a warning toward you."
Möbius body tightened up hearing these words. The Advisor's warnings always concerned something troubling.
"Lately there are increasing sightings of objects that… defy your imagination. Though looking inconspicuous they hold great power within them. I would advise not to mingle in endeavors to retrieve or in any case, examine them."
"Oh…" Möbius relaxed again. "I think this is a warning for the wrong person… I am actually planning to retire after well, receiving or not receiving the Nobel prize."
"You will." Emphasized the Advisor nodding.
"But…" Möbius added as an idea crossed his mind. "A former doctorand of mine would be more suitable for these words, he also lives here in Petropolis, you might know him, Keswick is his name."
"The name is familiar." The Advisor said. "But if you know him, go ahead, tell him what I said."
"Oh… I… I will." Möbius said surprised and then reached for his phone. "I can call…"
His words faded into the loneliness of the room.
"Rude." Huffed Möbius and dialed Keswick's number.
Almost on the other end of Petropolis, in the heart of the T.U.F.F. building, Keswick was bored out of his mind. He was walking around in circles in his wide white tiled lab and tried to think of something to create or examine or dissect.
But nothing seemed enticing. The data from the facility although at first pretty odd seemed to follow no pattern, so just background noise in the end.
Not even his favorite thing, setting something on fire, could motivate him this time. So, he just wandered around the room waiting for the inspiration to kiss him.
The phone rang. What a fine distraction. Keswick jumped to the device and took the call eagerly.
"T.U.F.F. lab, Keswick h..h..here." He introduced himself eagerly.
"Mr Keswick? This is Möbius…"
"Professor Möbius! W..W..What a nice surprise! How can I h..h..help you?"
"Listen, I don't want to waste your precious time…"
"Oh don't w..w..worry Sir. I always have time for a scientist of your stature."
"This is awfully nice but please listen." Möbius sounded even sterner than Keswick remembered him. "I was informed by a… a friend of mine that there were sightings of strange devices… Otherworldly I would call them."
"That sound r..r..rather exaggerated," Keswick commented and received a tired sigh from the line.
"I know but just listen… These… I will call them objects of power resurface lately and, my friend was very specific about that, we are supposed to stay away from them."
"Professor, this… this sounds more like a c..c..call to action for my ears."
"Just do me the favor," Said Möbius. "Anyway, it was nice talking to you, I got a call on the other line. Farewell."
And immediately Keswick's phone made a sound that made it unambiguously clear that the conversation was over.
"Well that was a bit r..r..rude." Keswick mumbled and put the phone back in its place. What was his old professor talking about there? Powerful objects? Möbius had always been one of the more insane types of guys, Keswick could remember, especially in his research. But he never remembered him talking about such nonsense.
Objects of power? What did he mean? Was there something in Petropolis he was referring to? Keswick got to his laptop and combed through his data. Since its completion, about half a century ago, the T.U.F.F. building had a big antenna tower on its roof and thanks to Keswick's impertinent nagging and begging, he had induced the chief to add a large array of antennas, covering everything from meter to millimeter waves, to the tower.
The official use for the array was detecting criminal activity in any shape or form but instead Keswick mostly just used it for snooping around in other people's mobile communication or for CB radioing a friend of his who lived in Australia.
This time he actually searched the stored data for something that was out of the ordinary, quite a task if you regard the giant amount of raw data Keswick collected every day. But what else did he have to do? It was at least some task and better than running circles into the ground.
A commotion rose from down the hallway to the lab and Keswick could hear Kitty's distinct voice reverberating through the hallways. She seemed, judging from her sound, quite angry and if Keswick remembered the conversations in the facility correctly, Dudley was the target of her rage.
Was she still trying to get him to talk? Keswick wondered how long Dudley would withstand the constant barrage of words before caving in. He was oddly stubborn in this regard, at least for his standards.
"I just can't believe it! You are so obviously lying to me! Do you think I am stupid?!" her voice became louder and soon the couple was walking into the lab. Dudley was walking in front of her. He looked like he desperately wished to put his fingers into his ears to have a break from the flood of words coming from Kitty, but also knew what would happen if he did so.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again." The dog mumbled during Kitty's unending speech. "I cannot tell you, it is for your own sake."
"Don't try to patronize me!" She huffed and stopped him by holding him by the shoulder. "I am not a child! You will tell me what's going on right here and right now!"
"God dammit, Kitty, just leave things be?" Dudley finally snapped. "Can't you just enjoy how life is right now?"
"Oh, then tell me how I can ignore being lied to so blatantly?!"
"By accepting ignorance as bliss!" He angrily growled and stepped closer to her.
"This is bullshit, Dudley!" She retorted not willing to take a single step away from him. The two of them stared intensely at each other with faces so close they could taste the distance between them.
"Oh, you have it easy not to be the one who has to fulfill the duty!" it burst out of him and he instantly covered his mouth with his hands.
"What duty?" Kitty asked looking inquisitive into his half-covered face.
"I shouldn't have said that… I said too much… I need to go." He meant and started running to the exit.
"Hey wait, I am not done…"
"You know that you are in my l..l..lab, don't you?" Keswick said during one of his occasional looks over the edge of his screens.
"I'm sorry Keswick but do you know what he is talking about?"
"In all honesty, no c..c..clue." Keswick took his hands off the keyboard. Kitty seemed to have some words left in her. "But, even if I would recommend accepting his wish not to talk, I understand your c..c..concerns."
"He's behaving so strangely lately." She took a deep breath and averted her gaze from the door Dudley just fled through. "I'm just worried."
"I think books would recommend talking here but… that never worked for my r..r..relationships so have you tried spying on him?"
"With all due respect Keswick…" Kitty started her sentence like she wanted to tell a kid what it just did wrong. "I am hesitant to take relationship advice from you."
"Which of my e..e..ex-wives told you not to?" Keswick chuckled and directed his attention back to the computer. "Then do as the books s..s..suggest."
"I try." Kitty sighed slowly treading towards the door. "The whole thing just makes me so angry… I should blow off some steam."
Keswick knew what that meant for her and said. "I refilled the coffee b..b..beans, you better get one before you go to your desk."
"They were empty again already?" Kitty sounded surprised and Keswick wondered why. After all the new coffee machine produced a delicious ristretto, no wonder T.U.F.F.'s coffee consumption doubled lately. "Thanks for refilling."
"No need." He mumbled absentmindedly while his fingers produced a clicking sound of constant frequency.
"By the way, what are you doing right now?"
"Just some… e..e..evaluation of the data from the institute." He didn't know why he lied at that moment. The words had come over his lips without him thinking about it. He just felt, if he found something regarding these objects, that he should maybe keep this information for himself at least for a while.
"You think you can save some data from their servers?"
"Trying so at l..l..least." He grabbed a nearby pencil and, lost in his thoughts, started chewing on it.
"O…kay…" Kitty looked for another few moments confused at Keswick before she left the laboratory.
Keswick's hands glided faster over the keyboard and sweat appeared on his forehead. It felt vitalizing to see the code manifesting itself in front of him. "Objects of power… thank you professor," he thought grinning to himself. Finally something worth his time.
-Hey there folks, sorry for the delay, got tangled up in stuff. Hope you liked that chapter. As always, tell me what you thought and stay tuned :)-