4 Terramezic Energy (3 page)

Chapter 4

Mark was seated at a booth next to the window at Triple Play Burgers leafing through a French novel as he waited for Maggie and Virginia to arrive. A smattering of customers were seated at various tables and booths. The heavenly scent of freshly grilled burgers wafted in the air. Classic rock and roll played in the background but not loud enough to discourage conversation. Mark looked up and offered a friendly smile as his sister strode over and slid into the seat across from him. Maggie was a beautiful young woman with the same sultry brown eyes, aquiline nose, long lashes, full lips and silky black hair as her brother.

“Hey, sis.” Mark set the book aside.

Maggie’s expression was wistful. “I wish I was fluent in over a dozen languages.”

“I can help you learn,” Mark offered. “It’s pretty easy.”

Mark had acquired a vast array of knowledge through his teen years due to his skill at creating memory enchantments. His spells gave the user photographic memory for several hours. When the spell wore off, the information was readily available as needed.

Maggie’s eyes brightened with fondness. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Mom and Dad offered me a job at Freeman Enterprises.” Maggie scowled with displeasure. “Like I would ever dream of working for them.”

“You were one of the company’s greatest assets. Your skills with the Seer Mirror is legendary. The Freeman scepter would probably have chosen to make you the clan leader when a new one was needed,” Mark said.

“That stupid scepter couldn’t even tell I was possessed by a horrible creature that wanted to enslave humanity,” Maggie said with disgust. “It would have served them right if I had still been possessed by APU 81 and been made clan leader. I never want to have anything to do with Freeman Enterprises ever again!”

“It does make you wonder about the clan leader scepter. Did it make you a progenitor because of your potential or because of APU 81’s potential?”

“That’s a good question.” Maggie’s expression turned contemplative for a moment then mischievous. “I would say APU 81. It did an excellent job of creating new magical devices for the company and made sound business decisions based on what it observed through the Seer Mirror. It probably would have been one hell of a clan leader.”

Mark chuckled. “I don’t blame you for steering clear of the family business.”

“Remember when we were little? You wanted to be a police detective like Uncle Nathan and I wanted to be a scientist.”

“I was well on my way to becoming one until I chose my career in white magic,” Mark commented.

“Ironically enough, while APU 81 had control of my body, I was on track for my goal, too,” Maggie said.

Virginia strode over to them wearing a sharp business suit comprised of shades of brown and gray. She was a short, stout woman in her forties with brown hair styled in a page cut, a friendly smile, and green eyes. A stunning round opal pendant was suspended on a gold chain around her neck and she clutched a large, taupe leather purse in her right hand. She was a director for MADA, a branch of the government similar to the FBI, in charge of investigating and developing advanced magic.

“Maggie, you can still be a scientist,” Virginia announced. Maggie and Mark hadn’t noticed her and they both started. Virginia threw them both an apologetic smile. “Sorry, guys. I couldn’t help but overhear the last part of your conversation.”

“That’s okay.” Mark scooted aside to give her some room. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” Virginia slid onto the chair and beamed at them. “I have a proposal for the both of you. I’ll start with you first, Maggie. I want to offer you a job as one of my research scientists. For now, we’ll be working at the stone henge in New Hampshire. Our main goal is to learn new technology from either that site or to discover a new site. You are well qualified for the position with the breakthroughs you discovered and the master’s degrees you’ve got under your belt.”

“Those breakthroughs and degrees were made by APU 81 – not me,” Maggie protested.

“That doesn’t matter. You were still awake and aware during the time period that APU 81 did those things. I’m convinced you will be a tremendous benefit to my team,” Virginia gushed. “Think of all the possibilities. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“You’re right.” Maggie’s eyes lit with excitement. “This is something I’ve always wanted. I’ll do it!”

“I guess I should tell you the salary and other details first.” Virginia plopped her purse on the table and pulled out a manila envelope. She handed it to Maggie. “The first page is the job responsibilities, salary, and benefits summary.”

Maggie’s grin widened. “Yes, I’m definitely interested.”

“Perfect!” Virginia exclaimed.

She showed Maggie which pages needed signing then collected the job acceptance forms while giving Maggie her own copy. Mark watched the two of them work with a sense of relief and happiness for his sister. He’d been a little worried about her and how she would cope in the aftermath of APU 81’s possession of her. Virginia was absolutely right. This was the best thing for her. Maggie had always wanted to do something like this.

Virginia turned to fix her attention on Mark. “I’m offering you the same position. Your ability to cast restoration spells is phenomenal and we wouldn’t have our site in New Hampshire without you. I’m sure you could do the same thing with another facility left behind by our ancestors. We just need to find it. And I’m sure your sister will do just that. Additionally, we’re having a problem with APU 4093, as you’re aware. It thinks its protecting us by safeguarding its technology. You’re the only one it will talk to because it has a respect for White Knights. And that’s something else we would like to know more about. What exactly were White Knights and what were they capable of? We need to build up our power base while we can so we’re ready for APU 81 when it decides to go on the offensive.”

“I think we should rename those guys,” Mark teased. “How about we call them the Good Computer and the Evil Computer?”

Maggie snorted with mirth.

“I think a better name for APU 4093 is the Stuck Up Computer,” Virginia said flippantly. She leveled an earnest gaze at Mark. “Will you join my team?”

“I wish I could,” Mark said in a regretful tone. “But I can’t be too careful about burnout. I really need to sleep in a white magic power center until I’m completely certain I’m in the clear.”

“Your friend, Helen, doesn’t have any problems,” Virginia pointed out.

“That’s because she’s got a white magic power center in her condo. It’s very weak but it seems to do the job. Plus, she spends a lot of her waking hours at home, too,” Mark said.

“If we had more white magic practitioners like you, this world would be a safer place,” Virginia said emphatically.

“You don’t know that.”

“Noting in life is certain but that’s what my intuition is telling me.”

Maggie leveled an enthusiastic smile at her brother. “Come on, Mark! Take the job!”

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” Mark said.

Virginia let out a soft sigh of disappointment. “I was afraid you’d say that. I do have an alternate offer. I can hire you for one day assignments like before. I have a private jet waiting for me to return to New Hampshire. We can have lunch then spend half the day at the research facility.”

“Technically, it’s a recreational facility,” Mark teased.

“Fair enough,” Virginia said.

“All right. I’ll do it.”

“Great. Let’s have some lunch. The burgers here smell great,” Virginia said.

“They’re fantastic,” Mark said.

They placed their orders at the front counter and were soon seated with their burgers, fries, and onion rings. Virginia and Mark had chai lattes while Maggie chose water to drink.

“It’s hard to find a good chai latte. I’m surprised they’re on the menu at a hamburger restaurant,” Virginia commented.

“This is one of my favorite places to eat. Uncle Nathan and I stop by here at least once a week,” Mark said.

Virginia took her first bite and moaned with pleasure. “I can see why you’re such a fan of this place! I don’t care much for burgers but this is divine!”

“I have to admit I was surprised to hear from you,” Mark said. “It’s been a few months since I restored the stone henge facility in New Hampshire.”

“If it were up to me, I’d have contacted you right away but there is so much red tape over these MADA projects, it can take a long time to get anything accomplished,” Virginia said with disgust. “No one is in a hurry to approve my requests for new staff now that everyone is feeling safe.”

“I was wondering why you didn’t have any guards with you,” Mark commented.

“Ever since the Valituras threat was neutralized, there aren’t any big enemies looming to motivate the public or the government into action.”

“What about APU 81?” Maggie asked.

Virginia rolled her eyes with exasperation. “You’re right about that but everyone thinks it’s just one individual and can’t do much on it’s own. What they fail to realize is that those NPX regeneration units may be capable of restoring a new ancient facility. No one will listen to me. They say that it’s impossible for nanites to rebuild something that’s been almost entirely destroyed.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about those NPX regeneration units and I do believe it’s likely that they can restore any ancient facility if there is substantial debris – even less then ten percent of the original structure,” Maggie said.

“What’s your theory on how this could be done?” Virginia regarded her with curiosity.

“It’s entirely possible that the crystal cubes possess vast reserves of computer memory. They may have the schematics of every single ancient structure ever built or at least the main facilities. If that’s the case, all that’s needed to restore a facility are the basic materials and a steady supply of terramezic energy to power the cubes.”

“APU 81 might not even need an ancient facility to rebuild. It could just make a structure from scratch,” Mark said.

“Yes it could but some of the materials would take a very long time to produce. I don’t think APU 81 is willing to spend decades manufacturing a brand new facility,” Maggie said. “And with our current technology, I imagine it’s extremely difficult to make terramezic energy generators.”

“Every ancient facility is self-reliant and can produce massive amounts of terramezic energy. If APU 81 succeeds in commandeering just one, we may have a serious problem on our hands,” Virginia said. “We need to track that thing down or we need to start upgrading our own technology.”

“I can’t wait to find APU 81. I’m going to smash its despicable crystal skull into a thousand pieces,” Maggie said.

“That’s the spirit!” Virginia’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

They finished their meal and took the jet to the ancient facility in New Hampshire that had once been a structure that resembled Stone Henge in England. The facility was now a large dome-shaped building spanning several miles in diameter. It was comprised of a mysterious, white, translucent composite. The exterior door slid aside to allow Mark, Virginia, and Maggie entrance. They strode down the long, futuristic corridor made of the same resilient material as the outside of the facility. Touch-screen control panels were located sporadically throughout the building. The trio made their way to the control room which was a massive space boasting a variety of sleek work stations with seating and also computer screens built into the walls. APU 4093 was the artificial intelligence that ran this facility and it didn’t share any information with any of the researchers currently stationed on site. Mark had cast a powerful restoration enchantment on the ruins and had succeeded in reinstating the facility in its original condition. It was an astonishing feat that no other wizard had ever managed to accomplish.

“Greetings, White Knight Apprentice.” APU 4093 possessed a pleasant male voice with a trace of an accent reminiscent of Italian.

“Hello, APU 4093,” Mark said as he held the list of questions Virginia had given to him at the restaurant. “I’d like to have a chat with you.”

“I’m afraid I have not changed my mind about disclosing information about ancient technology to humans. You are not ready and introducing such advanced scientific knowledge would most likely result in humanity’s destruction.”

“Can you at least give us a way of scanning for terramezic energy so we can find APU 81? We have no way of defending ourselves against its attacks,” Mark said.

“It lacks the resources to implement a significant offensive against any country of this world,” the computer said. “Virginia and other directors have already made these arguments. I am also bound by my original protocols not to contaminate the culture and integrity of younger civilizations.”

“But we’re descendants of the race that built you,” Mark pointed out.

“As I have already explained, humanity devolved to a younger civilization as a result of several tragic wars. For all intents and purposes, you are not the same race as the ones who built this facility.”

“What about the White Knights? Surely nothing negative could result from their knowledge. Could you supply us with their training programs?” Mark asked.