I knew the next question was coming and was trying to prepare myself for it.
“Trent said the door to the cave was the only obstacle, that once you were inside there were only machines there. Is that true? Is there anything dangerous inside the cave?” the General asked. He watched me closely as I answered.
“There are only machines inside the cave,” I replied truthfully. “There is one dangerous thing though. There is a large elevator at the back of the cave. No railings or anything to keep you from falling off the edge, and the lighting’s not that good in the back of the cave.”
The General poked at the campfire some more. “Does the elevator work?”
“It did when we were in there,” I replied. “The old priest knew how to operate it.” I could sense his thoughts and his feelings. He was comparing what I told him with what he learned from Trent. So far everything he heard was matching up. He was satisfied that it was all true.
He looked over at me. “Do you think you can remember how to work the elevator?”
“I think so. It might take me several tries, but I think I can get it to work.”
The General was apparently lost in his own thoughts. He moved his hand and pointed to my tent as he looked at the sergeant, who got up and led me back to the tent. So far the General was convinced that I was still broken by him and remained under his control. He had no way of knowing the emotional work I had done during those months in the cave in Colorado, or the healing Tia and Nancy helped me get through. That healing and the medallion were my secret weapons. I just hoped it would be enough.
In the morning we completed the climb up to the cave.
“This is it?” the General asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “This is the entrance to the cave.”
The General divided his ten men into two groups, one on each side of the door as much as the narrow ledge would allow. Each was poised with their weapons aimed and ready to fire at anything that moved. He held out his arm and hand, indicating I should open the door. I took the medallion from around my neck and placed it into the small recess. I felt the vibrations in the ground and heard the rock wall begin to move. As the door opened the General’s men rushed into the cave with the lights on their weapons sweeping back and forth. The General held out his hand and motioned for me to give him the medallion. I handed it to him.
“It’s mine now,” he said. “Only I control access to the cave.” He motioned for me to enter the cave in front of him. After we stepped into the cave the rock door closed behind us. In the momentary darkness I could see the General’s men searching the cave with their lights. The ceiling lights came on automatically.
“Where’s the control center?” the General asked. I pointed down the left side corridor. Again he held out his hand motioning me to go in front of him. As we walked down the aisle I glanced at the alcove where the robot had been on our first visit to the cave. The alcove was empty. The sergeant approached.
“Still securing the cave, sir,” he reported. “It’s a lot larger than we thought it would be.”
“And there’re three more floors below this one,” the General said.
“Yes sir,” the sergeant replied. “It’s going to take some time.”
“We’ve got all the time in the world, don’t we Carl?” the General said as he looked at me. “The elevator?”
“I’ll need the medallion,” I replied holding my hand out.
“Of course you will,” the General said handing it back to me. “Just remember who it belongs to.”
I took the medallion and placed it into the small recess in the control center’s back wall. Immediately the display lit up with the multi-colored symbols. I walked over to the display and placed my finger close to the golden symbol the old guardian had used and moved it to the right. The sound of motors and equipment moving echoed from the back of the cave.
“Sergeant, take three men and start securing the lower floors,” the General said.
“Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied. He picked the three closest men and headed back to the elevator. As I glanced around the cave I noticed the light from one of the General’s men quietly went out on the other side of the cave.
“Ready, sir,” the sergeant called out. The General looked back at me. I reached up and moved the symbol to the left. The elevator started to descend. As I looked back across the cave, another light from one of the General’s men went out. The General seemed preoccupied with the lights on the display.
“They’re in different colors,” the General said. “What do they mean?”
“The gold symbols are commands for things in the cave,” I said. “The green ones are for communications equipment, blue is for historical information, red is for alarm monitors.”
“And you can read the symbols?” he asked. I saw another light from one of his men go out. There were only three more of his men left on this floor, plus the four on the lower floor. While the General was captivated by the display, he was unaware of what was happening to his men.
“Some of them,” I replied trying to keep his attention on the display screen. Actually I didn’t know what any of the symbols meant. I just remembered what the robot had used to get information from the display. Another light from one of the General’s men went out. Two left.
“For example,” as I started to make things up, “the cave is able to communicate all over the world using all available methods.”
“You mean it can receive secure radio transmissions from anywhere in the world?”
As I glanced past the General another light went out. One to go. “Yes, it can,” I replied.
The General’s expression changed from confidence to one of growing panic. “Can it receive burst transmissions?" he asked.
“Yes, it can,” I replied as the last light from his men went out.
“Then there’s an intelligence here?” the General asked, the level of panic rising in his face and his voice. “It knew we were coming?”
“It knew you were coming for me in Denver,” I replied.
“Breach!” the General yelled. “Security breach! Everyone respond!”
Silence.
“You little shit,” the General screamed, “you led me into a trap.” The General pulled his .45 semiautomatic pistol from his belt holster and aimed it at me. All I saw was a gray blur as the robot raced past the General and snatched the weapon out of his hand. The robot stopped at the side of the aisle and turned around, facing us. The General stared in astonishment at the robot as his mouth fell open. The General quickly searched his pockets for the remote control to the Taser collar before he remembered it was with his sergeant on the lower floor.
“Sergeant!” the General yelled.
Again, silence.
I placed the medallion around my neck and slid it under my shirt. I reached up and unbuckled the Taser collar, tossing it across the floor to the robot’s feet. The sound of a motor running and stone sliding against stone drew our attention to the control center. A door had opened in the side of the control center and the old guardian walked out into the aisle. The door closed behind him. He smiled as he looked at me and bowed slightly.
“So this is how it’s going to be?” the General said, “three against one?”
“No,” I replied, “it’s just you and me.”
I felt the rage rise quickly within me and felt the impulse to attack. I rushed at the General as he rushed at me. I raised my right fist and struck at the General’s face as we raced together. He pulled his head to his left side at the last second evading my punch just as his fist slammed into my face. The shock rattled my brain as I was thrown backward onto my back, sliding along the polished stone floor. The General leaped into the air, rage filling his face. In my mind I could see him landing on me, hands around my throat. I rolled to my right just enough for him to miss me as he landed. I continued rolling until I was under the edge of one of the machines. I scrambled through an opening in the machine as the General grabbed my leg. I started kicking him with my free leg as he dragged me out from under the machine. The pain in my face was throbbing and my vision was blurred.