103 CHAPTER 102-NEBULA
They had walked into a basement and on the sides of the stairs were blue lights, sending rays of their beautiful splendor on every side of the room. It must have been customized or something because of a red character bearing the Great Cruz, flared with the blue lights. The stairs themselves also had the face of Fabian etched on every side. There was no single window in sight, the vent hanging beside the chandelier was the source of air and it gave the atmosphere a sweet rosy fragrance. Glasses bearing Great Cruz was also designed on the chandelier in a way that they spelled the name but did not reflect with the light. It was a flaunting of wealth and power. This must be Fabian's niche; the place he had spent all his life. Looking at it now, Matt realized that anybody can spend their lives here. The luxury could drive an average citizen insane.
"Password, please." A male computerized voice said.
Matt shifted his attention to the other end of the room. Fabian was standing in front of some programmed screen that had grown out from the ground immediately they came to the base. It was made of shiny white glass, with the emblem of the Glut Hunter hanging at the center. Pinna stood next to Chris, looking downcast and ready to burst into tears if the man did not provide the help they soot. Chris was stroking his dark hair. His expression was blank, or was he trying to hide them? Matt could not say. The boy had been behaving strangely ever since they left home. Was all of it part of the act or was there something else? Could it be that there was something dark hiding behind that glamor and perfect smiles?
"The Greatest Crux," Fabian said and grinned before looking into the two lenses that grew out of the screen.
A yellow light flashed like lightning and was gone as it had come. It was followed by some humming sounds, soft and gentle. If Matt was not seeing the machine, he could have vowed that the humming sound was a Roller-Board. There seemed to be no observable difference.
"Welcome, Mr. G. Crux." The programmed voice announced over the humming sound.
While most programmed voices were always feminine and had been known by the name 'Joci', this programmed voice sounded deep and less friendly, but more intelligent. It must have been an advanced version. Or a pirated version of Joci. Matt hissed. The Glut-Hunters were not known for their modesty. They were notorious and bends the rules to soothe their agenda. That the government had allowed them to operate under the shadow of its wing was still a mystery. If the male programmed voice was not pirated, then it must be some craft which Fabian must have developed out of his own intellect. Either way, it was still illegal. Creating an AI, aside from Joci, was illegal in the country. It has five years in imprisonment as a penalty. The government had been using Joci to help people, but at the same time, they were using that medium to monitor every activity that was going on in Anadan. Unless one knows how to remove the surveillance chip from Joci, then their whole like would be watched by someone, somewhere, behind a screen. Joci was a law by the government to the people.
Who cares about laws here? This was the Glut-Hunter's Den after all.
The humming sound stopped when the screen slowly sank into the tiled floor and disappeared. Another door opened and this time, they were welcomed with the stench of drugs and chemicals. On the cylinders sitting on the tables were different boiling liquids. Beside them was also some microscope hand lens. The rack hanging on the wall also had a series of bottles ranging from small to some large flask, bearing different liquids.
"This is the only way to save your friend," Fabian said.
He was walking towards something which was covered with a white blanket. He pulled out the blanket and Matt and his friends' gaps when they saw a gigantic machine.
It was a chair, but the back was extended so that it was difficult to say if it was a bed or a chair. Tubes and wires ran for its back, sides, and everywhere. The only place free from wires was the padded form on which the patient was meant to lie on.
"Nebula." Fabian said as if reading the question in their eyes, "Best machine ever made in the history of mankind. It was built by 66 thousand scientists for 38 years. They had discarded it when they thought it was a failure. It was a failure actually" Fabian smiled and picked up a pair of the latex gloves from the basin on the table. He smiled weakly at Chris and returned his gaze to the gloves without looking at either Pinna or Matt.
"What do you mean it was a failure?" Chris asked.
Pinna was the only one among them brave enough to make her way to Nebula. She was tracing her fingers on the machine, marveled at the way a simple machine could have been built for 38 years. With that amount of scientists, one could have expected Nebula to be built in a short amount of time, and with less effort. But all that scientists���
"Oh," Fabian smiled weakly, "They had built the machine in an attempt to extract the human soul and spirit from the body. The machine had failed. It couldn't bring such distinctions of the body in this frequency."
"So, you mean this Nebula actually succeeded in distinguishing the body from the soul and spirit in another frequency?" Matt asked.
The surprise was beginning to make the hair on his skin stand. His eyes had not left Nebula. Something inside of him was eager to dismantle the machine and find out what it was made of.
"Yes. But the scientist never thought of it in that manner. They had expected something else, which Nebula did not provide. But little did they know that the Machine they had signed off as failure really was a success. It is still impossible to distinguish the body from the soul and spirit in this frequency. Nebula knows that, but its maker was short-sighted men." Fabian had worn the glove now and was reaching out for the white lab coat which was standing on the hanger.
"It wasn't a failure. Does that mean it can help us get Ham back?" Pinna asked, lifting her eyes away from the machine chair. Those emerald's green eyes were wide with a question, disapproval, and distrust etching on them.
"I cannot say for sure." Fabian removed the white lab coat and donned his muscular body into them, "I had only used them once. And that was a long time ago when I had bought Nebula from the metal market in the Heroes city. They were going to destroy it, so u bought it instead. I tested it on a Hubot after that.
"And did it work?" Chris asked, frowning at this uncle as he walked to the machine too, using his fingers to trace the white stainless metals.
"Am afraid it didn't, but that was because the procedure had gone wrong. It could have been a success, but at that time, it was almost impossible to detect the actual fault."
"But how are we going to get Ham back to our frequency when we don't even know if the thing is working?"
"That is a risk I will not be willing to take." Fabian smiled weakly.
Was it age? Or was the man suddenly was growing tired as the time clicks by. His hands were also shaking as they hunger for wine. Matt looked away almost immediately before their eyes could meet.
"By the way." Fabian said as if he just remembered something he was not meant to forget at the moment, "We would need the body of the boy, Ham, I mean."
"We have agreed on that yet," Matt said firmly.
Chris shot him a questionable glare, but he tried to ignore it as he continued with Fabian.
"This might cause more harm than good. If only it had been tested successfully, then we would have risked the fact of trying to bring Ham back. But for all we can say, it has been a fruitless mission."
"Well," Fabian shrugged and looked at Chris. The boy's eyes were on Nebula, so they did not hold the gaze. "First, I never said that you were going to pull your friend out."
More confusion spread across the room. The older man must have sensed it too and but he was not done yet.
"What I mean is this. If you are going to risk it. Then you must send one person to travel to the other side of the frequency to get him out"
"No way," The rustle of Matt's frustration echoed through the walls. "Two is too much. We can't send another person into a world we don't understand"
Silence spread through them for a while before someone said.
"I will go,"
"Password, please." A male computerized voice said.
Matt shifted his attention to the other end of the room. Fabian was standing in front of some programmed screen that had grown out from the ground immediately they came to the base. It was made of shiny white glass, with the emblem of the Glut Hunter hanging at the center. Pinna stood next to Chris, looking downcast and ready to burst into tears if the man did not provide the help they soot. Chris was stroking his dark hair. His expression was blank, or was he trying to hide them? Matt could not say. The boy had been behaving strangely ever since they left home. Was all of it part of the act or was there something else? Could it be that there was something dark hiding behind that glamor and perfect smiles?
"The Greatest Crux," Fabian said and grinned before looking into the two lenses that grew out of the screen.
A yellow light flashed like lightning and was gone as it had come. It was followed by some humming sounds, soft and gentle. If Matt was not seeing the machine, he could have vowed that the humming sound was a Roller-Board. There seemed to be no observable difference.
"Welcome, Mr. G. Crux." The programmed voice announced over the humming sound.
While most programmed voices were always feminine and had been known by the name 'Joci', this programmed voice sounded deep and less friendly, but more intelligent. It must have been an advanced version. Or a pirated version of Joci. Matt hissed. The Glut-Hunters were not known for their modesty. They were notorious and bends the rules to soothe their agenda. That the government had allowed them to operate under the shadow of its wing was still a mystery. If the male programmed voice was not pirated, then it must be some craft which Fabian must have developed out of his own intellect. Either way, it was still illegal. Creating an AI, aside from Joci, was illegal in the country. It has five years in imprisonment as a penalty. The government had been using Joci to help people, but at the same time, they were using that medium to monitor every activity that was going on in Anadan. Unless one knows how to remove the surveillance chip from Joci, then their whole like would be watched by someone, somewhere, behind a screen. Joci was a law by the government to the people.
Who cares about laws here? This was the Glut-Hunter's Den after all.
The humming sound stopped when the screen slowly sank into the tiled floor and disappeared. Another door opened and this time, they were welcomed with the stench of drugs and chemicals. On the cylinders sitting on the tables were different boiling liquids. Beside them was also some microscope hand lens. The rack hanging on the wall also had a series of bottles ranging from small to some large flask, bearing different liquids.
"This is the only way to save your friend," Fabian said.
He was walking towards something which was covered with a white blanket. He pulled out the blanket and Matt and his friends' gaps when they saw a gigantic machine.
It was a chair, but the back was extended so that it was difficult to say if it was a bed or a chair. Tubes and wires ran for its back, sides, and everywhere. The only place free from wires was the padded form on which the patient was meant to lie on.
"Nebula." Fabian said as if reading the question in their eyes, "Best machine ever made in the history of mankind. It was built by 66 thousand scientists for 38 years. They had discarded it when they thought it was a failure. It was a failure actually" Fabian smiled and picked up a pair of the latex gloves from the basin on the table. He smiled weakly at Chris and returned his gaze to the gloves without looking at either Pinna or Matt.
"What do you mean it was a failure?" Chris asked.
Pinna was the only one among them brave enough to make her way to Nebula. She was tracing her fingers on the machine, marveled at the way a simple machine could have been built for 38 years. With that amount of scientists, one could have expected Nebula to be built in a short amount of time, and with less effort. But all that scientists���
"Oh," Fabian smiled weakly, "They had built the machine in an attempt to extract the human soul and spirit from the body. The machine had failed. It couldn't bring such distinctions of the body in this frequency."
"So, you mean this Nebula actually succeeded in distinguishing the body from the soul and spirit in another frequency?" Matt asked.
The surprise was beginning to make the hair on his skin stand. His eyes had not left Nebula. Something inside of him was eager to dismantle the machine and find out what it was made of.
"Yes. But the scientist never thought of it in that manner. They had expected something else, which Nebula did not provide. But little did they know that the Machine they had signed off as failure really was a success. It is still impossible to distinguish the body from the soul and spirit in this frequency. Nebula knows that, but its maker was short-sighted men." Fabian had worn the glove now and was reaching out for the white lab coat which was standing on the hanger.
"It wasn't a failure. Does that mean it can help us get Ham back?" Pinna asked, lifting her eyes away from the machine chair. Those emerald's green eyes were wide with a question, disapproval, and distrust etching on them.
"I cannot say for sure." Fabian removed the white lab coat and donned his muscular body into them, "I had only used them once. And that was a long time ago when I had bought Nebula from the metal market in the Heroes city. They were going to destroy it, so u bought it instead. I tested it on a Hubot after that.
"And did it work?" Chris asked, frowning at this uncle as he walked to the machine too, using his fingers to trace the white stainless metals.
"Am afraid it didn't, but that was because the procedure had gone wrong. It could have been a success, but at that time, it was almost impossible to detect the actual fault."
"But how are we going to get Ham back to our frequency when we don't even know if the thing is working?"
"That is a risk I will not be willing to take." Fabian smiled weakly.
Was it age? Or was the man suddenly was growing tired as the time clicks by. His hands were also shaking as they hunger for wine. Matt looked away almost immediately before their eyes could meet.
"By the way." Fabian said as if he just remembered something he was not meant to forget at the moment, "We would need the body of the boy, Ham, I mean."
"We have agreed on that yet," Matt said firmly.
Chris shot him a questionable glare, but he tried to ignore it as he continued with Fabian.
"This might cause more harm than good. If only it had been tested successfully, then we would have risked the fact of trying to bring Ham back. But for all we can say, it has been a fruitless mission."
"Well," Fabian shrugged and looked at Chris. The boy's eyes were on Nebula, so they did not hold the gaze. "First, I never said that you were going to pull your friend out."
More confusion spread across the room. The older man must have sensed it too and but he was not done yet.
"What I mean is this. If you are going to risk it. Then you must send one person to travel to the other side of the frequency to get him out"
"No way," The rustle of Matt's frustration echoed through the walls. "Two is too much. We can't send another person into a world we don't understand"
Silence spread through them for a while before someone said.
"I will go,"
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