Architects of Destiny Read online

  He closed his eyes and was on the verge of dozing off when the door opened. A man in all black with tinted glasses stood in the doorway. He was tall and had dark features, and he carried himself with assurance. An Agent. Cris blinked wearily.

  The Agent cracked a smile. “Looks like they wore you out.” He removed his tinted glasses, revealing luminescent warm brown eyes.

  Cris let out a non-committal groan.

  “I’m Agent Poltar. I’ve been assigned to train you over the next few months.”

  Cris tried to rally, but couldn’t quite muster the energy. “Pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m excited to get started.”

  The Agent smiled. “I’ll be nice and let you rest up before we dive into things. Let me show you to your quarters.”

  Poltar led Cris to the second level of the Headquarters structure, making small-talk along the way. Cris learned that Poltar was from the eastern part of the First Region on Tararia and had been with the TSS since he was sixteen-years-old. Cris shared a little of his time on the Exler.

  When they exited the elevator, Poltar said, “We were unsure where to house you since you’re in between ranks right now. At first, we were going to put you in Agent’s quarters temporarily, but then we thought it best that you be around fellow trainees. In the end, we decided to place you in Junior Agent quarters for the time being.”

  They walked down a long hallway with carpeting and paneling similar to the top level by the High Commander’s office, though not as ornate. Small fern-like plants with delicate oval leaves were placed every few meters, contained in glass cylinders with down-lights. Holopaintings of nebulae lined the walls.

  Poltar stopped at a door halfway down the hall, marked as JAP-227. “Fortunately, we had an opening with some of our top Junior Agent trainees. They’ll take good care of you.” Poltar pressed the buzzer by the door.

  A young man with light brown hair and hazel eyes slid open the door; he looked to be a few years older than Cris. He wore dark blue clothes, which Cris had gathered were for Junior Agents. “Good evening, Agent Poltar.”

  “Hi, Scott. This is Cris Sights. He’s the new recruit who’ll be staying with you for a while.”

  “Right!” Scott extended his hand to Cris for a handshake. “Scott Wincowski, nice to meet you.”

  Cris grasped his hand awkwardly, not used to the colloquial greeting. “You too, thanks for having me.”

  “Sure thing.” Scott stood aside to give Cris room to come in. “I can take it from here tonight, Agent Poltar.”

  “Thank you. Cris, I’ll be by at 08:00 to begin your training tomorrow. Rest up.”

  “Will do. Good night. And thank you, sir.”

  Poltar nodded and left in the direction of the elevators.

  “Come in,” Scott said, gesturing to Cris. Cris took his lead.

  The door opened into the common room of the quarters. Like the hallway, the living room presented like a well-appointed home. Padded carpet covered the floor, a plush sectional couch faced a large viewscreen on the wall and holoart depicting exotic mountain ranges and beaches lined the copper-colored walls. A table surrounded by four chairs stood at the back of the room.

  “You’re quite lucky, you know,” Scott said as Cris entered. “I had to sleep on a tiny bunk in a room with four other guys for the first year I was here.”

  “I would have been happy with anything, just to be here.” Cris took in the room. It was spacious and inviting after his sterile cabin on the Exler.

  “Regardless, they must see something special in you.”

  “I’ll try my hardest.” I may even surprise myself.

  “Well, anyway,” Scott moved backward past the couch, “let me show you your bedroom.” Cris noticed two doorways on each side of the common room. Scott approached the doorway in the back right. “We’re still down a roommate, even with you here,” Scott went on. “They like to pair Junior Agents in multiple cohorts so there are mentorship opportunities. We just had the two oldest roommates graduate.”

  “I take it most Junior Agents don’t get brand new Trainees for roommates,” Cris ventured.

  Scott studied Cris, serious. “No, never.”

  Cris dropped his eyes to the floor, feeling out of place.

  “As I said, they must see something in you.” Scott slid the door to the bedchamber open. It took Cris a moment to realize that he hadn’t physically touched the door. “This will be your room.”

  Careful not to gape at Scott’s open use of telekinesis, Cris peeked inside. The room was compact but not cramped. It was simply furnished, containing a large bed, corner desk and dresser. The bag containing his personal articles from the Exler was placed on the bed. “Excellent.” This is a resort compared to where I’ve been for the last year. The bed beckoned to him.

  “The bathroom is through there.” Scott gestured to a wider doorway at the back of the common room. “They set up a locker in there for you.”

  “Where do you eat?” Now that he was standing still, Cris felt hunger mounting.

  “They didn’t feed you?” Scott seemed a little irritated, but not at Cris directly.

  Cris shook his head. “I’ve been on the move constantly since I got here. I don’t even know how long it’s been.”

  Scott looked Cris over again. “You’ll never live it down if I take you to the mess hall like this, looking wiped out and lost. Not a great first impression. Do you think a couple protein bars would hold you over until the morning?”

  Cris shrugged. “I’ll take whatever I can get.”

  “Let’s see…” Scott rummaged through a cabinet by the table and chairs at the back of the common room. He produced two bars in shiny metallic wrappers. “These should take the edge off, at least.”

  “Thanks.” Cris took the bars from Scott. “I have no idea how anything works around here.” And I thought that the Exler was different than Tararia. This is something else entirely.

  “Sure.” Scott hesitated. “My room’s the one right across the way if you need anything else.”

  “Thank you. See you in the morning.” Cris entered his room and closed the door.

  The lights faded on automatically as he entered and a screen on the wall behind the desk illuminated as soon as the door was closed, displaying the TSS logo. Cris ripped open one of the protein bars and devoured it. He kicked off his shoes and was about to sit down on the bed when he noticed that the desktop was a large touchscreen, similar to his desk back home. There were also a handheld and a tablet sitting on the desktop to charge. Still chewing, he placed his palm on the desktop.

  “Welcome, Cris Sights,” said a friendly female voice. “Would you like to configure your preferences?” The TSS logo on the screen changed to read: “Welcome.” The sleek black desktop surface illuminated, and various colored menus and windows appeared. Cris was especially taken by the icon for the TSS Mainframe.

  Cris sighed, noting the late hour on the computer clock. “Not right now,” he replied, though a large part of him wanted to explore. “Can you set an alarm for the morning?”

  “Yes. Please state the desired time for the alarm.”

  Cris did some quick mental math. “07:15.”

  “Alarm set.”

  Cris grabbed the handheld from the desk. Thin and the size of his palm, it appeared to be solid, but he tugged the edges and the device slid open, displaying a screen on one side with an opaque backside for privacy. He swiped along the screen, activating a holographic projection of the contents on the screen, which he could manipulate in the air. He closed the device, and browsed the settings for the external notifications that illuminated in the otherwise smooth black outer casing. It was just like the handheld he’d used back home. VComm has a presence even within the TSS. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given they use SiNavTech beacons for navigation. He set the handheld back on the desk.

  A yawn overpowered Cris. He shoved his travel bag onto the ground. After stripping down to his underwear, he climbed in bed, feeling his mus
cles relax as he eased into the soft mattress. “Lights off,” he ordered, already drifting to sleep.

  *

  Soft beeping intruded on Cris’ dream, getting louder. He opened his eyes.

  The screen on the wall displayed the time, 07:15. Cris rubbed his eyes and stretched. That’s the best I’ve slept in a long time.

  He dressed and wandered into the living room. Scott and another young man were stretched out on the sectional couch, apparently reading on their tablets. They glanced up when Cris emerged.

  “Good morning,” Scott said. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Really well.”

  “So, Cris, this is Jon Lambren. His room is the one next to mine.”

  Jon gave a little wave but barely lifted his eyes from whatever he was reading. His dark hair was cut short and he had a seriousness about him.

  “Hi,” Cris said as though he hadn’t noticed Jon’s disinterest.

  Scott’s attention returned to his own tablet. Cris let them be and headed into the bathroom. He was pleased to see that the facilities were smartly designed to easily accommodate four people. He found all the necessities in a locker with his name on it, including a change of clothes. After the nonstop events of the previous day, he was happy to take a leisurely pace getting ready.

  Cris emerged from the bathroom feeling ready to tackle whatever Agent Poltar could throw at him. Since he still had some time before Poltar was scheduled to arrive, Cris decided to take the opportunity to do some of the electronic sleuthing he had been too tired to attempt the night before.

  CACI—which he learned was the interactive interface for the TSS Mainframe—walked him through the configuration of his personal notifications, gesture calibration and setup of his telecommunication accounts. As he walked through the setup, he munched on the second protein bar Scott had given him the night before, pleasantly surprised by how filling it was. He was just finishing when a window popped up with a video feed, showing Poltar standing at the front door.

  “Meet me out here, Cris,” Poltar said, looking straight into the camera. The exploration of the TSS network would have to wait.

  Cris grabbed a light blue jacket to match the rest of his uniform and hurried out. Scott and Jon were already gone.

  “Good morning, sir. I can’t wait to get started.” Cris closed the door to his quarters.

  “We’ll see how long you can hold onto that enthusiasm.”

  Poltar took Cris down the long central elevator to the bottom level of the Headquarters structure once again. This time, Cris noticed that the elevator passed through another containment lock like the one coming from the moon’s surface.

  Cris felt wary. The last time he was down there, it had meant seemingly endless testing. Is this a place of torture?

  Poltar led Cris down a hall that bore no resemblance to the elegant comfort of the upper levels. Though the floor was still carpeted, it was a plain industrial gray, and the walls were unadorned metal that looked to have had little treatment after fabrication. Cris followed Poltar through the halls in silence, trying to decide if he’d rather know what he was in for or remain sheltered by ignorance for as long as possible. They passed no one in the corridor.

  Poltar stopped in front of a nondescript door identical to a dozen others they had already passed. The doors were placed far apart, each one was smooth metal recessed in the wall, with glowing red or blue lights illuminating the perimeter. A control panel was positioned next to each. Poltar made some inputs on the panel by the selected door, and the light turned from blue to red.

  “Let’s see what you can do.” Polar grinned at Cris.

  Cris swallowed.

  The door opened, revealing a plain room. The threshold between the hallway and the adjoining wall of the room was nearly a meter. What appeared to be a door was centered on the back wall, a square too high off the ground to step through. The surface of the room was completely smooth, aside from handholds recessed around the door on the far side. Poltar stepped inside.

  Cris hesitated. “What is this?”

  “Have you ever been in freefall before?”

  Freefall! His stomach tightened with the memory of his first night on the Exler. “Once.”

  “So what are you waiting for?”

  Cris stepped into the room. “Sorry, sir.”

  Poltar activated a control panel inside the room, and the outer door closed. He placed his tinted glasses into a sealed pocket inside his jacket, then moved to the back wall and grabbed a handhold. Cris followed his lead. “Take slow, steady breaths,” Poltar said. “It can be unsettling at first.”

  The energy in the air around Cris changed. His stomach dropped, and then began rising into his mouth. He felt like he was being stretched and compressed at the same time. Ever so gradually, he felt himself rising off the ground. He tried to keep his feet rooted on the floor, but the struggle made him queasy so he relaxed. He floated upward until he was parallel with the door. Concentrating on his breathing, he centered his mind and tried to settle the queasiness in his stomach.

  “Are you doing all right?” Poltar asked, looking Cris over.

  Cris nodded to test himself. Much better this time. “A little unsteady, but I think I’m okay.” I’d die of embarrassment if I threw up in front of an Agent.

  “Good.” Poltar looked pleased.

  The square door in the center of the back wall opened automatically. Cris peered into the next room with wonder. The entire room was black, illuminated only by pinpricks of light that looked like stars across all the surfaces. There was no sense of up or down, and Cris had difficulty judging the size of the space.

  “This is one of our spatial awareness training chambers,” Poltar explained. “We’ll also work on your telekinetic skills, once we’ve covered some of the basics. This setting is ideal for honing your sense of what’s around you and learning how to manipulate your environment.”

  Cris took an unsteady breath. “Tell me what to do.”

  Poltar pushed himself into the chamber. It was eerie to watch him glide without his overcoat fluttering. He moved deftly, a master of his surroundings. He stretched out a hand and stopped himself in the middle of open space.

  Cris stared at him in wonder. How did he do that?

  “Come here,” Poltar commanded.

  Cris let go of the handhold and pushed off the door frame with his feet. As soon as he was out of contact with the wall, he realized he had pushed far too hard. His aim was true in the direction of Poltar. Too true. He panicked, seeing he was on a collision course with his teacher. Poltar calmly lifted his hand, palm outward toward Cris. Cris felt the air congeal around him, a buzz of energy filled his ears. He slowed and came to rest a meter in front of the Agent.

  “How did you…?” Cris took a deep breath, feeling exposed floating in the middle of the dark room.

  “In time, I’ll teach you,” Poltar replied. “The multiverse is filled with energy. Those of us who can feel the presence of the electromagnetism that surrounds us can learn to manipulate it. This allows us to perform incredible feats, such as levitating objects or focusing the energy around us into a concentrated sphere you can hold in the palm of your hand. Even thought is energy at its most basic level, which is where telepathy comes in. But the awareness goes beyond the physical world. For a rare few, we can detect—or even touch—subspace.

  “The greater your connection to the unseen energy that surrounds you, the more control you will gain. There is a limit, of course, to how much energy a person can physically handle. We have tuned objects that can help us focus more, and we can work in teams. But alone, each person has a finite limit. This limit is a principle factor when determining an Agent’s Course Rank. As part of the Course Test graduation exam, each Junior Agent is placed in a room with a single sphere made of a rare element that behaves like a quantum particle, simultaneously existing in this physical dimension and subspace. The Junior Agent is instructed to focus all the energy they can handle into the sphere, and we mea
sure the input to determine the person’s capacity. By the time most Junior Agents graduate, their abilities will be as fully developed as they will ever be in life. Though it can fluctuate for some, it’s very uncommon. My responsibility is to teach you to focus the energy around you and control the maximum amount you can physically handle. Safely. Pushing too far or too fast can destroy a person. So we’ll start small and work up from there.”

  Cris grinned. “Let’s get started.”

  Poltar glided a couple meters away from Cris. “Close your eyes.”

  What’s he going to do to me? Cris hesitated for a moment but complied.

  “Can you tell where I am?” Poltar asked.

  “I just saw you. You’re right in front of me.” What kind of training is this?

  “Oh, am I?” Poltar said. The voice came from Cris’ left.

  Cris opened his eyes. Poltar had indeed moved to be three meters off to his left. “That’s a nice trick.”

  “Not a trick at all,” the Agent countered. “If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that I moved.”

  Cris sighed. “How, exactly, would I be able to tell?”

  “Every living thing has an electromagnetic signature. As someone sensitive to such things, you should be able to pick up on the presence of someone even without your eyes.”

  That’s not very helpful instruction. Cris crossed his arms. “I don’t feel much of anything while floating here in null.”

  “The null will make it easier for you to pick up on what’s important, if you apply yourself. Come on, give it a shot.”

  With a sigh, Cris unfolded his arms and closed his eyes again. He tried to clear his mind and focus on the energy around him. After a few moments, he did start to feel a certain presence coming from the last place he had seen Poltar. It’s like the intuition Sedric always told me to use in combat. He honed in on Poltar, judging his exact location. “Okay, I think I know what you mean.” Was I really using these abilities all along without knowing it?

  “I’m going to move around now,” Poltar said. “Stay oriented in my direction.”