Part 22
Dark World Doctor and Hardware.Michael hears voices from afar, telling him where to go next. Two say to go to the morgue. One says to go to meet the Dark World Slim, behind the pool hall. Two say to go home. None say to go to the hardware store.
And in keeping with the Dark World, the hardware store wins the poll in his mind with zero votes.
Mike: What are biomechanical appendages?
Weaponsmith: Organic and mechanical weapons that connect with - and into - your body. They are controlled by your nervous system, just like a normal muscle.
Mike: Hey, can I get one of those biomechanical appendages from you?
Weaponsmith: For a price. I trade and sell my work. Right now I could use a triggering device.
Mike: Why can't you just build a triggering device?
Weaponsmith: Supplies of metal have been difficult to obtain since the Ancients took over. Everything is being reserved for the Power Center. But if you can find me a metal triggering device, I'll build you a weapon.
Mike: What is this place?
Weaponsmith: A weaponry and supply shop. I create powerful weapons, used by the lackeys which serve our masters.
Mike: What are you working on now?
Mike: Who are your masters?
Weaponsmith: The Ancients. They force us to work for them or die, those monsters. But at least I am able to practice my craft.
Mike: Are all the inhabitants of the Dark World enslaved?
Weaponsmith: All of us still alive. Those few of us the Ancients deemed valuable were spared and forced to work for them. Rather than kill us outright, they drain our life-force slowly. Offerings, they call it.
Mike: How can the Ancients be defeated?
Weaponsmith: I don't see how. There was one brave soul - Goth was his name - who tried to organize a rebellion, but the Ancients ordered me to build a power lock to confine him behind the Recreation Center.
Mike: Who are the lackeys?
Weaponsmith: We all are. Craftsmen like me, the Drekketh Guard, the Justices, Privileged Workers. We are all under the Ancients' rule, and we will remain so until we die.
High Priestess: This temple was constructed eons ago as a place of worship for Dark World beings. Originally it was set up to honor the Points of the Triangle, but of course all that is now gone.
Mike: Tell me about the Points of the Triangle.
High Priestess: The Points of the Triangle were the basis of our religion. The three Points are Truth, represented by the Light; Knowledge, represented by the Scrolls; and Justice, represented by the Sword.
Mike: Tell me about the Light.
High Priestess: The Light illuminates our lives. It shines with Universal Truth. It will obliterate the darkness of all that is false or evil.
Mike: Tell me about the Scrolls.
High Priestess: The Scrolls contain the vast knowledge of our people. They are the foundation of our civilization. They represent order and stability.
Mike: Tell me about the Sword.
High Priestess: The Sword is a powerful weapon against injustice and fear. It is useless against the mundane but against evil, it is invincible.
Mike: Why do you say that everything is now gone?
High Priestess: The Ancients have taken over our world. They have outlawed our religion and imprisoned spiritual leaders such as me.
Mike: You're a spiritual leader?
High Priestess: I was the High Priestess. I conveyed the wisdom of the Keepers to all Dark Worlders who worshipped the Triangle. But now I am forbidden by the Ancients to instruct our people.
Mike: Why are you helping me if you are forbidden to do so?
High Priestess: Just because something is forbidden does not mean it no longer occurs. It is my destiny to teach; it is your destiny to learn and act upon that knowledge. Restrictions only enhance the desire to fulfill that destiny.
Mike: You don't look like you're imprisoned.
High Priestess: I am imprisoned here in a confinement beam. The Ancients thought it too dangerous to keep all the religious leaders imprisoned in the same area. Some are held in the prison, some under house arrest.
Mike: Some of you are held under house arrest? I expected worse from the Ancients.
High Priestess: It is more insidious than it sounds. The Ancients had their minions install power locks all over the area. The machines in the Power Center direct energy in the various sections of the city to split us up and discourage rebellion.
Mike: What can you tell me about the Dark World?
High Priestess: The Dark World has existed alongside your Normal World ever since time began. It has evolved along with your Earth, a counterpart - a negative image - of your own world.
Mike: Why do you say this place is a negative image of my world?
High Priestess: We are what you would consider to be the dark side of yourselves. What seems to be madness to you, we consider sane. What you perceive as pain, we feel as pleasure.
Mike: Now I understand why there are so many evil creatures here.
High Priestess: You have malevolent creatures in your own world, too. Do not confuse madness with evil. Most of us want to live in peaceful co-existence with the Normal World.
Mike: How much is the Dark World a counterpart to my own?
High Priestess: The portals have always been in existence. There are portals all over Earth. It was inevitable that a few humans would find some of them. We have had Normal World visitors for centuries.
Mike: Have any Dark Worlders crossed a portal into the Normal World?
High Priestess: No, but it is more a matter of biology than physics. We would die immediately after crossing the barrier into your world; you humans are more adaptable.
Mike: Do you know where all the portals are located?
High Priestess: No one knows where all the portals are. There is one located in the Power Center, inside a maze. I have heard that another exists elsewhere nearby, but the Ancients keep its location secret.
High Priestess: A short time ago, we staged an uprising. The Keeper of the Sword led the rebellion, but they failed.
Mike: What happened to the rebellion?
High Priestess: It was crushed by the Ancients. You see, Michael, you are our only remaining hope for defeating the Ancients.
Mike: You know who I am?
High Priestess: Of course, Michael. The story of your first battle against the Ancients is chronicled in our sacred book, The Necronomicon. It also foretells that you will defeat the Ancients once again. So you see, you cannot escape your destiny.
Mike: What became of the Keepers?
High Priestess: The three Keepers went into hiding, but have recently been found. The Keeper of the Sword was killed and the Keeper of the Scrolls imprisoned. I heard the Keeper of the Light has also been slain.
Mike: Do you know where the Keeper of the Scrolls is imprisoned?
High Priestess: She is being held captive in the prison compound in the Ancient's power center. If you are planning to visit her, be warned that the biomechanoids guarding the prison will not be reluctant to kill organics like yourself.
Mike: I have many more questions to ask you.
High Priestess: I am afraid I have nothing more to tell you. You should go before the Drekketh Guard return. They check on me regularly.
Mike: One last thing. Can you tell me whether it is day or night?
High Priestess: Such temporal concerns only matter to soldiers such as the Drekketh guards or to biomechanical sentries. I'm sorry, that is an issue that is beyond the boundaries of my thoughts.
Michael ends his conversation with the High Priestess here and begins to examine the homages to the Keepers.
