Part 24: Three Billion Heartbeats

Chapter 19: Three Billion Heartbeats

That's how many an average human has in a lifetime. It's a huge number. So why does life always seem too short?

There are ten billion people living on Mota alone. One person's entire lifetime, shared equally among everyone on the planet, would amount to less than a third of a heartbeat for each of us.

What can one doctor do when people are dying all around the world? When I watched the news in the morning and saw the death toll from Biomonster attacks rising with every passing day, my work felt insignificant no matter how many lives I saved. Joining Rolf and helping to end the Biomonster plague was the only way I could think of to make a real difference.

I have no regrets. I know we're doing the right thing, no matter what Mother Brain and the Palman government believe. Rolf has suffered and sacrificed so much since I met him. Nobody would blame him if he gave up on Mota and went into hiding after Nei's death, or after being accused of a crime he didn't commit, but he took it all in his stride and kept fighting to save the people who would condemn him. That's the kind of strength he has. Even if nobody else believes in him, I do.



Although I still have to question his judgement when he takes both Kain and Anna along just because they both have fancy new armour. Kain's a nuisance, but he's pretty harmless and I think there's a good heart under all the boozing and lechery. Anna, on the other hand...

"Remember our deal, Rolf," Anna says as we leave home. "If he touches me, you both die."

This isn't going to end well.



It doesn't take us too long to reach the Blue Dam. There's already water flowing into the channel from the river systems connected to the Red and Yellow Dams. It makes me proud to see the results of our efforts: soon we'll have saved Mota, if the robots don't get us first.



As always, Rolf has the key card to let us into the dam. Everything inside is painted in shades of blue and violet, giving the dam a sombre air.



The Blue Dam isn't as wide as the Red and Yellow Dams were, but its size is deceptive: inside is a maze of passages and chutes leading up and down through the dam. These dams are weird: they're all much too complex for the purpose they ostensibly serve, and filled with combat robots and strange weapons and armour. Rolf says they're a good place for testing experimental weapons, but why does Mother Brain need to design new weapons at all when she has no enemies? It doesn't make sense to me.

There's something about the weapons themselves that feels wrong, too. Rolf's new sword is doing things to him, and I don't like it. Whenever he holds it, he fights like a madman, unconcerned for his own safety. Anna doesn't see anything wrong, but then, she wouldn't -- she fights like that all the time.



We're attacked by a pair of huge flying robots that Rolf calls Vans. I wish I could do more to help, but my fire staffs can barely dent their armour. All I can do is stand back and patch up everyone's wounds after each battle... and ever since we found that Dimate-producing suit in the Yellow Dam, it seems like I'm not even needed for that any more.

Am I becoming a burden to Rolf? Would he tell me if I was?



I can't let myself think about things like that: the only thing worse than a useless ally is a useless ally who makes everyone miserable. I force myself to stay optimistic as we press on through the dam.



Like the other dams we've been to, the Blue Dam contains hidden equipment. In a steel trunk in the corner of one room is a large helmet made of shiny silvery-white metal, with a crescent moon engraved on the front. I don't really know anything about weapons and armour, but the design somehow doesn't look like other helmets I've seen: was it really designed by Mother Brain at all, I wonder, or just found as a relic of some lost civilisation and brought here for study?



The helmet doesn't fit any of us, but it feels strangely warm in my hands. Rolf tries holding it above his head, and the moon symbol glows. Within seconds, his wounds have begun to close up. I should be happy to find anything that makes us a little safer, but if I'm not even needed for my medical skills any more, what good am I doing? I might as well go back home and find work at a hospital somewhere.



While I'm here, though, I'll do everything I can to help, even if that's limited to providing supplementary medical treatment and occasionally whacking things with a staff to no great effect.

Anna frowns. "Haven't we been here before? I think we're going in circles."

"What makes ya think that, sweetheart?" Kain asks. "Gettin' dizzy? Maybe what yer feelin's just my raw animal magnetism makin' ya go all weak at the knees."

Uh-oh. Here it comes.

"Not only is that the worst pickup line I have ever heard," Anna says icily, "but you are using it on someone who you should know by now would kill you as soon as look at you. I would ask what you were thinking, but if you were capable of rational thought we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Kain rolls his eyes. "Geez, can't ya take a simple compliment? I was just tryin' to be friendly-like. Break the silence, y'know. It was gettin' kinda tense."

Anna's eyes narrow; I can practically see her opinion of Kain dropping further than I had previously thought possible.

"Tension is healthy. If we want to survive when Mother Brain and the Palman government want us dead, tension is exactly what we need. When you lower your guard..." Anna pauses for a moment, and gives a barely perceptible shiver before continuing, "that's when the enemy can get in. If you can take nothing else in life seriously, at least consider your own survival. Stay alert, and avoid distractions."

Stay alert. Avoid distractions. Good advice. We continue on, and I concentrate on looking at anything but Rolf.



I'm the first to spot a little scrap of cloth dangling from the edge of a hole in the floor. It looks like some kind of headband, dyed in all the colours of the rainbow.

"Hey, Rolf," Kain says, "maybe ya could give this to Ustvestia as a weddin' present."

Rolf sighs in exasperation. "What part of 'let us never speak of this again' do you have trouble with?"



Sure enough, it's not just some old headband: like practically everything else in these dams, it has special powers. Anna twirls it around in the air a bit and I feel a refreshing breeze on my face, heightening my senses and reflexes.

Is it wrong to feel relieved that this makes one of Anna's techniques redundant instead of one of mine?



Before long, we find yet another piece of equipment: a helmet with a tornado engraved on it. It only fits Kain, but if it's like everything else we've found in this dam, its primary function isn't likely to be as protective gear anyway.



Holding it in both hands and concentrating produces a pressure wave, like a Gizan technique but over a wider area. Fragments of metal dislodge from the robots we're fighting and fly through the air. As much as it pains me that we're treated as criminals, fighting security robots is a lot less messy than fighting Biomonsters, and at times like these I'm glad of that.



"Think of it as a peace offerin'," Kain says.

"I'll accept nothing short of unconditional surrender," Anna replies. "But I'll consider that a down payment."



With sleeves covering both her arms, Anna's able to fend off almost any attack with minimal injury, and as long as the helmet's power lasts she still has an effective means of offence. She's not quite as deadly as she would be with two slashers, but that's probably for the best.



Continuing the apparent weather motif in this dam, the next piece of headgear we find is a crown with snowflakes engraved on it. It only fits me, so I'm the first to try it out and see what it does.



I hold it in my hands, expecting it to produce a burst of cold. Instead, it creates a barrier of air, just like my Deban technique. I think I'll hold on to this for now: it may be selfish, but I'd like there to be at least one thing that only I can do.



Our path takes us past a towering mass of exposed pipes, valves, pumps and other machinery. Anna glares at Kain as we pass it, as if expecting him to blow it up just by being near it. Given what he can do to robots, I guess that's not so farfetched. In fact, the pipes did seem to shake a little when we walked by...



A white cloth sits rolled up on a table, ours for the taking. Its effect proves to be similar to the Storm Gear, although not as powerful.



As we emerge from a transport chute, we're ambushed by a pair of robots that Rolf calls Attack Mechs. As far as I'm concerned, everything in here is an attack mech: these ones just have the dubious distinction of being able to drop missiles on our heads. Good thing we found all those helmets in here, I suppose.



After a little more walking, we find ourselves just to the north of the floodgate control computer. The only thing in our way is a big hole in the floor on the north side, but now that we know where the computer is it should be simple enough to just go round to the other side.



After a little more walking, we find ourselves just to the south of the floodgate control computer. The only thing in our way is a big hole in the floor on the south side--

Wait, that's not good. The platform the computer's on is completely surrounded by a pit. Now what are we supposed to do?



We wander aimlessly through the dam, hoping to find a teleporter or something to take us to the computer -- there must be some way to reach it. Instead of finding it, more robots find us. Rolf calls this one a Pod Head, but to me they all blend together into "ones that only hurt us a little" and "ones that hurt us a lot". This one, fortunately, is one of the former.



I know it's not a healthy way of thinking, but every time we find a new healing item is starting to feel like a personal threat to me.



Rolf is staring intently down into a hole in the floor. What's he thinking about, I wonder? There's nothing down there that we haven't seen before, it's just a straight drop to the dam control computer... oh no.

I never was good with heights. If I'd minored in psychology during my pre-med course, I'd probably know all about overcoming my fears. But no, I took Dezorian Literature because I thought some humanities would make me a "more well-rounded person". Right now I'm more worried about being a well-flattened person when I land.



The sad thing about this is that it's only the second-craziest leap of faith I've made so far, counting that one back in the Biosystems lab. And just like back then, I'm the only one who hesitates to make the jump. Rolf must think I'm such a coward.

We make a hard but safe landing on the floor in front of the control computer.



Three down, one to go. It's a good thing Rolf can teleport us out of here, because I don't know if I could stand to make another jump like that to get us back to ground level.



Seeing the channel flowing with life-giving water fills me with a sense of satisfaction and reminds me that what we're doing is worthwhile. I'll be glad once all the fighting is over. Even if we have to stay in hiding for the rest of our lives, as long as we're together that doesn't sound so bad.

Well, by "we" I mostly mean Rolf and me. I won't mind if Anna wants to go and hide somewhere else. Preferably somewhere on the other side of the planet, in fact.



For the sake of party unity (by which I mean "preventing Anna from committing murder"), Rolf leaves Kain at home for the final dam. When Shir finds out that Kain's staying at home, she practically insists on coming along with us. She may not be much of a fighter, but at least she isn't an active liability.

"Well," says Rolf in his usual self-assured way, "any requests before we go?"

Now's the time, Amy. For once in your life, speak up. Secure your place in this group.

"Um, there is one thing. Why not let me carry most of our medical supplies? After all, a lot of the time I don't have much else to do besides treat your wounds..."

Stupid! Stupid! Don't let him realise how little you're really contributing!

"Er, what I mean to say is, in case I get too tired to use my healing techniques..."

No, that won't do either!

"I... I just thought it'd be a nice thing to do is all. Since the rest of you all have such heavy weapons and armour to carry."

Rolf looks at me and smiles. I feel my heart beat. Another moment of my life passes, never to return.