Wyrd Prologue: Anthony’s Nightmare

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The Story

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2429 A.D., 8:49 A.M.

Buck Rogers’ rocket sled made a loud roar as it raced through the underground tunnels of New Chicago. The grating noise echoed off the bored walls with such power it managed to get past his earmuffs somewhat. Concern was written all over his face; his eyebrows furrowed deeply. Billy had called him earlier via transponder; Dr. Heur and Dr. Rotwang were acting strangely. Even after Killer Kane’s surrender, they were still doing 24-hour rotation shifts in the weapons lab. Something had them mighty frightened, and it was scaring the others as well.

Wilma, on the other hand, had other concerns. She had been trying to use the main com lines to reach friends and family, and absolutely nothing was getting through. “It’s like we were isolated from the world,” she said to Buck as they flew through the ancient bedrock.

He pulled his air sled into the hangar, its fire engine-red trim casting reflections off the underground lair. He guided it to a halt next to the lock safe and gently powered it down. The mechanic’s pit was full of young men, all battle-hardened, but not one of them was past their mid-twenties. Billy, Chris, Freddy, and Alvin had seen a hard life in the 25th century. Buck and Wilma quickly exited the vehicle.

“Chris, I can’t reach anyone on the East Side. Any idea why?”

“Golly, no idea, Wilma. It’s oddly quiet—not what I expected after a big win.”

“You’d think everyone would be happy,” Freddy said. “Killer Kane surrendered, and everyone should be all cheers, but it’s so quiet out there you can hear a pin drop.”

Buck listened closely as he placed his rocker sled keys in the vault in the center of the room. It was their storage locker for keys, but it had once been part of a bank vault’s interior.

“Buck!” Billy rushed to greet Rogers, his face filled with concern and surprise. “Golly, you sure came quick!” Billy was Wilma’s younger brother, and no matter how much battle he saw, he always looked like a young kid to him. “The Doctor… Well, both of them have been acting odd. Really odd!” Deep concern was written all over Billy’s face.

Buck smiled at his younger compatriot. “I came as soon as you told me you told me. Where are they now?”

“Where else? Back in Dr. Rotwang’s lab, they’ve both been there all week ever since Killer Kane surrendered. We’ve finally got some peace, and they’re more frantic than ever. Gee, I think whatever they have been experimenting with has been spooking them. They’re making a lot of us feel spooked, too!”

“Don’t worry, Billy,” Buck said, patting his young counterpart on the back. “I’ll check in on our crazy old men.”

Billy did not seem so sure, but he smiled as much as he could toward Buck. “Thank you. We’re worried sick.”

Buck blew a kiss towards Wilma with a grin. He then ascended several flights of steps to the observation deck. Through the bomb blast hatchway, there was a long, long walk towards the robotics lab that Dr. Rotwang and Dr. Heur maintained. Deep in the Hidden City, the facility was protected by a series of emergency shutters, secret tunnels, and robots Dr. Rotwang had installed into the walls. The lab was located almost a quarter mile away, requiring passage through multiple blast doors and other anti-personnel measures.

“We’re still prepared for a war that will never happen again,” he said out loud, and he smiled. “I’m looking forward to peacetime.”

Buck Rogers found Dr. Heur testing out a new cybernetic prosthetic frame. He was strapped into the machine, testing out the lengthened arms for moving crates. Dr. Rotwang stood by making notes as Dr. Heur deftly moved crates weighing several hundred pounds around with great ease.

“Hey, Doc. I see you’re busy working. What’s that?

Dr. Heur coldly responded. “I’ve been working on something for the munitions warehouse workers. This can lend a hand for manual labor. Even a feeble man like me becomes a metal gorilla, if you will. It will spare a lot of men back injuries. These bombs are heavy.”

“That’s true, but the war is over? Killer Kane surrendered. The Han are no more. What would we be doing with a bunch of bombs?”

Both scientists looked extremely uncomfortable. Dr. Heur stared at the floor. “I’m sure there are other applications.”

Dr. Rotwang offered a meager excuse. “It is always good to be prepared. Space is a big place.”

“Right, right,” Dr. Heur agreed, “a big void filled with many… threats.”

Buck looked closely and saw that Dr. Heur was wearing something strange around his neck. Buck’s senses tingled nervously. “Even if it was hollow, it had to weigh at least ten pounds,” he thought to himself.

“Doctor… What’s that for?”

“This?” The doctor tugged the heavy metal frame around his neck. “It’s a precaution of sorts; it… uh… prevents the wearer from having their thoughts read.”

Buck stared at Dr. Heur for a while. “Mind reading? Are you okay, Doc? Does that have anything to do with that research into alternate dimensions?”

Dr Heur spun in his steps and stared into Buck’s eyes with an intense look of fear. Even in the toughest of times, Dr. Heur was a battle-hardened scientist. He always fought through a smile even if he was injured. This was a new expression.

“Doc?”

The doctor spoke very quietly with a grim expression, “no, not at all.”

Buck glanced over and realized Dr. Rotwang was also wearing a similar device. “I… See why Billy was concerned.”

Just then, laser pistol shots rang out across the facility, followed by a piercing scream.

A voice echoed across the facility, deep, throaty, and terrifying; its words were unintelligible but filled the hearts of both scientists with absolute dread.

“Oh God,” Dr Rotwang’s voice dropped to a whimper, “It’s already here.”

What instantly froze Buck was the way the doctor had said it. “Doc… what…” Buck couldn’t quite process it.

“You had better see what that is,” Dr. Heur said. “And hurry back!”

“Doc, is there something I need to know?”

“Buck,” Dr. Rotwang said calmly, “Wilma is out there.”

In a moment, Buck was sprinting down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him. As he made it to the observation deck, his heart froze.

In the middle of the room was some weird cartoonish thing; it looked like a clock, the kind that he used to see in cartoon movie shorts back on old Earth. It had rubber hose-like arms and legs, with two great big furrowed eyebrows over its angry expression. The thing had two old men in mechanics suits gripped in each hand.

“But who are the old men?” Buck thought, “There were no old men here.”

“Ah… a little recharge,” the clock thing said with an evil smile as it released the two men to fall on the floor with loud thuds. “Hardly filling, though, no good nobodies.”

Just then, Chris charged at it with a baseball bat. He swung with all of his force, but it bounced off the creature’s metal head with a loud clang.

“What’s the matter, pipsqueak? Can’t beat the clock?” The monster slapped Chris with the back of its hand. In the brief moment that Chris twirled on his feet, his lustrous brown hair became gray, and his youthful vigor faded horribly. He stumbled backwards, severely weak and geriatric.

“You… You monster!” Billy cried in pain and fear.

“Monster yada yada monster,” it said sarcastically. Then its mood shifted suddenly as it recognized him. it pointed at him with anger, “You’re that kid with the viral song!”

Billy raced at the creature. It rolled its eyes at the maneuver. “Oh come on! Can you be more obvious?” With a fast motion, it gripped the crowbar as Billy swung it and tossed it aside as easily as a parent snatches a toy from a wayward toddler. With the other giant gloved hand, it gripped his entire face firmly, wrapping its white-gloved fingers completely around his skull.

Billy’s scream echoed off the walls, reverberating off the rock walls and resonating with the hollow metal poles that made up the room structure and furniture. His hair quickly faded gray and fell out, and his bones audibly cracked and crunched as his entire body deflated like an inflatable tube with a hole. The tones of his screams changed to inhuman noises as his whole skull began to sag in a horrifying and unnatural way.

“Let go of my brother!” Wilma screamed!

But in the blink of an eye, he was gone, his entire body sucked up into that hand like the leftovers of an alcoholic drink. “Mmmmm, hometown hero!” The clock man rubbed where its belly. His wicked smile was gross. “Ah that hits the spot! Now that’s filling!”

“What did you do to my… My…” Wilma’s voice dropped with confusion.

“Your what?” The clock questioned. “What did I do?” The question hung over the room like a London fog. Wilma froze with fear and numbing awe, unable to speak. Buck couldn’t remember what happened… But there were two men on the floor turning to dust and another man lie twitching on the ground, his last wheezy breaths filling the air. “What happened? What just happened?” Roger’s mind raced but there wasn’t an answer he could find.

“…say wait a minute…” The clock man suddenly had the realization of whose presence he was in. He grinned, licking his lips. “Buck and Wilma. The main course. I was looking for you two. Strange.” He strutted forward and casually threw the key safe aside as if it were a cardboard box. It was at this moment that Buck knew this being had titanic strength. He was in trouble.

“BUCK!” Dr. Rotwang’s voice carried loudly. “Come quickly!!”

Buck grabbed Wilma by the hand, and they both raced towards Dr. Heur, who hit the blast door button once they crossed the threshold past the hangar.

Quickly, run back to our lab; we have to close the other doors to buy time!”

“Doc, those doors can hold back a bomb. Why are we…”

“Those doors will never hold it back! Move!” Dr. Rotwang screamed.

The trio moved quickly as Dr. Heur closed door after door on their way to the lab.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t say anything, but I am ready!”

“Ready for what?” Buck shouted, “What is that… thing?”

“You can’t… You can’t…. Listen… Listen to me! Remember what I’m about to tell you!”

As Dr. Heur confided to Buck, Wilma turned her attention to the security controls. With expert skill, she used the laboratory control booth to turn on the maschinefrau. Dr. Rotwang was right beside her, entering the passcodes for the robot defense system. “Good, M.A.R.Y. has been activated,” Dr. Rotwang said. “Keep it busy; I’m getting a portal ready for you.” He ran over to two large devices in the center of the room.

“I’ll be sure to hold him off,” Wilma declared. She was completely focused on the task.

On the control room wall was a display of monitors showing various parts of the hallway they had just run down. She could see in the corner of the room the blast door was giving way. As her fingers flew across the controls, a panel slid open on the wall. A female-shaped humanoid walked out with a blaster and an energy sword. Moments later, the second blast door practically melted into a fine powder of rust under the onslaught of the clock beast.

It lumbered into the room with a feigned look of shock on his face. “Oh, what’s this?” the sarcastic voice came through the monitor. “Oh, you sent me a plaything. Is it a chatbot? Oh. Boy. Can I use lewd prompts? No, it’s just a killjoy? Boring!”

The experimental warp gate Dr. Rotwang invented hummed to life. At first it emitted a high-pitched whine. Then a bright light in the center of the gate grew into a hole in the universal fabric to another reality.

Meanwhile, the machine woman took multiple attempts to batter and break the clock beast, but eventually, it got a good grip on her body. “Robots are like chewing Metamucil. All fiber, no carbs!” It forced the mecha to its knees; large swaths of her metal body oxidized with each moment of contact. It quickly turned to rust and dust at its feet. The clock man glared at the security camera. “Time’s up! You’re the last ones! I’m coming for you!”

“What is it?” Wilma shouted, “What is it?!”

At the far side of the control room, Dr. Heur shook Buck by the shoulders. “Do you understand the rules?” he demanded, sweat pouring down his face.

“Well, yes, but wh…” Buck quickly sputtered.

“Good, there’s no time left to say it again!” Dr. Heur yelled. “Are we ready?”

Dr. Rotwang turned on the second of two portal units, moving quickly through the security screen prompts. “Almost, m-my work is almost done.”

Dr. Heur tapped Buck on the shoulder to command his attention again. “Do you still have the watch I gave you last week?” he pointedly asked.

Buck was stunned by what he had heard. “Well, yes, but” he stammered.

“Never take it off! It’s imperative you don’t!” Dr Heur was more energized than Buck had ever seen.

Dr. Rotwang frantically ran around the other side of the second warp gate and began punching in coordinates into the control panel.

“Wait, doc, what are you doing? Is that even functional?” Rogers questioned with nervousness.

“It’ll have to do! I have to get both of you where it can’t find you! I’ll stay here. That’s my choice. I can’t allow it to know where you went!”

As Wilma was focused on the monstrosity melting down the second door into a pile of rust, as silent as a ghost, a mechanized woman came up behind her. It wrapped its arms around her with gorilla-like strength, lifted her off the ground, and began walking to the second portal swiftly.
Wilma screamed. “Wait, what are you doing? Help! Help!” She struggled intensely as it walked faster, “Buck! Stop Mar-“

“Doc! What are you doing?!” Buck walked past Dr. Heur’s metal frame, but before he could get to the portal, Dr. Rotwang shut it off.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Rogers,” he said with sadness. “This is the only way. You both must go separately.”

“What about the disintegrator ray?” Buck pleaded as he unholstered his own. “This turns everything to dust!”

“Son,” Dr. Heur’s voice dropped with sadness. “That thing is where we learned how to do that little trick.” As the expression on Buck Roger’s face dropped, so did the heavy robotic arm Dr. Heur controlled. The second portal broke with a horrific bang. The attack almost broke the machine in two but bent it in ways that made it completely inoperable in that situation. Sparks showered the room as Buck’s face turned red with rage. “Now, how will she get back?! This is insane!”

Dr. Heur’s face was a mix of anger and fear. “We’re the last ones, Buck! We are the last people on Earth! There is no coming back! Listen, follow the rules! We have to stay here so it can’t follow you. We have to destroy the unit.”

“But you said that thing can read minds, so how will you…” Buck’s eyes widened with realization that what Dr Heur was wearing was a bomb collar. The doctor saw the glance of realization, and in a moment, the good doctor had raised Buck off the floor with the prosthetics. “I’m sorry, son.”

“Doc, no! You don’t have to do this!”

Dr. Rotwang turned to his fellow scientist with a grim expression. “Dr. Heur, I have set the coordinates. I must leave while I still have the courage to act.”

“God be with you, Dr. Rotwang. It was an honor working with you.”

“You as well, Dr. Heur.” He turned towards Buck. “May the sky rise to meet you, and the sun be always at your back. Auf Wiedersehen, Flieger.”

“Wait!”

The room lit up with a bright flash, and the sound of an explosion rang strongly in Buck’s ears. A shower of metal parts and parts of a person rained down on them both. The smell of gunpowder and burnt flesh was nauseating.

“I am so sorry. We violated every law moral, and temporal. Everything. This is our fault.”

“Doc, don’t do this!”

“I have to. I h-ve to, you won’t rem-mber a thing I said if it gets me! This is the o-ly way! This is the end of o-r story. I’m sorry Bu– where I’m s-nding you It’s a terrible pl—, but it’- the only one -e won’t go ru-ning to first! Listen. Buck R-gers, this is the final mi-sion from the Hidden City. We n-ed you to find –st– ——-us. —- — ——- a-d —- —- — — —- – ——–. —- to —-. —- g— —–. — —– —- how —- —- — – —- —— —- — — —–.”

“Y-u — —– — —– -ot fail. —– —- — —- —-. Only — can —- —-. —— —- count-ng on you.”

“Go-dbye –ck Ro–rs.”

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Boston… Early AM

Anthony snapped awake at his desk, coughing and sputtering. “How long was I out?” He thought to himself. He wiped the drool from his chin and adjusted his nameplate. “Anthony Rogers,” a very unassuming name for a very average man working yet another corporate job in America. “I slept all night at my desk, and no one noticed?” The realization hit him like a truck; he laughed. “What a joke. What do we even do here?”

Anthony had been having quite the existential crisis; he was working a job he didn’t remember applying for, living a life he didn’t remember living. If the good doctor wasn’t ready to call it amnesia. “Then what is it?” He was frustrated.

On the screen in front of him was the Navy portal. “Speaking of amnesia,” he said quietly to himself. “I should not have fallen asleep with that open.” Before he closed the screen, he saw the time frame, just two weeks. Just two weeks until EAOS. Civilian life called, and it was “boring.” He closed the screen, and the monitor reverted to the password screen that showed on every monitor at Fredersen.

He gathered himself and resolved to wash his face off in the bathroom. That always seemed to help with fatigue on the clock.

“Still having trouble with nightmares, my friend?” a familiar voice asked. Anthony looked up to see his co-worker, Kahn. “I was hoping you were doing better.” Khan was a big man from the Kunlun Mountains. He was full of scars, but was all heart.

“Yes,” Anthony said, “They’re getting worse.” Fatigue weighted heavily in his voice, “Now I get them at work too.”

“It would help if you didn’t sleep at the office.” Khan laughed heartily, “You’ve been here since last night. Are you sure the medication is helping at all?” Kahn asked, “The doctor has always had good instincts with my health. I was hoping he’d be just as successful with you.”

“Not really… I mean… the dream frequency hasn’t changed. And they’re always the same.” Anthony sighed. “It’s too much. I can barely sleep and it’s distracting. I don’t have time for this.” He glanced at his digital watch and sighed again “and that report was due today. Fun.”

“Which report,” Khan asked.

“The one for Lordice and the IT department,” Anthony answered.

“You know the uh, the report on the artificial intelligence project.”

“Wait… that report? That’s due on the 11th? Is today the 11th?” Kahn asked incredulously. “What time is it?”

Anthony looked at his watch. “8:58, why?”

“Chà!” Kahn exclaimed, smacking his palm to his forehead. “It’s already started! I forgot what day it was.”

“What’s already started? A football game?” Anthony asked.

“Zāogāo tòudǐng,” Khan said as he kept walking out of the bathroom. It was clear that Rogers was unheard.

A loud scream from the main office seemed to answer the question a moment later. Anthony became very concerned and quickly walked back to the office. When he stepped back into the main room, Khan and all of his co-workers were gathered around a TV screen near the break room. Things didn’t sound good.

On the screen was a high-rise building that seemed familiar… Large amounts of smoke and flames flickered out of the windows. It was quite tall; he wondered how a fire department would tackle such a task of putting the flames out. “Is that Manhattan?” he thought. Two or three of his co-workers were highly distraught in tears, the rest were just in shock.

Lordice walked into the room later than Anthony. Her face contorted with anger as tears streamed down her face. “What happened? My father works there!”

“A plane flew into the tower!” Sally cried out.

Eric was shaking. “Was it an accident? It has to be an accident. But how?”

Anthony felt it was tragic but knew there was nothing he could do. “This is a civilian matter,” he thought, and sighed deeply, “I’m not a firefighter.” He started to walk away when Kahn stopped him gently with one hand.

“Are you sure you want to look away,” he said. “This seems important.”

Anthony stopped and looked at his friend. “What can I do from here,” Anthony said quietly. “It’s an accident right? We’re in Boston. It’s not like it’s the assassination of Franz Ferdinand? I mean it’s bad but…”

Khan stared with intent but said nothing.

“Is there something I’m missing?” Anthony turned again towards the monitor. As soon as he had the unimaginable happened. Lordice gasped loudly as someone jumped from the building. “Oh God.” Every in the office watched a whole human being disappear into a smoke cloud several stories off the ground. Then things became worse. As he stood in shock, a second plane hit the other tower.

The screams of anguished fear in the room hurt his ears.

NEXT: DJINN IN A BOTTLE

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