1:4:3 Republic (Part 4)

The last few metres to the foyer were longer than they should have been. Lore didn’t know why but their body just didn’t want to move. Every step was a struggle and a struggle that they couldn’t bring themselves to share. Char was just ahead of them and Brian, nowhere to be seen. They reunited with Char in the foyer; the lights, the foliage and the sounds of the tinkling waterfalls were all too much. Char moved in a little closer. Lore snuggled into her and let out a deep and cathartic sigh. They were shutting down. It was all happening so suddenly. Time, the not knowing, it was all killing them. Char just stood with them, not a word exchanged.
“It’s not The First but they should be able to help us!” Brian’s head popped out of the council chamber’s doors. He hurried them in, much to Char’s protest, then positioned them in the centre of the room. It seemed less intimidating now the lights were on and there were only the five of them in the room.
“So, what is it you just had to ask me?” They recognised the Lore as being Potts. “Go on, I’ve not got all day.”
Char prompted Lore to start but they just couldn’t. “Lore was visited by The Cornerstone Time. It told Lore that they needed to ‘Share the light’.” Char could see that Potts was doubtful but continued anyway. “It said something about making Reapers.”
Potts scoffed. “If there was a such thing as a Cornerstone then a Paragon or even Reaper of Time would be most helpful right about now. The books say that they could output enough energy to reverse a star’s ageing process and bring it back from collapse but those are just stories in books.” Potts shook their head. “I’m afraid we’ll need more than stories to power what I’ve got planned.”
“What about a news story?” Brian interrupted. “Something mighty interesting happened on Illia and it was rather fortunately caught on camera.” He smirked. He tapped at his wrist and interfaced with the chambers holographic net. Soon, a holographic representation of Celreagaire from the last time Lore and Char visited appeared between them. “Now, it’s not the city we’re interested in, its this tank just outside.” Brian tracked and zoomed in on the tank as it trundled towards the icy cliffs and Lore’s group. It stopped just shy of them as it had the first time but unlike the first time, it suddenly disappeared. The hologram was no more. “What?” Brian tapped and tapped as if trying to force his finger through his wrist but nothing.
“It happened something like this.” Char closed her eyes. They started glowing golden. Golden energy filled her veins and as soon as it hit her heart, it shot around her body. It illuminated every artery but once it reached her hands, it spilled out and burst free as if her hands were aflame. She touched them together and then to her head before she spread them out as if creating a golden square in the air. The tank reappeared and so did Lore and Char. Then they disappeared. The Paragon stood in their place. Potts watched on in awe as the miniature Paragon turned its hand and the tank crumbled and melted into ore and oil. They were even more impressed when they saw The Paragon split into Lore and Char.
“Could you rewind that last part please?” Potts was on the verge of either the biggest discovery in their career or a complete religious conversion or even both but they needed to know for certain before they committed either way. Char obliged. The two figures, once again, became one, the tank mended itself and then The Paragon separated. She replayed the entire engagement one last time. “Pause there?” Potts started jabbing at the energy models. “Extraordinary! It was reverted completely to its base elements. Fascinating!” Potts tapped at the model again. They tried to grab the model Paragon but were met with negative feedback; the more they tried, the more energy they exerted, the brighter The Paragon glowed until it could glow no brighter. On their last tug, the stored energy discharged, rewinding them back to the position they took before Lore and Char entered. “So, what is it you just had to ask me?” Potts looked at them for a moment. A look of hurried confusion crossed their face. “Wow. Okay… That’s an interesting feeling.” They returned to the projection just in time for Char to dissolve it. “That’s some trick but I am not certain I know how it will help us with our plans.”
“We need to share the light.” Lore mumbled. A white glow in their palm developed. “Here, hold out your hand.” Potts did as they were asked. The glow became an orb which rolled from Lore’s hand to Potts’. A familiar white light filled Potts’ eyes.
Lore’s eyes too started to glow. They spoke in a voice, not their own. “You are now a Reaper of Time; kneel before your Paragon.” It boomed through the chamber, perfectly complemented by the room’s acoustics. “Your duties are to them and them alone.” Out of Lore came Time.
“And their duties are to me.” Time finished. It became apparent that it was using Lore to talk for it before it faded to a space between spaces.
There was a rush of energy surging through them. They had never felt anything like it, neither of them had. Lore could see out of eight eyes, eight different perspectives. They could see so much yet could focus on so little. It would be enough to overwhelm the senses of anyone but, somehow, they were managing. All of the perspectives were around the same height bar their own. Then they looked to Potts, knelt on the floor. “Rise.” The command was issued and all obliged. Two of the four perspectives were filled by concerned Chars and orange sands as they stood ready for their next order. Lore held their hand to Potts’ chest and took from them the orb they gave. Lore’s vision became clear immediately. A siren sounded.
They fell to their knees. “Lore!” Char blitzed to catch them.
“Warning: An unknown energy signature has been observed ship wide. Red alert.” The sirens continued to blare.
Potts lay on the floor unconscious. “Are they alright?” Char poked at them.
“They’ll be fine. At least for now they are. Something to consider perhaps.” Lore smiled. They lifted themselves slowly from the floor, their back aching the whole way up.
Brian crossed the room and interfaced with The First’s console. “This is Brian in the council chamber, call off the alarm. Just an experiment gone awry.” He chuckled.
“Please explain the nature of your experimentation and how it could effect three council members.” The Lore on the other end of the comm sounded somewhat aggressive.
“We aren’t sure how just yet but we are working on it.” Brian began.
Lore walked over to join him. Their eyes started glowing a pale whitish green. “Don’t worry, it’s under control now. All a part of the Tether Project.” They closed the channel before their eyes started glowing. “That’s that sorted.”
“How do you know about that?” Brian narrowed his eyes.
“I… Don’t know…” Lore was just as confused.
The channel chirped back. “We would advise you remember proper communication etiquette; manners cost nothing.” There was a smugness to their condescension. “Let us know if you have any breakthroughs. And please do be careful with any further experimentation. This research is of top priority. Over and out.”
The siren subsided and all was quiet.
“We best go find those Lores.” Lore breathed in deeply.
“How do you know they were Lores? They just said they were council members.” Char took their hand.
Their confidence fully resumed. Lore looked at Char and held their hand horizontally across their eyes; they moved it to be level with Char before raising it to her eye level. “All of what I saw came from someone who was my height and I’ve got a theory as to why. You’re eyes sit around the same height as the top of my head so it couldn’t be you.” Lore shrugged. “Where are all of the council members anyway?”
“Most have probably returned to their quarters on the other side of the ship.” Brian double checked. “Interesting. The First is on their way here. They’re just outside.” He sounded nonchalant until he realised just what he had said.
A groan came from the floor as Potts rolled over in their sleep. They all stared at them before the sound of the door opening gave them something else to worry about.