The Uli Rouge

[Craines]

A voice echoed around the shaft as the four began to descend. It was a cold, impassive voice that seemed to come from each and every direction, while it never actually came from anywhere. It was laughter, the likes of which few had ever imagined. The laughter stopped abruptly as it started, and a figure appeared within the shaft. The shimmer of the figure and the immense wreath of light it produced certainly indicated that it wasn't material. A hologram, most likely.

"Ah, welcome. I fear that you intend to enter the basement of the Uli Rouge? Ha. And you think you are so smart to have discovered this? A pity, then, that your two mechanical devices couldn't understand the actual purpose of the Rouge and it's many lower levels. Let me elaborate, please. You've made it just as far as I'd hoped, and that means that, well, you're entitled to a few tidbits. Nothing concerning the truth of the Rouge, mind, but just enough to get you through the day.

"First off, I am Doctor Alexiander Molochov deLuna. Pleased to meet you. I had this whole villa designed before Fiona, my precious Fiona, wanted it to be made. I couldn't have hoped for a better location than the mountain top! Why? The thick granite, the irradiation from the Planet Scar, and, of course, the NURSE. What, you'd forgotten about my AbomOne? Never! I thought NURSE had made a bigger impact... I know Fiona remembers. Poor thing; the NURSE shot her. A pity, and something I wanted to have the NURSE scrapped for. But... I simply didn't devote the cycles to actually pursuing this end. It would have been detrimental.

"Second, you'll find all forms of communication beyond this point impossible. Even this image cannot be recorded by mechanical objects. The little droid there can see me, but he won't be able to do anything with that knowledge. A program that this holographic image is transmitting into your electronic devices and sending off makes sure of that. And to think that the FnordNet would have had an adequate picture of me... it would make me shiver, but I haven't done that in years. So while you four can see me, interact with me, you can't actually bring any proof. Even a camera would be ineffective, as these photons are not able to be captured. I made sure that this part of your test would not be able to be shown to anyone insofar as evidence goes.

"Third, the PDU had been of great help. Thank you. I can now access the FnordNet directly, without having to send out the Feshir to find a node. I was going to simply abduct Discordia, but decided to wait for you, Mr. Waverly. A smart move... although, with all the trouble it has caused, I may still bring Discordia to the Jaktar. Wouldn't that be troublesome! Well, for you. Not so much for me... heh. No, no, I won't indulge this time. Keep your AI; it'll be of use to you soon enough.

"Now that we've gotten that cleared up, let me tell you a little something. I made this villa with nanotechnology within it. The basement is shifting. There is only one opening that never moves, and that is the main elevator. There are no ventilation shafts within that one; it is an air-tight elevator. The shaft itself is void of anything; it is a vacuum. The elevator has enough air for two humans, and descends half a mile. There are only two doors in the shaft, one on each level, and the elevator itself has but a single door. The doors on either side of the shaft cannot be blocked, as it is a sliding door; each one is a solid portcullis of sorts, with enough crushing power to make hull plating crumple.

"If you got past the elevator, you'd be in the main atrium, where a series of other elevators could whisk you away to wherever you wanted to go. Be prepared to combat old-fashion weaponry, however, as well as modern. Gatling guns from the 19th century 'Earth' has been moved there, and there are the newer, updated 'laser' versions. Tremors are also located within the Atrium. Get past all of that, and you still have the two-hundred fifty seven number combination lock to get past. Electronic though it may be, the lack of an access-point means a cutter android can't simply walk up to it and begin hacking. Set into the wall, it cannot have an artificial point made. An EMP would render the whole thing inoperable, and the oxygen would be pumped out of the Atrium, being replaced with ammonia and chlorine gas. After two hours, the whole room would be cleared out through a fiery burst, incinerating anything unfortunate enough to be there.

"Impossible to get through, I assure you. The other ventilation shafts are always moving, and there are never two open at a time. They do not reappear in the same place twice in a row, waiting twelve hours before reopening a past shaft. The nanotech is a far cry better than you humans, so don't try assimilating them or any of that nonsense. It would be utterly worthless. There we have it! Enough of my warnings. This shaft will close in, oh, ten minutes. You have 23 yards to crawl through. The shaft will begin to get smaller and small in two minutes. At eight minutes, it will be small enough for only a mouse to crawl through. As of now, you can walk upright. Good luck! The rewards will be lovely... if you live long enough to enjoy them."

And the image disappeared. Spike looked at XM. "Did he tell the truth? Can you project the image?" XM beeped in annoyance. It could not. "Damn. Well, Kate, your call. Do we run off, and try to beat the clock?"

Kate and Spike began to talk, but Reggie simply sat down, trying to figure something out. From what he knew of Doctor Artificer, which wasn't much, Reggie knew that Artificer had the technology to predict and monitor the movements of the group. So why the warning? It was awfully unlike Artificer, who preferred to send out clones... so why the warning? Reggie began to think... and then, he came up with the solution.

"This is it, friends. We have nothing to worry about. Y'see, there is a problem with our friend's story. He isn't actually Doctor Art! He must be someone else, someone who likes games. We each saw something, right? We can't compare what we saw. Because it wasn't actually there. We each saw something in our minds; a hallucination, if you will. Artificer prefers to crush people, leave no chance of failure. He also doesn't interact with us directly, but sends out little puppets of his. The Uli wasn't made by Artificer; or rather, if it was, it wasn't made directly. We just saw an impostor... but who was it?"

Spike looked at Reggie. "I want to believe you, I really do, but I can't risk Kate's life. We're going to head out."

The voice rang out again. "Idiots, you'll do no such thing. I'm tired of this blasted guise, so let me tell you something now. I am the Doctor. Reginald met me tonight at the party, before my host's body was blown up and later incinerated. Well then, guess what? I'm not giving you a choice." The nanobots activated, and the opening to the outside was closed off. They were now in a maze. A horrible, diabolical maze that was being controlled by an insane, disembodied entity. "You're going to go, you're going to find out, and you're going to be happy. I'm going to assimilate the FnordNet, and then, the C'Tan information banks. I expect you four to have a deeper understanding by then. Of course, I won't stop monitoring you all. This is now my game, even if deSicev wanted it to be his. And I'm a much stricter game warden.

"The nanotechnology blocks transmissions, so don't even try it. There are no other ways off the level you are trapped on, so go forward. I want you all to see things, but I don't like just giving you all things; you're going to have to work for it. And if you don't? Like a card game I find pitiful, you will be eradicated." A small drop of nanobot fluid dripped down onto Reggie's PDU. It began to change into an alien looking device, not much larger than a pocket watch, and a chain wrapped around his arm. "This will tell you the amount of time you have left. Two hours! Just as I promised. Well, I'll check back in with you later. Welcome to the Uli Rouge. Be prepared."

The clock began to tick, and a large 120 was shown. Sighing, Reggie stood up and began to walk forward. Spike, Kate and XM followed, a pathway emerging. It was going to be a long last 120 minutes, Reggie feared, and he was going to get out alive, even if it meant one risky gamble.

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