Part 8
“This is impossible! We have to get it working!” The older man was frantic as the machine still wouldn’t work. Professor Torbanise had returned from another meeting with her majesty Queen Oruzaadov in high spirits, with the mission seemingly a success. Spaam was on track to qualify for the World Cup with back-to-back wins, and the effort to manipulate the results with magical propaganda seemed to be working. But the great machine, a monstrosity of stone, marble and gleaming metal, was centre to all of this, and was now inoperational. The professor circled the beast, examining everything, but it was in vain. No-one living knew how the machine really worked, and so he was helpless to understand why it would not. Notwithstanding that he couldn’t see that one small piece inside the machine was missing.
“I’m sorry professor, I don’t understand,” Mela lied. “I’ve done exactly the same thing that I’ve been doing for months. I’m not sure what could be different!” The younger woman had to keep her hands in her pockets so that the professor could not see them shaking. He couldn’t know that she had sabotaged the machine by removing a small cog, and throwing it in a deep canyon just near the entrance to the tunnel. Since this was the mountains, it would likely never be found again, which, as she tried to convince herself, was the right thing to do. The machine was playing with the communal consciousness, magically, or scientifically, she could never tell, creating propaganda to somehow make their national football team perform better.
“Everything is at stake, this cannot fail now, not when we are so close!” The professor wrung his hands in helplessness. “Mr. Martingale, turn on the radio, has the game started?”
The worker nearby turned on a digital radio, where the broadcast for the lastest qualifying game was in progress.
”...and Flaccus takes is deep down the side, Holamora tries to hold him back but he was beaten for pace, the Spaamanians are hustling around the goal trying to mark their players. The pressure has been relentless, and we’re in the fifth minute now as Holamora gives up the corner, unable to gather the ball cleanly. Everyone is getting into position now, the visitors West Saintland will have a good chance now. Juliana Fladius is taking the corner, she kicks it to just in front of goal and GOAL! Princess Amanda has tapped it in and Inasys had no chance to save that one. West Saintland the favourites score the first goal of the match after just six minutes here in Paatukar and the normally buoyant crowd are a lot quieter than usual…”
“I have to find out what went wrong, something has to have happened to the machine!” Professor Torbanise went back to a nearby desk where lay a computer and some monitors.
Mela looked worried. “What are you doing, Professor?”
“Looking at the security footage, there has to be some clue!” The professor peered carefully at the screens as he rewound the video feed.
The young woman looked ashen as realisation hit her. Of course the machine would be monitored, she chastised herself. He was about to discover the truth, and she stood there, frozen.
Minutes past before the professor froze himself. He looked up at Mela, who was standing there, guilt carved into her expression. “What have you done?” He stood up and started walking towards her. “Why in Zhogu would you do something like this?”
Mela started backing away as he advanced on her. “I had to! This is wrong, this whole expedition is wrong!” Her voice was getting louder as she spoke. “What we’re doing here is against the laws of nature and will come back to haunt us, just like it did before!”
“How dare you presume to know what is best, you arrogant girl! This is for the glory of Spaam! We must do whatever it takes to ensure that we become the great and powerful nation that we once were!” Professor Torbanise continued to advance on the young woman as he got louder himself.
“But not like this, this is not the way!” Mela pleaded.
The professor put his hand out. “Give me back the part.”
“It’s gone forever, I put it where no-one would ever see it again!” The young archaeologist had desperation in her voice.
It was this point that Torbanise pulled out a gun from his jacket and pointed it at his young protege. “You lie, give it back to me now!”
Mela raised her hands in the air. “I told you, I don’t have it! It's gone!”
The professor walked closer. “I will shoot if you don’t return it right now, I swear in all that is Zhogu.”
“Professor, no!” Mela shouted as at the same time, the older man stumbled on stray rock and fell, a gunshot ringing out in the air. The bullet shot up into the ceiling of the vast cavern and hit rock, a large cracking sound booming ominously.
“CAVE IN!” The workers shouted in panic as rocks started falling from the ceiling, as the half dozen people, Mela included ran for the tunnel. A large slab of grey stone fell from the roof and fell on the great machine, a cacophony of noise echoing out as stone, marble and metal cracked and was destroyed.
As the rocks stopped falling, the professor got to his knees and looked helplessly as machine he had dedicated years of his life in search for was rendered permanently useless.
As Mela exited the tunnel she ran for one of the trucks and got in. Starting the engine, she knew that she was now a fugitive and would have to get out of the country as soon as she could. Still, she thought, there are many other nations in the world.
”...and what a game, the home team has come away in a draw thanks to Fenzana’s half time equaliser. Spaam keeps their second place with that draw, with three other draws in their group, and maintain their slim chances to qualify for the first time in almost two hundred years…”
“You have failed us, Professor Torbanise.” A hooded figure stood behind the older man, who hadn’t moved from his helpless position in front of the machine. “You know the price.”
The professor was silent as the hooded figure turned away and walked towards one of the statues surrounding the giant pile of rubble in the centre of the cavern. He looked up at the face of deity called Kushlessi as the sound of blade run through the air, followed by a thump as something hit the ground and rolled.
“Thankfully, there are other ways to power in this place.”
The End
