A fight for light

 ‘Log 21. Recorded on Janeri Prime, 421 A.S. My team of 10 miners, an ophthalmologist, a geochemist, and an experimental physicist is continuing scientific research into the myths of a fifth sense called “solem convenire cum suelen” in an ancient language of humans called latin, it translates to “The sun meets the ground” otherwise known as vision, we Aetherians have developed improved senses in the absence of light that somewhat compensate for vision. The only source of light in this world that is remaining are the rare occurrences of lightning strikes, as all species of this world have evolved from bioluminescence. Our expeditions have taken us nowhere. The allegations of helio-archaeologists being fanatics in pursuit of a quixotic dream are further proven right. We have excavated this place to the center, and no progress has been made. We are continuing to undergo this mining mission in Endo-novia, called Indonesia in the old world, the place that was theorised to have experienced the strongest ray of sunlight along the equator in the last seconds before the supernova. Mission specialist, Dr. Tavian Solen, geoarchaeologist signing out. Hail Lord Magnus Atris of Ja-Katris.’

The scientist gently slipped the digital recorder back into his pocket, and then resumed bellowing at the exhausted miners to work till their last breath.

The mine was atrociously repulsive. Every centimeter was as wet as a sponge. It was like being in the mouth of a Narwhale scientifically dubbed “Cetacius Monoceros”, the convergent evolution of the prehistoric Narwhal and Whale, with every corner riddled with a naked-mole bat, otherwise known as the “Heterocephalus petra”. 

‘Take a break, we won’t get any work done like this’ conceded Dr.Tavian

Suddenly a streak of divine substance bolted from one corner of the cave, elucidating the whole place, opening them to another sense. The ephemeral flash departed as abruptly as it emerged, just like a thunderbolt. The whole team stood absolutely shellshocked for a second, and then-

‘My eyes’ a miner cried

‘They’re burning, get water’ 

One of the other miners promptly scooped a bucket of water from a nearby stream in the cave.

‘What just happened?’ asked Dr. Tavian

‘Sir, could you take a look at this once?’ asked another miner

‘I think I found a stone’

Dr. Tavian approached the miner and then examined the stone with his eyes, it possessed a shade of mustard yellow, and a dirty brown.

‘Everybody block your eyes’

He gently tapped the stone, and then the same streak appeared, emanating from the now blistering orange-ish red stone.

‘I dub this Luxium’

‘How do we mine it if our eyes burn, everytime its touched’ asked a miner

‘Any thoughts?’ asked Dr. Tavian to his team of scientists

‘We could excavate the whole rock around it’ said the geochemist, Darius Gale

‘That’s too much load, considering that there may be more behind this single vein.’ said Dr. Tavian

‘We could re-engineer the mining goggles to block the light out’ said the ophthalmologist, Lucan Viridus

‘Do we have the resources to do it?’ asked Dr. Tavian

‘We can make the lens using the quartz that we found earlier, and then suspend the stone in midair in one of the pressurised chambers that we got, so it does not activate’ said the experimental physicist, Eris Solen

‘You came up with the best idea, daughter. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Luke bring out your thing.’ said Dr Tavian

‘That thing is capable of any precise mechanical function, and has a name. Molder’

‘Yeah sure. Molder’ said Dr. Tavian

Lucan whipped out an ingenious piece of machinery from his supply bag. The device opened up like a chest. Lucan placed the quartz in the chest, and then typed “concave lens : 8 cm radius” into a module. He closed the chest for five minutes then the lens was ready like food in a microwave, once he opened it.

‘This should be able to block most of the light when extracting the stone, once you extract it drop it in this pressurised chamber. Here, Linus.’ said Lucan, while handing it to one of the miners.

Everybody closed their eyes and Linus began his extraction of the stone. After attaining it, he dropped it in the chamber, and watched as it returned to its deactivated state in the midair

‘Here it is’ said Linus, holding it up like a trophy. 

‘The fruit of our labor’

Linus then passed the container around for a while, the stone let out just a sliver of light, enough to see, due to the pressure from all sides of the box.

THUMP A boulder suddenly fell, enough to tip the fragile support that the cave stood on. The boulder blocked the way they came from. The ceiling and ground started to shake rapidly, as water flooded the surroundings of the cave from a crack that the boulder made in the wall. 

‘There’s an opening in the roo-’ said a miner before getting squashed by the unpredictably moving boulder.

The water began to rise at a concerning rate while the team was still trying to figure out what to make of the situation.

‘Everybody be calm’ said Dariuus

‘We can all make it out, first get the stone out. Linus, get it to safety. Use the hooked rope to climb out’ said Lucan while pointing at the hole that the late miner revealed.

Linus made it out with the stone tightly clenched in his right arm. He then lent his hand out to the next survivor.

‘Father, you next’ said Eris

‘No, you three are the most important. Get out now!’ said Dr. Tavian

Darius readying up to ascend the rope next, he grasped it and started pulling at it.

‘You dropped your comms’ said Lucan.

‘Forget it, just get up’ said Darius.

‘Eris go’ said Lucan.

While Eris was making her way up, Lucan swam to the comms and tucked it in his zipped pocket. 

‘Luke, now’ said Darius

Lucan was the next to make it up.

All three of them made it to safety with all of their supplies but then the boulder started accelerating, and started to thicken and elevate the water, increasing the pressure. The now floating miners began to scramble, all trying to climb the rope at the same time. Dr. Tavian was ahead of them on the rope, and reached his hand out. 

‘Here father’ said Eris

‘I’m almost there’ said Dr. Tavian while grasping his daughter’s hand and then SQUELCH. The boulder successfully descended the cave, and massacred the doctor, and the rest of its miners on its way. His only daughter was left with only his hand as a reminder of him.

‘Dad’ cried Eris. 

‘I doubt that he died with any regrets, having left his legacy with you’ said Lucan

‘He was an innate leader’ said Linus

Everybody took a moment to honor the lost. The pause lasted for five minutes until Darius broke the silence.

‘We have to make a move, they will be expecting us some time soon. The hand, leave it or keep it but I don’t want to see it’ said Darius

‘Back off, she just lost her father. We’ll start when she’s ready’ said Lucan

‘It's alright. I’m ready Luke’ said Eris

‘I can smell fresh air, somewhere from here.’ said Darius

‘We move there’ said Darius while pointing to the creek that shone upwards towards the left.

The group tediously hiked their way up to the creek, and steadily made their way to the surface, surviving on the scarce rations of food

‘We’re finally here’ said Lucan

‘Send a message to the Lord’s office, Luke’ said Darius

‘There is no service, I can’t establish a connection between the city and my comms’ said Lucan

‘We can ask that bystander.’ said Eris while pointing at a single person on a tractor in the empty farmland that they appeared in.

Eris started waving and edging towards him, causing the others to follow along, until she finally approached.

‘Sir, how far are we from Ja-Katris?’ asked Eris.

‘It should be right across a mushroom forest that should appear about 60 flicks from here. For the right price, I can take you there.’ said the bystander.

‘Melargee forest?’ asked Darius.

‘Yeah’ said the bystander

‘How much do we have?’ asked Darius to Lucan

‘We have about 100 credits’ said Lucan. ‘How much do you cost?’.

‘100 credits exactly’ said the bystander.

‘Just give it, we don’t have enough time to negotiate.’ said Darius to Lucan

The bystander drove them up to the forest. 

‘I’m pretty sure that there is better service here’ said the bystander

‘How? Its a forest, where would you find cell towers’ said Lucan

‘It seems that the mushrooms have some weird constantly vibrating frequency, and before you go, here’s some food to last you through, I can’t let a hungry man go on an empty stomach’ said the bystander before retreating back to his farmland.

The bystander handed them a basket of apples.

‘Thank you for your hospitality.’ said Eris.

The four troopers then edged their way into the heart of the forest to set up camp there.

‘What’s in the box he gave us?’ asked Linus ‘We haven’t eaten anything since the cave.’ 

‘We have a few apples, and some melons.’ said Eris.

‘Guys, our comms are finally back online.’ said Lucan ‘Darius, why do you have a message from Lord Atris?’

‘I thought I lost my comms in the cave. Just give me-’ said Darius restlessly while running towards Lucan.

The recording sent to Darius initiated.

‘Congratulations Darius, you eliminated the team. Return back with the Luxium and claim your prize back at the palace. Their markers have been erased. The rest of the surviving scientists must not know that I wish to use the stone as a weapon to turn my temporary reign into a permanent one. They are still needed to refine the Luxium to its true potential. Keep up the charade and come back immediately, Lord Magnus Atris signing out.’.

Darius nervously froze. His plan didn't pan out the way that he wanted.

‘It's not what you think.’ said Darius.

‘Then what is it?’ said Lucan.

‘It's just, he said-’ struggled Darius while picking up one of the fiery logs from the bonfire. Darius then started swinging the fiery log in Lucan’s direction but then SWISH.

Linus impaled Darius with the hook before he was able to make the move.

‘What just happened?’ said Eris.

‘Linus’s survival instincts kicked in, that’s what.’ said Lucan.

‘I had a feeling about that guy from the start. He was pretty unnerving.’ said Linus.

‘What do we do about the Luxium now?’ asked Lucan.

‘We can’t just disappear off the grid with it. Magnus would find us with such a big infantry.’ said Eris.

‘He’ll also probably know about Darius’s death by now, considering the fact that he placed unknown markers in all of us.’ said Lucan.

‘We could expose him." said Linus.

‘The message was a one-time audio’ said Lucan.

The remainder of the team spent all night devising the perfect plan to expose the true plans of Lord Magnus Atris to the public of Ja-Katris.

At the dawn of the cycle, they started making their way to the borders of Ja-Katris, and by noon they had reached. The team assumed a position of stealth to gauge the surroundings, hiding behind one of the large mushrooms between Melargee forest and Ja-Katris.

‘Do we go now?’ asked Eris.

‘Alright.’ said Lucan.

The three then surrendered themselves in handcuffs to the authorities. The personal guard of Magnus Atris then took them to a secluded royal room, with Magnus Atris awaiting them.

‘I didn't expect you guys to turn yourselves in that easily. Seems like you chickened out. Boys check ‘em.’ said Magnus

‘This won’t end well for you.’ said Lucan.

‘Oh also, do you want to know how Darius caused the boulder, over the expedition, he placed timed bombs eventually causing the cave to be waterlogged, and a boulder to fall out of one of the holes he had made. I actually came up with the idea. It's amazing. Isn’t it?’ said Magnus

‘You’re diabolical.’ said Linus.

‘Well, you aren’t supposed to be alive, but I’ll let you live for a little while’ said Magnus 

The soldiers entirely stripped the heroes of their supplies, and switched all their active devices off.

‘Did you find the stone?’ asked Magnus

‘This one?’ asked a soldier, holding up the pressurised chamber.

‘Yes. This one. Ohh, it's beautiful.’ said Magnus while releasing it from the chamber. Magnus held it in his hand like a trophy in its blinding glory for just a second due to his eyes beginning to cry like a waterfall. He immediately dropped it back in the chamber

‘Do you even feel any remorse after killing your own people?’

‘No, of course not. If that pest, Tavian had lived, he would have wanted it to be used for the betterment of society.’ said Magnus

‘What are you gonna use it for now?’ asked Lucan

‘I thought you heard the recording. Nevermind, let me repeat. I’m going to use it to make the whole of Ja-Katris bend to my will under the threat of being vaporised by the Luxium at a high concentration. Basically blackmail the citizens. I deserve this after suffering as a leader in a democracy. What use is power if not to be corrupted.’ said Magnus

‘To be responsible, to be truthful to the people who placed it on you, such as the rest of the team.’ said Eris.

‘How is that useful to me?’ said Magnus rhetorically

‘You’re done.’ said Lucan.

‘You’ve got a lot of nerve, you know-’

‘Shut up.’ said Lucan ‘Can you hear the rumbling outside? Those are the people of Ja-Katris. Every word you said here was heard on every radio in this city.

‘Someone, get a radio.’ said Magnus

One of the soldiers handed him a radio from a nearby room

‘Put it on the main channel’ said Lucan

Magnus turned it on and the radio echoed ‘Put it on the main channel’.

‘How?’ asked Magnus in despair.

‘We implanted the comms device in the Luxium’

‘You can barely look at it. How is that possible?’

‘The molder. You give it any instruction for a precise mechanical function, and it does it’ said Lucan

‘The what?’ asked Magnus.

‘An ingenious piece of machi-. You know what, forget it.’ said Lucan

The doors finally cracked open, and the whole room could hear the raging crowd downstairs.

‘Go meet them’ said Eris