The lights were flickering in the studio as Walter prepared for the evening segment. He settled in to the chair behind the desk. Looking in to the dusky area were the cameras were he could see someone holding up four fingers. The “On Air” light lit up and Walter looked at the cameras.

“Good evening, you’re watching the Evening news on channel 3. In local news tonight energy surges are being recorded throughout the city, crews are putting extra transformers into the grid to keep these miniature surges from doing any harm. In other news President of the Untied States, Mechel Whilham, is one another tour through the Middle East, oil reserves are being depleted at an even faster rate than projected.”

Dr. Rocorson watched the news shaking his head. He had been staring at the screen to avoid looking at the swilling wisps of light and color that were twinning themselves around the room. Unable to with stand it any longer Rocorson turned his gaze back to the glowing pods in which 4 people slept. The will of the wisps slide together forming a sphere of light. Rocorson tore his eyes away with great effort and turned back to the news.

***

Escariot perched on the edge of a building overlooking the hospital. On the street below three Lancers stood at different spots. Lancers were people who were always looking for a job, a sum of money or item of interest and you could have a Lancer do just about anything. The one job Lancers would not do, kill. The treat of Remrigon lay over any murderer. But for Escariot’s job that would not be a problem, all he needed was a distraction.

The street lamps suddenly shone and the road was lit like it was day. Then it went dark, the sound of shattered glass falling to the ground tinkled from all around. The hospital when dark for a second two, then it lit back up, then went black. The pulses soon became regular and less drastic, the lights faded off and on in a steady rhythm. Now Escariot had an idea of why he was heading into the building. Whatever, who ever, lay incapacitated in there had a lot more then the common cold.

Escariot raised his gloved hand, a bolt of electricity shot into the sky, the lancers began to walk toward the front doors of the hospital. Escariot jumped from his areal position on to the sidewalk below. When the four figures reached the sliding glass doors of the hospital they stopped. Normally a motion sensor would have had the doors slid gracefully open, but with the fluctuating power the doors could not open. They moved then stopped, and when they moved again they moved the opposite direction.

Impatient Escariot pulled out his dagger and broke the glass. The attendant at the other end of the lobby jumped. A chuckle escaped from one of the Lancers, “so much for a quiet entry”

Escariot scowled, a flash of synthetic lightning burst from his palm and caused the attendant to slip into unconsciousness. Stepping through the hole in the glass doors, Escariot looked around by habit. Three doors, plus the one behind him, two ISee cams, two of the doors required key cards, and the attendant’s window, the couches would provide temporary cover, the lobby looked like a bleak place to have a shootout.  Pointing at the non-protected door he signaled for a Lancer to check it.

A nod for the Lancer showed an all clear, just a grieving room. Escariot walked over to one of the locked doors, placing his gloved hand on the card reader he blasted it full of synthetic lightning. The crime lord yelp and jumped back, the card reader feel burnt to the ground. Shaking the gloved hand Escariot scowled, he had been shocked by a pulse of energy flowing into the lightning glove.

The door swung open with a light touch, the long hall behind the door had doors jutting of at regular intervals, the rooms were probably filled with the hospitals charges. One of these rooms held four highly valuable people. Turning back to face the lobby he shocked the other card reader, it too was burnt to a crisp by the two pulses of energy. A jerk of the head an two of the Lancers disappeared into the second hall, the third Lancer walked over to the open door, together the hired criminal and the crime lord proceeded down their own hall.

As they made their way down the hallway, kicking open doors, glancing inside, then moving on, the light continued to flicker. This only seemed to frighten the people more, as if having a person dressed in odd clothing kick open you door look around then leave wasn’t scary enough.

***

Elsewhere in the lights were flickering. In Kadic Academe’s Commons, the students were carrying on as usual, completely unaware that a hospital several miles away was being searched. They were more concerned about the electrical surges restricting their computer privileges, messing with the display on the TV, and the latest gossip of the day.

Jeremie entered into the former gymnasium as Randy humbled his third opponent on the sparing range on the far side of the room. The professor glanced around the commons; Grace was working diligently on the book of higher mathematics that Jeremie had given her, Grant was coolly blocking an attacking opponent on a second sparing mat, and Erin was attempting to watch the TV. Jeremie called out their names over the speaker system.

When they gathered at the door Jeremie ask for them to step outside. He attempted to begin his request but was cut off by Randy, “What’s this about, teach? I was on a roll.”

Jeremie sighed, no matter how many times he had gone over this in his head on the way over for the factory, this would still be very hard. He knew, that he had no idea how far this would go, and who selfish this request seemed. But he began with the line that he had thought over well, “I’ll tell you, just as soon as you answer this: can you keep a secret?”

A silence followed, Jeremie felt the need the fidget, but he tried his best to remain call in front of the students. Grace finally broke the pause, “What, I’m sure we can keep a secret, well except for the yaplete there.”

“Hey” Erin said, indignantly, but the look of defiance left his face quickly. A yelp erupted from the small boy as Grace’s foot hit his shin with tremendous force. Jeremie sighed again, with all of his effort he tried to keep the mood serious.

“Look you know that under no circumstances would I put you in danger, but I have to have your honest answer; Can you keep a secret?” Jeremie hoped that he had emphasized his point. The pause seemed to answer that question, and the nods that followed as the answer to the first questions. The nods were solemn and thoughtful.

As they made their way toward the factory Jeremie stumbled. Jeremie stood back up and shook his head. Whatever had knocked him down was of no importance now, no matter how strange or ominous it seemed.

When they reached the beaming pad Jeremie turned to face the children. Looking at them he felt guilt, whatever the miner program meant it was surly a precursor of another terrible adventure. But if they were ready for this than destiny had chosen them for this. “As you know below us is a supercomputer, but below that is something else. Approximately twenty years ago a scientist defected from a top secret program called project Carthage. He created the supercomputer to combat Carthage, he also created a self aware AI. This AI took the name XANA, and eventually it began to work on its own, the second part of the computer was devoted to a virtual world. This would serve as a safe haven for him when he was discovered by the governments of the world. Unfortunately for him XANA was unwilling to share the world with him, so when he and his daughter left this world for that one he was attacked, but managed to shut the computer down before his daughter was harmed.”

Jeremie paused, the next part he had never told to anybody, it was a secret he had sworn with his life to protect, but he pressed on, “Several years after that I found the computer. I turned it on, releasing XANA, eventually I, and several of my friends, managed to free the girl from the computer, but at the same time XANA was able to leave the confines of the computer. Eventually we did defeat XANA, but at a terrible cost.

“Below you are two pieces of technology that would spark a world war if their existence was known: RR4, a device used to revert time, and the digitizer, a version of a machene that will translate matter to data.”

Grant snorted at this idea, “How could those things exist, they defy the laws of physics” Jeremie activated the beaming pad, and Randy who was on it disappeared. “And that doesn’t?” Jeremie recalled Randy and looked at them solemnly, “I ask you now, making sure you know that I have no idea what will happen later on, will you help me, will you help the world?”

Erin was the first to give his answer, he walked over to the pad and said, “I might be insane, but Scotty, beam me up!”