Summoning America

Chapter 65: Awakening

Zamuras took a breath before entering, feeling a pang of guilt. Although his department logically could not have predicted the capture of the Calamique Beacon, he still harbored worries of receiving blame. Fighting off these dark thoughts, he stepped inside, followed by Latharos and some of his men.

The throne room itself was a semicircle, with a straight wall behind the emperor. His throne was slightly elevated, with bright light coming from behind it, obscuring his face. Zamuras bowed down, unable to look at the emperor's bright figure.

"What have you brought for me, Director?" Zaratosthra's voice boomed, seemingly coming from all directions at once.

Zamuras kept his vision locked to the oricalchum floor. "Your Holiness, we have lost track of the beacon in the Enclosed Island."

Several seconds of silence passed by, adding to Zamuras' anxiety. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, followed by the closing of heavy doors. He looked up from the ground and turned around, finding that Latharos and his men left.

"Continue," Zaratosthra said, causing Zamuras to jolt upward.

"Your Holiness, the beacon disappeared from our Philadean sensor array. Before it left the range of our sensors, we noticed it heading toward the Enclosed Island's south — toward the United States of America."

"Hmph, I've been hearing that name more and more frequently..."

"Yes. It seems they have somehow stumbled upon our beacon. I would presume they are already in the process of studying it," Zamuras said.

"What an interesting turn of events," Zaratosthra remarked. "Never would I have thought there existed a society advanced enough to even detect the signals of the ancestors, let alone find and capture a beacon," he sighed. "What a coincidence that this happens mere weeks after the Mirishials' visit. It looks like we must increase the urgency of your agency's duties, yes?"

Zamuras smiled as he kept his head low. "Yes, yes of course, Your Holiness."

Zaratosthra scoffed as he spoke about this unexpected failure. "The Americans were lucky enough to steal a beacon. They took advantage of our pride and ignorance of the world. This will not happen again," he said, raising his voice slightly. "Director Zamuras, I expect that you will perform exceptionally when it comes to the retrieval of these beacons?"

"Of course, Your Holiness! I shall never let you down!"

"That's what the previous directors said," Zaratosthra muttered, his tone becoming sinister. "Thankfully, I now have a pureblood as Director."

"And I thank you most gratefully for this opportunity, Your Holiness!"

Zaratosthra, becoming annoyed with Zamuras' endless prostrating, decided to give him orders. "I will double your agency's current budget. This should be more than enough to ensure the success of the Esperanto mission, as well as three new objectives: the final Vestal beacon, the Quila beacon, and the Gahara beacon. The Mirishials know of our origin, so you must prioritize secrecy in order to prevent them from realizing our true objectives and launching a preemptive strike. Currently, the return of our ancestors is estimated to be fifteen years from now. Should we retrieve the beacons, we may hasten this to a mere ten years. There will be no excuses for failure."

"I understand, Your Holiness. My agency will accomplish these goals." Zamuras paused, feeling nervous about asking a question. Hoping to dissuade the emperor from blaming him for something he had no control over, he gained the courage to continue, "Your Holiness, I have a question. What if the Americans beat us to the beacons?"

A brief silence swept the room before Emperor Zaratosthra answered, "If the beacons are gone by the time you arrive, then there is nothing we can do about it. However, if the beacons are still present on the island when you arrive, then there shall be no excuses."