Prisoner of the Amulet

CHAPTER 20

"Do you have a clean SEMMB laying around?" Avena asked Nharsia, as soon as the admiral left the room.

"Nope." Nharsia answered "But I can make one clean in no time."

"Have you ever been inside one?" Avena asked, so Sanomis could clearly hear her.

"A few times." Nharsia answered.

"And how was it?" Avena continued.

"Not bad." Nharsia answered, realizing what Avena was trying to do "In between the long walks on the beach and a few romantic dinners with the various attractive companion programs, it's easy to say most would prefer that to the real deal."

"You can program romantic dinners inside of that thing?" Avena asked.

"And everything else you wish to follow." Nharsia smiled.

"I like the sound of that." Avena did the same "What will it be like for him?"

"Oh, it will be much, much worse." Nharsia answered.

"How much worse?" Avena winked.

"It will be a complete darkness. Complete silence." Nharsia answered "Without the opportunity to relax and have fun. Or even to rest. Without everything."

"Ugh." Avena shivered "I couldn't see myself lasting there for more than a week."

"He probably won't either." Nharsia said.

"Did you hear that?" Avena turned towards Sanomis "Do you think you can last for more than seven days?"

Sanomis said nothing.

"Are you afraid?" Avena continued "Maggot!"

"Yes." Sanomis admitted "But still I think I could last longer than you."

"Perhaps." Avena laughed "But who cares. Seven days, ten or twenty. Who gives a fuck. Either way, you'll end up dead."

"At least I'll die happy, knowing I outlasted all of you, fucking monsters." Sanomis thought, knowing it would be reckless and stupid to warn them with an outburst such as this one.

"Would you feel better, saying that to them?" module asked him, as it was the only one hearing the geologist.

"Indubitably." Sanomis answered through his mind.

"You know what would be even better?" module asked.

"What?"

"Seeing this little bitch, realizing you outlived her." module answered.

"I'll bring that beautiful picture with me, when they place me in that storage thingy." Sanomis thought.

"So this is the end?" the module sounded somber, after taking a few seconds of silence "They are taking us apart."

"Admiral said so." Sanomis answered.

"It's just too soon." module continued "We only started our adventure."

Sanomis thought to say something else. To thank this unique, incredible device on every moment he spend with it. It was the least he could do. But he was out of time.

"I am done." Nharsia said.

"Can you make one slight adjustment?" Avena asked her.

"Sure." Nharsia said "What do you have in mind?"

"Can you load the nutritional support emulator?" Avena asked.

"Are you sure?" Nharsia was surprised by the request "Do you understand what you are asking?"

"Oh I sure hope so." Avena's eyes widened, as the sinister smile appeared on her sharp face "That way he will stay confined in there. Alive. Forever."

"Naughty. I like it." Nharsia smiled, "Consider it done."

"There you go maggot." Did you hear?" Avena turned towards Sanomis "Now you'll definitely last longer in there than I ever could."

Sanomis wished to reply. To lash out and throw some insults at her. Perhaps even reveal to her she doesn't have much time to waste on this unnecessary gloating. But even if he wanted to, he wasn't able to do so. It was at that moment Nharsia inserted the SEMMB inside the designated slot on the spherical control device booting the program. One second later, she issued the run command.

The chair moved once again. Only this time significantly more than before. Medem expanded as it enveloped Sanomis. It assumed the properties of a fabric. For a moment, the smart compound appeared to look like a full bodysuit. And then it changed again. It liquified itself, in order to gain easier access inside Sanomis' body. In no time, he was completely enveloped. From the out, as is from the inside. A few seconds later, medem transformed him into a digital entity, before uploading him into the SEMMB.

The space inside was just as Nharsia described it. Empty. Dark. Somber. If it weren't for the muffled whir, coming from the life support system, and his erratic thoughts, he would doubt he was even alive. With the fact his module wasn't with him anymore, and probably stored into one of the other compartments, Sanomis for a moment wished his life had ended. But who knows perhaps soon it will. As soon as the admiral decide to connect his module with one of external devices on this ship.