Eric and the Quantum Dragon

Hargreaves Apartment Building, 10th District

Wednesday December 26th, V26 (2046)

The announcement was on all the morning newsfeeds, saturating the media and generating a lot of public feedback. Eric sat at his breakfast nook, eating cereal while Jeeves fussed about brewing coffee and making a stack of pancakes.

“Heightened Experience Banned!” was the main headline, with an associated banner declaring “Brackenridge companies under scrutiny by Police Auxiliary”

“I am surprised it took so long for the news to break” Eric muttered to himself, watching the big view screen playing in his living room. He shovelled more cereal into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“I beg your pardon, Sir?” Jeeves enquired politely. “Do you wish me to engage in social conversation mode?”

“What? No, that’s fine Jeeves” he answered absently, his eyes still on the screen. “I am just amazed that the Board of Governors took so long to ban that drug. If they had shut the legitimate sales down earlier we might have avoided some of the outbreaks”

“I see” Jeeves responded and placed the steaming stack of pancakes in front of his master. He rotated at the waist and opened the refrigerator, taking out the butter and a bottle of imported maple syrup. He placed them with machine precision at the optimal distance from Eric’s hands, within easy reach but not so close he might accidentally knock them over.

“Perhaps the Governors had a reason to delay the announcement, Sir” Jeeves said and took away the cereal bowl and spoon, placing them in the automated dishwasher unit.

“The Brackenridge’s have a lot of influence with the Board members, that is true” Eric pondered. “That’s why the Police Auxiliary were only able to hold Frank Brackenridge for one night after his arrest. I am pretty sure it was pressure from Governor Trent that got him out on bail so quickly”

Eric steadily ate his way through the pancakes, dousing them first with butter and smothering the pile with a liberal splash of syrup. Jeeves observed his master without comment but did make a note to add more Maple syrup to the grocery list.

“Thanks Jeeves” Eric said once he was done, pushing the plate away with a satisfied look. “Excellent as always!”

“Does Sir require any further sustenance?” the robot butler asked politely. “I can prepare eggs and bacon if you wish”

“No, I’m good for now” the young man declared. “I want to chase up some leads so I’ll need my bike jacket and riding boots prepared”

“I shall make them ready” Jeeves responded. Eric got up and dashed to his bedroom to begin getting dressed in his street clothes. Jeeves watched his master until he was certain he had left, then let out what might have been interpreted as an electronic sigh. “Social conversation mode disengaged” he said to the now empty room.

Jeeves stacked the remaining dishes in the washer and placed the butter and syrup in the refrigerator once more. He gave the counter top a spray of cleaner then wiped it down methodically. Satisfied that the kitchen and breakfast nook were suitably clean and tidy, he rolled towards the large closet spaces.

The robot located the heavy bike jacket and boots, adding Eric’s helmet and gloves to the pile. Eric had not specified these items, but a butler as efficient as Jeeves knew how to look after his master.

Light Industrial Work Space, 8th District

Eric rode up to the address he had been given and spotted the Police Auxiliary Detective standing by her dark blue sedan. She was taller than him, with a light build and short cropped dark hair. The Ident that he had been sent gave her name as Detective Parker, normally assigned to District Ten.

A blue painted Sentinel stood watch at the Detective’s side, a rifle stowed on their rear harness and a stun baton holstered at their hip. It watched Eric’s approach with alert red camera eyes, tracking his movements from the moment his bike had hummed around the corner. The woman just drank from a recyclable coffee cup, her eyes hidden behind dark glasses.

The time was just after ten in the morning, the sun sending warmth through the scattered cloud cover. Along either side the street was lined with industrial work units, all closed for the holiday season. Eric got off his bike, having parked it in the shade beside the crime scene.

“Good morning, Detective Parker” he announced himself, stowing his helmet and gloves in the side panniers of the bike. He unzipped his jacket, leaving it hanging open as he walked purposefully towards the woman and her mechanical guardian.

“Morning” she replied casually and ran her gaze up and down. “You seem a lot younger than I was expecting, Agent Hargreaves”

“I get that a lot, Detective” he replied easily. “Please don’t mistake my apparent age for a lack of ability” He gave her the full measure of his gaze in return and her mouth turned up at the corners.

“Consider myself duly chastened, Agent Hargreaves” Parker answered. She nodded to her mechanical sidekick. “This is Rupert, my partner. He doesn’t say much so please don’t bother to ask him anything important”

“Okay” he responded. “And please, call me Eric”

He turned from the odd pair and examined the building before him. It was divided into four identical units at ground level, with office spaces filling four levels above them. There were faded ‘Office Vacant – For Lease’ signs plastered all over the walls and doors, including the one that had been flagged as a crime scene.

“Unusual for a whole building to be without any tenants, even in District Eight” Eric mused aloud. “Any obvious reasons why?”

“The building is owned through a number of shell companies, so it was hard to track them down” Parker explained. “At the end of the trail though it looks like a Brackenridge Trust owns the whole place. The last tenant we could identify moved out about six months ago. They leased the end unit, number four, to run a robot repair shop. Once they vacated, the property manager seems to have ceased advertising for any new tenancies”

Eric was impressed and told the Detective so. She shrugged he shoulders and told him it was basic stuff.

“Shall we go in, Eric?” she asked and he agreed. The detective lead the way and he followed, with Rupert the Sentinel stomping his rubber treaded feet onto the pavement as he brought up the rear.

They entered via the side office, opening the sturdy glass panelled door that was lined with anti-intrusion mesh covering the outer face. All of the doors and windows that fronted the street had identical mesh fitted for each unit. It gave them a secure but rather imposing appearance, hardly conducive for a welcoming commercial premises.

“We found the Chem Printers in the work shop area” Parker told Eric as she led him inside. They walked through a connecting door into a big space, about twenty meters long and five wide with a ceiling high overhead. Ranks of automated chemical manufacturing machines filled the room, fifteen of them according to the report Eric had read.

He went to the closest one, recognising them as the same brand of machine he had found at the burned out warehouse, although these were older models. The report stated the serial numbers of the printers were all second hand, sold at an auction close to eight months ago to a buyer from Spitfield City. Obviously the units had never left Pan City and the buyer’s details had proven to be fake.

“Did the Forensics team find anything of use?” he asked Parker as he walked between the ranks of machines. Each Chem Printer showed evidence of old school dusting for fingerprints but were otherwise scrupulously clean.

“No prints anywhere, even on the internal panels” Parker answered, leaning against a wall with a bored expression on her narrow face. She had left her glasses on and Eric wondered idly if she had Enhanced eyes hidden beneath the dark lenses.

“What about chemical traces?” he enquired. “In particular the chemistry needed for Heightened Experience” He had knelt beside a printer to examine the scuffed concrete floor and the side of the unit.

“Matches from every printer” Parker assured him. “They had been scrubbed but the traces were still detectable”

Eric had checked a couple of the machines by now, running his hands over the control pads for each machine. He had crouched next to each of them, his fingertips brushing the marks he found there.

“These labs use a lot of mechanicals to do the processing, is that not right Detective?”

“Yeah” she agreed. “The Forensics team reckon this whole place was set up and operated using remotes and robots, no Organics on site at all” Eric could tell she was impressed he knew that.

It had been the same with the lab hidden inside the Brackenridge warehouse. Eric had spotted a lot of similarities with that bigger operation, but one thought kept nagging at his consciousness.

“Detective Parker, did your team offer any ideas on the type of robots used in this lab?”

She thought for a moment, or maybe she was accessing an internal data file, then tilted her head in his direction.

“Bipedal units, probably humanoid” is their best guess. She jerked a thumb at Rupert, standing mutely a few meters away but watching Eric and their surrounds with alert intelligence. “Like my boy here” she added.

“That was my thought too” Eric responded. “Thank you, but I have seen all I need to in here” He walked past Parker and out through the small office until he was on the empty street once more. The detective and her partner joined him and they both waited expectantly.

“You have a couple more questions, don’t you Agent Hargreaves” Parker said with a trace of amusement.

“Yes, I do” Eric confirmed to her. “Firstly, did anything show up on the security cameras?” He pointed to a few private cameras affixed to nearby buildings.

“Nope. They have all been wiped going back six months” she answered.

“That would take a highly skilled Net Diver” Eric observed aloud.

“I hear the Brackenridge’s have one of the best on their payroll. Guy named Oracle” she countered. “No proof either way it was him, but certainly in his skill range”

“Indeed” Eric agreed. “Second question, how did this lab get discovered? It is hardly obvious from the outside and they had already finished making their product”

“It was a tip off from an anonymous caller” Parker told him. “Came through just after the attack on Archimedes Tower. I guess the caller must have thought the lab was involved somehow”

“That was very convenient” he replied. “Let us hope your department can catch the culprits behind this operation”

“Yeah, I hope so too” Parker agreed with him. She held out her hand to Eric so he shook it and thanked her again for her help.

“It’s my job” she said and sauntered to her car, the hulking form of Rupert following her loyally. By the time he had put on his helmet and gloves once more the two of them had settled into the sedan and it drove away with a whine of electric power.

Eric nodded a final farewell and then slid onto his bike. The unit powered up readily and he released the brake, spinning the rear tyre with a squeal then rocketing him onto the tarmac. He headed to his next destination, smiling as the clues were starting to fall into place at last.

Awakening Centre, 10th District, Pan City

Hammond Pike was humming cheerfully to himself as the big door to the laboratory opened slowly. He had received a message from that old witch, Sister Domenica, that she was going to be busy on a special project for a few days. That meant he could finally get some of his own research done before she returned and made his life a living hell once more.

He strode confidently to his side of the laboratory space he shared with the Necromancer. The summoning circle was waiting, he just needed to get his powders and paraphernalia from the storage cabinet at the rear of the lab.

Hammond had grabbed his sealed jar of valuable powder and closed the cabinet door, his face alight with anticipation. As the door closed, Sister Domenica was visible behind it, her left hand extended in his direction.

“Restricto!” she intoned and the familiar green bands of light snapped tight about his body. With a despairing cry the Summoner toppled over backwards and crashed heavily to the tiled floor. His jar of mixed silver, bone and ash powder bounced twice and shattered in an expensive cloud, fragments of broken glass flying to all corners of the big room.

“What the Hell, Sister!” he shouted in anger. “I thought you were taking time off?”

“Hmm? No, Albright, I am working on a special project” she muttered and went to the robot cleaner’s little storage bay. Hammond had turned it off as the damned thing kept sweeping up his Summoning Circles, usually right before he was about to begin.

There was some mumbled words from the Sister until she found the right switch and reactivated the cleaning robot. With a cheerful ping it shot out of its little nest and raced straight to the spilled powder and glass fragments.

“I don’t know why you keep turning that thing off, considering how much mess you make” the Necromancer scolded him. Once she was satisfied the clean up was under way, she rolled one of Hammond’s stools over to his side and sat down, demurely straightening her long white robes over her knees.

“Now, as I was saying, I am working on something special” she explained to the prone Hammond. For now he lay quietly, refusing to let the raging anger he felt inside show on his face. Sister Domenica took his silence as interest and continued her one sided discussion.

“I could not stop thinking about Miss Evermore’s unexpected opening of a Portal during the Tower attack. My first thought was the extreme danger she found herself in triggered a Self-Awakening of her Ability, or at least an increase in her Grade”

“However the more I considered it I realised that could not have been the only factor. Then I was able to gain access to a confidential report about the attack. It seems the terrorists had flooded the sector where Miss Evermore was trapped with concentrated HEx”

Hammond could not restrain himself from speaking out.

“What?” he demanded. “You mean that dangerous drug that has been sending half of the Euro Bloc into violent Wild Magic outbreaks?”

“The same” the Sister said calmly. “There is some research I found that indicates on an existing Awakened or Adept, the effect is somewhat different. Since the bodies and minds are already attuned to the energy flows involved, they experience a significant increase in their power without any adverse affects”

“Are you sure about that, Sister?” Hammond questioned her warily.

“Well, nothing permanent I believe” she assured him. ”There is an increased level of aggression in some subjects, but it passes in time. That’s why I used the Binding spell” the Sister added and looked Hammond in the eyes.

“What do you mean, Domenica?” Hammond shouted in sudden alarm.

The older woman just gave him her flat smile and drew a slim hypo-injector from a fold in her robes.

“Lie still now” she warned him. “I could only get one dose for the moment”

She got off the stool and knelt at his shoulder, one hand holding him steady and the other placing the injector against his neck. He was begging her to stop this madness but she shushed him like he was a naughty child and triggered the dose of HEx into his bloodstream.

The cold sting of the injection made him cry out in terror and his eyes welled up in tears. Sister Domenica wiped them away with the sleeve of her robe and gazed deep into his panic filled face, her own expression one of dispassionate interest.

Hammond was about to damn her to the fifty ranks of Hell when the HEx hit his brain. It was like fireworks were exploding inside of him, each blast filling him with more and more energy until he was ready to burst open like an over-inflated balloon.

A wordless cry erupted from his lips and his back arched, body straining against the Binding spell.

“Gaaaahhhh!” he screamed and then the words he needed flowed into his mind.

“Dimittere mihi in carcerem!” he began and the Sister moved back slightly.

“Absolvisti magia mea!” he continued. She sat back on the stool, watching him closely.

“Collocavit me solutam!” he exulted and the green bands of Binding shattered into so many motes of fading light, dying embers of Dispelled magic.

Hammond Pike surged to his feet, towering over the quiet form of the Necromancer. She regarded him calmly and lifted her right hand, a ring visible on her index finger.

“Somnolus” she chanted and a small ball of white light flew from her fingertip and was absorbed into his startled face. With a look of mixed surprise and anger he collapsed to the floor once more, fast asleep before he hit the unyielding tiles.

The cleaning robot came to examine this new object and after a few attempts to suck it up, pinged unhappily and moved off to find more spilled powder.

=====

Hammond woke on his side, arranged in the recovery position but lying on cold, hard tiles. He shivered and stirred, lifting his aching head.

“How do you feel?” Sister Domenica asked from his desk, sitting in his padded swivel chair and drinking what he assumed was hot, black tea like usual. At least she used her own mug and not his favourite coffee cup this time.

“Like hell” he grumbled and got slowly to his feet. He made sure not to make any sudden moves as he knew all too well how fast the old Necromancer could activate her spell focus. The stool was beside him so he sat on that, cradling his head in one hand.

“It was impressive, Albright!” the Sister enthused. “You cast a full length Dispel Magic enchantment off the cuff, with sufficient power to break my best Binding spell”

She examined him from her chair, sipping thoughtfully on the tea.

“Did you feel any aggression towards me?” she enquired.

“No more than usual, Domenica” he replied flatly. “But you were correct, the HEx gives a substantial increase in power and the ability to wield it. I have never been able to cast a Dispel like that, even with the words printed on a scroll in front of me”

The Necromancer nodded her head happily, a faint smile creasing her face.

“That’s the trigger we need for Miss Evermore” the Sister declared. She eyed Hammond over the rim of her mug. “We’ll need at least two doses, Albright. One to open the Portal and a second to get us back”

“Sure” he muttered. He got to his feet and started to walk unsteadily towards the exit. “Let me know when you have them ready”

“You misunderstand me, Albright” the old Sister explained. “It will be your task to find the required doses. My contact will no longer deal with me, so you’ll have to find an alternate supplier”

“Fine” he mumbled in agreement and continued his shuffle to the main lab door.

“Oh, Albright, once last thing I forgot to mention” the Sister called out to him. Hammond stopped and turned to face her with a guarded stance.

“What?” he demanded.

“Merry Christmas!” she said brightly.

“That was yesterday, Domenica” he replied flatly.