Story

Down below the city of Atlanta, in the earth, Down below the concrete, and the bedrock beneath that, Was the Atlanta canto of the Technocracy, Their invulnerable base—or so they all had thought. But it lay in ruins now, its walls and halls destroyed, And the damage to its central dome and portal was Immense, and it crippled all their operations now. Arius stood at the bottom of the massive dome, Gazing up at the cracked, ruined central area, Its cold neon red light momentaril

Once again they traveled, moving quickly through the air, And in no time Saera, with Ardo directing her, Hovered down the four of them in front of Ardo’s house. Ardo glanced at it. The house was brown, with a red roof. And Ardo realized, with somewhat humorous insight, That its colors matched his own—his skin, and his hair too. He sighed heavily. “Wait here,” he said to his three friends, As he walked away from them, along the concrete path Up the front walk, toward the house

Saera silently slipped into her beautiful house. It had never been as big and opulent and grand As Marin’s house, but she’d always loved it, all the same. She had always found it warm and lovely. Found it home. Now her eyes grew wet as she thought how she had to leave. In the strangest way, she almost envied Marin now. Marin, at least, could make a clean break, with little care For her family. Saera was not so fortunate. Marin did not have to do what she now had to do. But sh

They rose higher, higher, higher still into the sky, And the whole entire world was now spread out below Their feet, and then Terry to the right glanced, and cried, “Look!” And they looked, and then they saw a huge expanse of GREEN, Green of trees that spread about below them in all ways. “The trees,” Terry whispered. “The forest?” “No, look!” Marin Said. “Look over there. Look, there’s a city over there!” Sure enough, the sky was bright with gleaming city lights. They all tu

“Wait!” a voice cried out, and suddenly the four of them Turned their heads, and Saera brought them all to a full stop. So they turned, and their eyes of the different colors there: Silver white, and sapphire blue, and then after them Ruby red, and copper brown that shifted into bronze, Turned as one to see the figure rising from below, Wrapped in black robes, bald, with pale skin, and with silver eyes. “YOU!” roared Ardo, and fire erupted on his hands As Arius rose up to the

“Come on!” Terry shouted, as the four of them went up Another incline of dark black metal, sloping steep. In their path a pair of Technocrats appeared, and they Shouted in alarm. Saera flung out her naked arm, And a blast of air flew out and knocked them both aside, Allowing the four of them to hurry on along Up the slope, and they were moving further, further up. “Are we getting closer, Terry?” Marin said to him. Terry raised his hand and his eyes flashed bright neon brown.

When Marin and Saera, escaped, they ran to the right. When Terry and Ardo escaped, they ran to the left. And it just so happened that their four chambers had been Placed along the corridor such that all of them ran Towards each other. They were all headed each others’ way. “MARIN!” Saera shouted as she saw her blue-haired friend Running straight for her. “SAERA!” cried Marin out as she Saw her friend come flying towards her, just off of the ground. The old best friends reache

Terry felt that he was sliding through a tunnel, wet, Like something inside the body, like a birth canal. He wondered if this was what he’d felt so long ago When his mother birthed him—then his thoughts angrily spiked Because now he realized his birth mother was a lie, Just another lie told to him by the Technocrats. Sliming, oozing, he was pulled til he emerged within Another chamber, another blackened metal dome. Brother Crick was there already, with more Technocrats, Alrea

“No. No. No!” screamed Saera. Tears came from her silver eyes, Thinking of her mother and the warmth of her tight hugs. “It is true,” said Arius, “however much you wish To deny it. The real truth is, WE created you. We used our technology to form the four of you Metaphysically, each one joined with their element.” Arius then chuckled, faintly, underneath his breath. “Who would have imagined that old Plato was correct?” “Who the FUCK is Plato?” Ardo asked, his voice a snarl. “

Saera, Marin, Ardo, Terry one by one could feel Pricking over all their bodies, something subtle, small, But it grew, as time went on. It came into their hearts Then spread through their chests, their limbs, their spines, their heads, their brains, Bringing all of them ever so slowly out of sleep, Tickling them with the faintest hints of cruelest pain, Breaking them from slumber. They awoke, each one by one. Saera slowly opened up her gleaming silver eyes... But then they bul