Sunday 23 March 2014

S6.215 - Escape Velocity



The Story So Far: The inhabitants of Fractal City have been teaching personified math about the nature of their existence. Very soon, a decision will be made as to whether the high school functions are reunited - or recycled.

ParaB shook off the few remaining aftereffects of Hevvi's attack as she approached Koch. "YOU! What did you mean by 'If you go to Statistics, you won't die'??"


He speaks Straczynski
An opening within the snowflake on Koch's suit seemed to open and close. "Understanding is a three edged sword."

ParaB grit her teeth. "Yes. I know that now. Dead, alive... and maybe something else. Being in an archive. Something. Just tell me, what's the better choice here? For everyone to try to get to statistics, or to return to mathematics?"

Koch seemed to tilt his head to the side. "You have forgotten something."

"What?!" When Koch didn't answer, ParaB's eyes narrowed. "Are you implying there's a third option there too?"

Another pause, then, "You do not understand. But you will."

"We need to increase our speed, in that direction," Hevvi remarked, nudging ParaB. "Hill's sure to raise the alarm, plus we've barely enough time now. Not if we want to make a stop to drop off you and Signum."

ParaB crossed her arms and glared at the fractal. "Damn it, Koch! We're becoming pawns of higher forces here! Can't you tell me what is it we're supposed to do? Where we're supposed to run?? After all, it's not like we can stand and fight!" She paused. "... Can we?"

"The truth points to itself."

ParaB flinched backwards. Then an alarm sounded. "Perfect," Hevvi sighed, grabbing ParaB by the arm. She practically dragged the bunny girl away and into the stairwell by the elevator. "Just so you know, I'm selling you out if we get trapped here."

"I... that's fair," ParaB yielded.

The two of them hurried down a couple of flights of stairs, then as Hevvi slammed her shoulder into another door, they burst back out into a lower corridor. "The Jump Gate room is right down here," Hevvi explained. "Flora and Signum should already be on the Hyper Jumper... that is, if we get there."

Howie Mandelbrot had appeared from a side corridor. "Stop there, please," he requested, holding up his hand.


This is not a new moon
"Sorry, Howie," ParaB apologized. She reached up, her thumb and index finger closing on her tiara. "Focus Tiara ACTION!" she called out. The tiara began to glow as the conic removed it, then whipped it into the air. It executed a perfect parabolic arc, catching Mandelbrot completely off guard as hit him with enough force to knock him into the wall. He fell to the floor.

Hevvi and ParaB ran forward, jumping over his prone form, the conic scooping up her tiara in passing. Moments later, they ran through a large, open, sliding door down the passage, and ParaB got her first good look at an active wormhole. She also saw that in front of it was a conical-shaped ship, which sported a circular hatch at the back. Both Signum and Flora stood in the hatch opening, Flora looking up at a large viewing window and grimacing. Her hand was extended and miming pushing down, indicating that she was in the process of using her gravity based attack. Presumably on the adjacent room.

"Hurry up, 'Evvi!" Signum cried out. "Things are going nuts, the Fractals want to close the iris on us!"

"Then get the lead out!" Hevvi retorted, vaulting up and into the Hyper Jumper. She was quickly followed by ParaB.

"Get a bed out? At a time like this?" Signum sighed, twintails flicking back and forth as she shook her head. Even as she spoke, she was hurrying to the front of the ship. Seconds ticked by. Then the ship gave a little lurch forwards, so Flora slammed her free hand down on a panel, causing the hatchway door to begin lifting back up into position.

"I feel like we're not going to be welcome back here any time soon," ParaB murmured.

"Grab onto something!" Signum called out from the forward controls. The Jumper shot forwards into hyperspace.


<— PREVIOUS INDEX 6 NEXT —>

No comments:

Post a Comment