The Industrialist

Lecture of Erik Berkley to his son, Lance.

***

There was no wisp of life emanating from the defeated creature. A handful of Rebels and an Outsider slew a level 3 Abominant. Unlike the Wolf Abominant that infiltrated the City which took almost a day to kill by the full might of the police force, the Obsidian Scorpion was trapped and cornered to its surprising demise.

Luck was on their side. The group had weapons that comprised the elements of weaknesses for the beast. The electric stun grenades created light, its major weakness, and nullified the scorpion’s elusive movements. The Peak line was at the top portion of the Trench Hill which was inevitably cold, another weakness of the creature.

The Corporation seemed to have no information about the Abominants as quickly as the Outsiders.

"Let’s go," Damian suggested. "Somebody is waiting for us in Axiom Trench."

"Wait!" Lance said. "I have to extract a portion of its exoskeleton."

"Why?" George asked. His voice seemed annoyed to delay more time lingering in the area or could be afraid of another Abominant encounter.

"Are you sure you killed all the Abominants within the Trenches?" George asked Handsome.

Handsome was silent but his eyes though seemed to be smiling.

"I guess silence means yes," Joe seconded.

"Scientists of the upper level are doing secret projects studying the mutated Anatomy of Abominants, maybe extracting useful residues of radiation from the flesh that caused the compatible genetic mutation.

But my agenda is different from theirs; the skeletons of the Abominants are highly conductive materials that you can use in schematic diagram building connecting electronic components." Lance explained.

He took out the Laser Hunting Knife. It looked large on his hand but the weight was manageable though. Lance liked the design; the material was a somewhat uncommon level of raw materials used for forging such a weapon.

Metal forging was a lucrative profession in Axe Central City. Low-class citizens who wanted to gain more money other than scrapping and trading components studied metal forging.

But not anyone was allowed to learn to forge because what they are going to learn and create in the future was somehow regulated by the Corporation. As they explained that the forgers could tap confidential designs only accessible to the upper echelons of Scientists.

Lance knows a little background in forging metals but not to a scale large enough to manufacture for profit.

Studying further the pommel to the handle of the knife, Masterwork level of materials may have been used that only the Axiom Trench holds, Lance thought.

Lance turned on the button located on its handle and the laser light screamed lightly as it defined the knife’s edge. It vibrated but smoothly.

He ambled towards the carcass. Lance grabbed the laid legs of the dead scorpion, black miasma wafted heavily together with the mountain breeze as he raised a leg that exposed its chest.

The knife defiled the flesh easily as if cutting a cotton-filled pillow. The ooze continued to flow on Lance’s arms. It was hot, itchy, and thick. His blade felt the edge of an exoskeleton embedded in shallow parts of the flesh and carved out gently without cutting through the sternum-like portion.

Lumps of unkempt organs fell off as he sliced further deep and wide. It churned Lance’s stomach but fortunately, he withstood the nausea.

He pulled it, finally. A slight tickle of electric surge penetrated through his glove. It still stored a jolt of energy.

"A perfect conductor," Lance said as he held it in his hand, as if winning a trophy.

"What can you do with that?" Damian asked.

"A perfect conductor can be used as a high-level of current passage from high-powered components. Average copper wires will be burned over a short period of time. If not, it will oxidize at a fast rate that it will be cut easily." Lance explained.

The Obsidian shell was not overlooked by the inquisitive lad. He took two slabs of it from the creature’s shoulder with the same laser hunting knife.

His comrades asked again as if maybe annoyed or curious about what Lance collected for only one creature. To them, these loots were useless and impractical.

But not to Lance.

"The Obsidian shell of the creature, judging from the translucence and the color, could be perfect insulators or casings for high-powered electronic components that heat up immediately after accommodating a lot of current," Lance explained.

"Jasper, inventory log if you may," Lance commanded and Jasper obliged.

"Are you done?" Damian asked. "I am itching to receive the other half of my fee."

"Our negotiation is to take me to Axiom Trench," Lance reminded him.

"You are right, kid," Damian chuckled. "Let’s head to Axiom then."

They left the Peak line with a smile on each of their faces. They had slain a level 3 Abominant all by themselves. It was probably a legendary feat for the others.

The narrow road widened again as their vehicle descended gradually from the Peak Line and to the other side of the foot of the Trench Hill. They called it ’Trench’ because of the unending formations of cliffs and the dangerous chasm that enveloped the road opposite to the steep rocky walls on the left side.

The breeze howled as it dove downwards along the shape of the deep trenches that ran along multitudes of waves of jagged peaks that ran down the Trench Hill.

His comrades were sure that there were no other Abominant encounters along the way to Axiom trench as they witnessed Handsome’s nonchalant way of sitting in the backseat of the jeep.

"Are you sure you killed all?" George asked Handsome again. He was sitting right beside him.

"Georgie," Damian answered, "If Handsome says they killed them all, and then they killed them all."

"How can you be so sure, Damian? The talks back at the base said that the Axiom Trench is a dangerous place." Joe supported how George felt.

"You’ll see," Damian answered. The Specialist winked at Lance. "Axiom Trench is a dangerous place. It is true even up to this time. But not to us. We know how to handle danger, right?"

There was no answer. As if to Damian, looting inside Axiom trench was only a walk in the park. But Lance had a gut feeling about the Axiom Trench. About how it was broadcasted to be a dangerous place.

The Corporation had managed to mask the place with fear and hopelessness. They were hiding something or maybe the rebels and the Outsiders were hiding something from the Corporation.

A walk in the park or not, Lance had placed a stupendous amount of trust in his comrades. Looking at the brighter side, Lance focused only on acquiring the Energy Accelerator.

He formulated an imagination that all the components needed for his invention, all in harmonious function and compatibility; could light up Bay City.

The Supergenerator, Lance thought.

They managed to drive down to the other side of the Trench hill and back to the dry and hot atmospheric temperature. The altitude of the Hill seemed to have a tremendous gap of temperature between brackets of land elevation. The higher the elevation, the colder the atmosphere would be.

It was scientifically wrong for a theoretical global warming.

But instead of barren stretches and bends of desert regions, the place had thick dead trees that seemed to stretch beyond the eyes could reach. There were no leaves, only a comical array of varied lengths of branches and trees that seemed to have begged for the heavens to take them.

The trees seemed to portray the people of the planet. Dead and if alive, desperate. They took travel respites to rest their eyes but they stayed in the jeep. They took turns to watch the surroundings without compromising their seating arrangement.

Lance could not sleep, too. Something told him that an Abominant attack would ensue during their sleep and would deliver their instant deaths as if they were just having nightmares and never waking again. The coldest death ever that one could partake in.

They have been driving all day and Damian took the tiredness toll heavily as he drove a challenging road.

The ochre color clouds seemed to have disappeared.

"It will be dark, soon," Lance said as they started driving again.

"I hope we can reach the Axiom before dark," Handsome said. The Scorpion’s ambush took them an hour to set up and wait for the creature to appear at the Peak Line. They were consuming a significant amount of daytime.

"What will happen if we are still on the road after daylight?" Joe asked.

Lance did not ask because he knew the answer.

"The doors will close," Handsome answered. Then Lance’s hypothetical guess was right. The Axiom was different than what was broadcasted.

"Doors? Where?" George asked.

"Doors of Axiom Trench," Damian said.