Chuq’s Surreal Adventure Somewhere Else
– Consciousness slowly returns to Chuq. He seems to be lying on a comfortable bed; as he opens his eyes, he sees the figure of Dolmen leaning over him holding a candle. He says, “Chuq, you need to concentrate. Xenotel doesn’t bother to watch me, but you need to concentrate and block him so we can talk.”
– Dolmen shushes him, saying that “Just listen – he will hear if you speak. You are going back soon; they need you to carry something for them. There are some things you need to know first, though.”
– [Flash and suddenly they are in a small space with light coming up through a grate on the floor]: “The first thing to understand is that none of this is real; it’s a dream inside a prison – but a dream of a real place. Like a dream, time and space – even death – mean nothing here. Also like a dream, the dreamer is ultimately in control.”
– [Points to area below grate where Xenotel sits on a silver throne; Thorfus confronts him] Xenotel: “So, tell me, what have you learned?” Thorfus: “That this is your prison, somewhere inside one of the ancient’s machines and that you need Chuq to carry something back to the real world.” Xenotel: “Anything else? No? Not your best showing. Better luck next time.” [Xenotel then snaps his fingers and Thorfus disintergrates].
– [Flash to library near Dolmen’s cube]: “Don’t worry, Xenotel will bring him back soon. It’s a game, you understand. Thorfus wakes up here, investigates, is summoned, and dies. It’s happened thousands of times in the centuries he has been here. Of course, he always finds me and we talk – you see, I’m just a false memory and Xenotel doesn’t bother to erase me. I remember every time my nephew comes to find me, shares his findings, and then goes to die. I represent the collective memories of thousands of my nephews who have died and I can’t warn them or help or he will know I remember. I can tell you, though, because your mind is closed to him.”
– “This is Xenotel’s prison, somewhere in a machine created by the ancient dwarves that was corrupted by the rebels. This is his little fortress that preserved his true self; he can’t leave, though, until that corruption is cleansed. He slept for millennia here, but something woke him recently – a signal from outside the prison.”
– “The other thing you need to know is that they are all here – the ancients. You see, the followers of Xen’Teler have always believed that he saves the righteous and keeps them safe in the afterlife. That’s not a metaphor or a spiritual truth, though, he has literally saved them here and is waiting to release them back into the world.” [Gesturing at the infinite rows of information cubes].
– [Listening]: “There’s not much time now. They will wake you soon, but you need to see one more thing.” [Rushing through shelves like the arming scene of the Matrix until they come to a circular chamber with wider shelves and a glowing blue holograph of a sphere circled by two other spheres in the room’s center.
– Dolmen steps over to one shelf on the opposite wall and points at the plaque in ancient dwarven; if Chuq reads his mind this is what it says:] “Marchmain Sivis, First Consort to Matriarch Captain Anglana, Master Architect of the Crystal Tower, and Chief of Intelligence for XenoTel2”.
– With that, Dolmen’s blows out his candle and Chuq will wake in the cell at the dwarven estate.
