Sapien Loop 3 - Chapter 78: Closure
Chapter 78: Closure
Shamia made contact with her guards and ordered them back to the Downs Region to help the technicians and followers with the clean-up and the burials of all those who had died.
Polly, Bellamy, Belford, Roger One, and Roger Two built a memorial in the section of the Downs Agriculture Zone that had been converted into a cemetery. Bastion repaired Jennifer. Her chip that was destroyed in the collapse was replaced with a copy of his own chip, which was a variation of her chip but with a slightly happier demeanour.
Octavius had managed to round up the Sentray, who had run away. He had led them back to the former camp area of the underground Linap. Ducky took charge of them as he entered the Downs Region.
Polly rushed over to greet Octavius. ‘Welcome to the Downs Region, old friend,’ said Polly as she ran towards him with her arms open.
‘Happy to see me,’ chuckled Octavius as Polly hugged him. ‘Or is it more about my calorie-dense food?’
‘Nobody eats more calories than you,’ replied Polly. ‘Honestly, I genuinely missed you and your unique sense of humour.’
‘Bah!’ growled Octavius as he pushed Polly off him.
‘There are two robots who really want to see you too,’ said Polly as they walked down the main road together.
‘Damn!’ said Octavius in a slightly jovial tone. ‘I knew Roger One was growing distant from me.’
‘Okay, let me correct myself,’ said Polly, shaking her head. ‘There are five robots who really want to see you.’
‘Did Belford build himself two smaller companions?’ asked Octavius excitedly as the two continued to walk.
‘Better, much better,’ replied Polly as she gestured towards two robots who were slowly running towards them.
‘It can’t be,’ gasped Octavius. ‘I saw them die.’
‘Jennifer backed up their memories and personalities, and now they have new bodies that look just like their old bodies,’ said Polly as she swung her arms around.
‘No tricks, it’s really them,’ said Octavius as he watched them running towards him.
‘It’s us,’ shouted Bastion and Bellamy as they continued running towards Octavius.
‘Oh wow,’ said Octavius as he dropped to his knees and opened his arms.
Both Bastion and Bellamy hugged Octavius.
‘This is so great,’ said Polly as a tear appeared in her organic eye.
‘Despite all this tragedy, I feel everything is going to get so much better,’ said Octavius. ‘Maybe better than ever.’
‘We need to head to the Downs Agriculture Zone,’ said Polly. ‘You’re needed to represent the Sentray.’
‘Haha, that sounds so strange,’ chuckled Octavius as he stood up.
Octavius, Bastion, and Bellamy ran towards the Downs Agriculture Zone. Polly hovered beside them.
A stage had been set up in the Downs Agriculture Zone. Orcilla was to give a eulogy for those who died in the Downs Region. She had invited representatives from all the various groups to stand with her.
Everyone in the Downs Region had gathered to listen and pay their respects to all those who had died throughout the war and recent events.
‘I’m here, I made it,’ panted Octavius as he ran towards the stage.
‘Who do you represent looking like that?’ gasped Lily, who was standing next to the steps leading up to the stage.
‘The Sentray,’ said Octavius as he put his hands on his hips. ‘They were my friends, and so many died to save Downs.’
‘Stand behind him,’ instructed Lily as she pointed to Morgan. ‘Please try to look a little more presentable. This is a memorial service, not a dinner for Sapes.’
‘Oh sorry,’ said Octavius as he stood behind Morgan.
‘Hello, friend,’ said Morgan. ‘I’m Morgan. Who are you?’
‘Nice to meet you, Morgan,’ said Octavius. ‘I’m Octavius Spiro.’
‘Nice to meet you too,’ replied Morgan. ‘I’m Morgan.’
The little miracles began to sing. Lily gestured for the representatives to walk up on stage. They formed a line at the back of the stage. A few seconds later, Orcilla walked on stage. She was carrying a microphone. On seeing her, the little miracles stopped singing.
‘Today we have come to pay our respects to all those that have lost their lives during Tiberius’ reign of terror,’ said Orcilla. ‘Behind me, I have representatives from all our communities. From left to right. We have Eugene representing the Downs Region.’
‘Go Eugene!’ shouted someone in the crowd.
Eugene waved to the crowd.
‘We have Louis representing the Sapiens,’ said Orcilla as she gestured towards Louis.
Louis gestured by raising both his thumbs up.
‘We have Wendell representing the Linap,’ said Orcilla as she nodded at Wendell.
‘We have a cute chubby Sape representing the Sapes,’ continued Orcilla as she pointed to the chubby Sape friend of Eugene.
‘Onk!’ grunted the chubby Sape.
‘We have Maurice standing in for the High Philosopher representing the followers,’ said Orcilla as she gestured towards Maurice. ‘I have just been told that we have a new High Philosopher. He is Homer. He is currently at the West Camp.’
The followers nodded acknowledgingly.
‘Next we have Henders representing the technicians,’ continued Orcilla as she smiled and nodded at Henders, who was pointing at his chest where Julio had hurt him.
The technicians roared in excitement.
Orcilla waited for them to stop cheering. ‘We have Morgan representing the Sapiods,’ said Orcilla as she looked at Morgan, who had a blank expression on his face.
‘Last but not least, we have Octavius representing the Sentray,’ said Orcilla as she waved to Octavius. ‘I want to thank all the representatives from all our communities and species. This is the first time in the history of Sapey that we all stand together in unity. It just pains me that this is under such horrific circumstances.’
Orcilla paused for a few seconds. ‘I’ll hand over to Lily to recite an ancient prayer of peace in Parelic,’ she said as she handed the microphone to Lily.
Lily began the prayer, and Orcilla walked over to Daily, who was standing with Yassmay and Yassme.
‘It’s great that you got everyone together like this,’ said Daily as he put his arms around Orcilla.
‘It was a group effort, and the real hard work has yet to begin,’ replied Orcilla.
‘I know things are awful, but I’ve never felt so much hope before,’ said Daily.
‘Well, we can rebuild the Downs Region,’ said Orcilla. ‘We can continue building the two new settlements. We can grow an almost infinite amount of the special seaweed. I know our great scientists can make it into more effective cures.’
‘That’s some great positivity,’ said Daily.
‘Then again Maskameera and August are still out there,’ sighed Orcilla. ‘They could be almost anyone, and I can’t imagine they would have decided to abandon their ways.’
‘Then they will have to emerge in some way,’ said Yassmay, raising her eyebrows. ‘Then we get them.’
‘Yes, we must remain vigilant,’ said Orcilla as she looked at Lily. ‘They will not be the only threat. There will always be those who will want to take power for themselves. We need to do more to stop this from ever happening again. We need to build something that cannot be captured.’
‘If anyone can come up with something, it’s you,’ said Daily as he rubbed Orcilla’s back.
‘No, it’ll have to be a joint effort,’ sighed Orcilla. ‘I’ll need all of your help and all of their help,’ she added as she pointed at the community representatives on stage, who were now holding hands.
‘I think we can trust them,’ sighed Yassme as she watched them gently sway from side to side.
Finally, Lily finished her extremely long-winded prayer. She bowed and left the stage. After her, several of the community representatives made short speeches. Expressing their condolences and their commitment to work with the other communities. Once they had finished and left the stage, the little miracles started to sing again.
Denise and Vulay approached Morgan. ‘I’m so proud of you, Daddy,’ said Denise as she held her arms out to hug Morgan.
‘Donut, friend,’ replied Morgan as he pointed at Eugene, who had just joined his parents.
‘Oh yes, of course,’ sighed Denise as she put her arms down.
‘Morgan walked a few steps towards Eugene, and then he stopped and turned around. Vulay had put her arm around Denise, who was looking a little sad.
‘Denise, my daughter,’ said Morgan as he looked at Denise.
‘Yes, I am,’ replied Denise.
The two of them smiled at each other for a few seconds, and then they hugged.
After the service, Orcilla spoke with community representatives. She requested that they form an action team to determine how Sapey would be governed. Orcilla declined to be part of that team. She no longer desired the responsibility of leadership.
Yassmay and Yassme worked together to repair one of the vehicles. This was to be used to transfer Felix and several other technicians back to their underground cities so they could spend time with their families.
Vulay and Eugene decided the fate of Hermon, Benny, Duffo, Tiberius, and the few remaining surrendered enforcers. Hermon was sent to work as a technician in the West Camp for one year. Benny was sent with him to be his supervisor for the same duration. Wendell and Gilling requested Hermon be stripped of the Alset family name. Thus, officially making Wendell the new head of the family. Duffo was sent to the East Camp for two years to work as a technician. He was stripped of all given titles. After the two years, he could return to the Downs Region but would be permanently barred from any meaningful leadership position. The surrendered enforcers were stripped of their positions and were no longer allowed to work as enforcers. Eric was given the responsibility to hire and train new enforcers. Tiberius remained a ‘gone case’ and was handed over to Orcilla; she would decide what would happen to him now.
Tiberius was strapped to a table in a dilapidated warehouse. Orcilla was standing over him.
‘This is it,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘You’ve resorted to torture.’
‘No, of course not,’ replied Orcilla. ‘I’ll make sure you don’t suffer at all. I’ll be relieving you of your mental torment.’
‘You’re so kind,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Are you sure we aren’t related?’
Orcilla jabbed Tiberius hard in the arm with a large needle. ‘Good night,’ she said. ‘The world will be a much better place when you wake up.’
Within a few seconds, Tiberius had passed out. Orcilla proceeded to operate on him. She performed a similar procedure that used to be done to convert Sapiens into Sapiods. Her version did not involve pumping him with any drugs to make him physically stronger. Her focus was purely on his brain.
Maskameera Wolf and August Rezif had assumed new technician personas. They were nobody of importance and just aimed to blend in for the time being.
Maskameera visited August’s apartment. She volunteered to cook him one of her favourite noodle dishes. August was sitting at the small dining table opposite to where she was cooking.
‘Gosh, you’re so quiet,’ remarked Maskameera as she tossed the noodles around in the wok. ‘Don’t tell me you’re still sulking about our latest adventure.’
‘It wasn’t an adventure; it was a nightmare,’ replied August. ‘I’m done with this relationship. It’s time we part ways.’
‘You need me to stay alive,’ said Maskameera aggressively as she stared at August. ‘They’re hunting you down as we speak. Turn away from me and I’ll make sure they succeed. Stick with me and I’ll keep making you these delicious meals.’
‘You always have the most persuasive arguments,’ sighed August.
‘We have defined the last thousand years,’ said Maskameera as she waved her arms around. ‘We ruled the best part of the twelfth loop, and we will own the thirteenth.’
‘Maybe you should keep an eye on those noodles,’ remarked August. ‘You don’t want to burn them.’
‘You ungrateful bastard,’ said Maskameera as she turned to look at the noodles. ‘Oh look, they’re done and they’re perfect as always.’
‘Well, yummy,’ replied August as he watched her put the noodles into two bowls.
‘I want you to continue your work on Henders,’ said Maskameera as she placed the bowls down on the table.
‘I’d rather we leave him out of it,’ replied August as Maskameera sat down opposite him.
‘I insist you do,’ chuckled Maskameera. ‘We wouldn’t want anything unpleasant happening to him.’
August glared angrily at Maskameera.
‘Eat up; it’ll get cold,’ said Maskameera as she began shovelling the noodles into her mouth. ‘I’ve added silken tofu and some knock your socks off spices.’
August picked up a piece of tofu with his chopsticks and sniffed it.
‘After all we’ve been through, do you really think I’d try to poison you?’ asked Maskameera angrily.
‘I am a little sensitive to spicy food these days,’ replied August as he placed the piece of tofu back in the bowl as he continued to watch Maskameera shovel the food into her mouth.
‘If you don’t stop acting strange, I might put something very nasty in that stupid, fat oath’s blancmange,’ said Maskameera as she began drinking the leftover sauce in her bowl.
‘He’s our friend,’ said August. ‘It deeply saddens me the way you talk about him and treat him.’
‘No, he’s your friend,’ replied Maskameera. ‘I haven’t liked him since he turned into that disgusting freak.’
‘Then I feel more sorry for you than I do him,’ replied August.
‘You’re so pathetic,’ said Maskameera as she pushed the empty bowl to one side. ‘You’re nothing…’
Maskameera started to gasp.
‘Take it easy,’ said August.
Maskameera leaned forward, placing her head on the table as she struggled to breathe.
‘I’ll get you some seaweed,’ said August as he stood up. ‘Just stay calm.’
Suddenly, the room turned completely white, and everything other than the table and the chair Maskameera was sitting on vanished.
August placed his hand on the floor to attempt to shapeshift the room back but succeeded for just a flicker.
‘It’s over!’ called out a voice.
‘You poisoned her,’ said August as he looked around to see who was talking.
‘A thousand years of lies and manipulation ends today,’ said the voice.
‘Yes, we can do that,’ said August. ‘I promise. Please, let me get the seaweed she’s dying.’
Maskameera fell off her chair. She was lying on her back. She had shapeshifted into her natural Linap form.
‘There’s no “we”, there’s only you,’ said the voice.
August looked around desperately, trying to locate the direction of the voice, but it was all around him. He tried to spot the shimmer, but he could not see anyone.
‘Control is no longer in your hands,’ shouted the voice. ‘If you try and take it back, you will end up like her. Do I make myself perfectly clear?’
‘Yes, you do,’ replied August.
‘Let this be a permanent reminder to you,’ said the voice aggressively.
A large gash appeared on August’s arm. He yelped in response.
‘I swear, I’m done with my quest for power,’ replied August as he looked at his wound, which was not healing.
‘Trust me, I will be watching,’ said the voice as it faded away.
A few seconds later, the room returned to normal. August rushed over to Maskameera, but she was dead. August sighed as a slight smile came over his face.
A few days later, Octavius, Ducky and the other Sentray arrived at the south coast. Several hundred Sentray were sunbathing on the beach. One of them was the mother Sentray.
Octavius climbed off Ducky and walked over to the mother Sentray. She casually got up and then looked at him for a few seconds. Then she roared ferociously. Octavius dropped down on one knee. Ducky stood next to him.
The mother Sentray sniffed the top of Octavius’ head. Ducky lightly roared as she looked at her. The mother Sentray gently groaned in response. Ducky tilted her head back to look up at the mother Sentray. She made a gentle squeaking sound. The mother Sentray responded with a deeper groan. It appeared as if they were having a conversation. Octavius remained kneeling with his head bowed a little.
This exchange of sounds continued for a few minutes. Then the mother Sentray walked away from Ducky and along the beach closer to the other Sentray. She roared loudly in a similar fashion to when she called off the attack on the Downs Region over six years earlier.
The Sentray stood up and then roared in response. The mother Sentray turned around and walked into the vast ocean. The Sentray followed her. Even the Sentray that were with Octavius followed her. The only Sentray that remained was Ducky.
‘They have the ocean and we have the land,’ said Octavius as he slowly stood up while looking at Ducky. Ducky licked the top of his bald head.
Meanwhile, in the Downs Region, Tiberius had been released into the Central Agriculture Zone. He was now a weak, skinny Sapiod. He was staggering around collecting fruit. However, he could not figure out how to eat them. He picked up a coconut and licked the husk.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.
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