The Rise Of The Consortium

Lots of unanswered questions and the everlasting pain since the last two days, as if that wasn't enough for her to break her peace that today she got her head rammed against. The moment she hit the table, she realized what everyone had been saying for days. The mind that made her feel as she was drowning, submerged it and had no intentions to pull it out. Other than that pain, she felt her teeth dug deep into the inner cheek and the left side of her forehead going numb.

She didn't know when she got out of the lab. She couldn't decide whether to take a moment to cry it out or keep walking. Her inner cheek was burning as well as her forehead felt heavy. She decided to keep walking to stop being seen by people, stop being questioned, to keep the truth being out. The project is a secret, even if she doesn't know anything about it. She must not do anything to meet Kner Maning's rage.

As her steps came across the translucent surrounding, she stopped for a moment to wipe out her tears and look around her, she realized that her absentminded steps led her halfway to the pharmaceutical company. Her drowning heart steadied the moment her eyes fell on the smoke puddle from the factory. She wondered whether she should get in there. She pulled out her ID only to see if there was a place at the moment she could work. There was no free shift for three hours. Also, the factory wasn't listed. Wouldn't the worker distributor want her to fix the filter? Or already someone else was hired? Or else nobody wants it to be fixed?

She felt the urge to divert her mind to stop thinking about whatever happened to her in the last hour. She took a deep breath and walked towards the factory without any delay. If she wanted to know what was the matter, she would have to get in there. The internship is canceled of course, after what has happened. She must rely on her work to survive.

The gates were open, and workers were gathered there instead of near the entrance. She instinctively covered her nose and mouth with her hands as she saw workers stood that way. Before she could run into someone to get asked, she made her way into the entrance. It was hard to find the way due to the translucent smoke everywhere.

"The ground floor must be evacuated within three minutes. The entrance will be closed to stop further spread of the smoke." an announcement was audible on the factory floor. A large fan was located in the right-hand corner to drive out the smoke. A person in a brown uniform with light golden hair was visible with a clipboard, talking on his receiver. Rio thought it'd be better to ask whether anyone was hired to fix the filter.

"Excuse me. Do you have anyone here to repair the filter?" the person in uniform turned his head to look at very light pink-haired Rio, who had one of her hands still clutched to her backpack.

"No, he was supposed to be here by now." Rio saw the ID on his uniform that read the name Eskar Baetroine. From it, she knew he was the project head of the factory. She straightened herself, wondering how she must get permission to repair the filter. She took a deep breath and clenched her left hand into a fist. She decided to ask directly whether she could repair. If she is not allowed, she would apologize and walk away in a single breath.

"Um--may I help in fixing it instead of the mechanic to come?" Rio paused her breath for a moment wondering what his response might be towards her request. Instead, he turned away from his receiver to look at her.

"Are you a mechanic in Termist?" she felt confused his quizzical expression on his face. "I think I've seen you quite often."

She didn't understand all of a sudden how did he know that she was a mechanic.

"I travel a lot in the city. Maybe I have seen one like you." He glanced at his watch. "Seems like he's not going to come. Let me take you to the control panel instead if you can help." He looked at her before advancing with long strides towards the backyard of the factory floor.

She sighed listening to his response. Rarely anyone knows her there except her few friends. At least her recruiters and the shop owners had a hard time remembering her till she showed her ID and her past work records. There weren't many female mechanics in Termist who chose to fix machines selflessly. She had not faced problems with that yet.

"It's going to be a bit far." Mr. Baetroine was hurrying with really long steps, which Rio found exhausting.

"It's OK," she replied quickly under her breath. It must not be that big, Rio thought to herself. Still, it is the place, so she clenched her teeth, and tried to keep up with his speed.

She saw three rows of production chains on her way and turned around the fourth one as she saw Mr. Baetroine making his way there. She noticed that it was the last one on the factory floor. It was great to see the input to be placed on the factory floor instead of on the outside. She guessed the outlet of fresh air to be outside. As they made their way to the top where the control panel was located, she wondered what exactly might be the cause the smoke broke out. She had to think about the intensity based upon how much it covered that morning. It might not be that much, but it stayed cloudy for about an hour or more. She can't forget that.

She walked absentmindedly that was almost going to bump into him. She didn't notice when he paused to check his receiver.

"I'm sorry. I have to go for an errand, it's urgent. Go ahead, it's almost there." and he rushed towards the stairs to attend where he was needed right then. She blinked to see around her. It wasn't that dim as she had thought. Big chimneys and important but unknown machines were visible everywhere.

She was currently near the large exhaust fan, which was probably not functional. She thought she heard some movements but as she couldn't see anything around her, she chose to move ahead towards the control panel.

Just as she reached the boxed compartments after passing the heat exchanger, she stood frozen on her way as she saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath. She bent slowly a bit to see what was there. A man with the same brown uniform as Mr. Baetroine was lying his face down under the compartments. It looked as if he was sleeping. She chose to ignore and straightened herself slowly, taking a deep breath soundlessly, careful not to disturb him. She wondered how must start working by not waking him up.

She stealthily moved towards the box, whose lid was left ajar. But seemed like he was already awake, as he flipped on his back yawning.

"Daughter of an engineer dad and a politician mom, good to see you carrying on your dad's legacy. It's been a long time since we last met." the man mumbled.

Now Rio was in a panic. Did she just hear a voice? She slouched slowly to peek under the compartments. She felt the blood leaving her face upon seeing the messy face of the man. She was wrong of her to think him lying there unconsciously. She stood straight suddenly as she couldn't take it anymore, him curiously looking at her with his half-opened eyes. She wondered whether he really worked there or he was there to steal anything.

She forced herself to think as if nothing happened and thought hard about why she had come there. Remembering that she has to fix the filter, she went ahead and opened the lid of the control panel. But this time his voice made her feel as if she were to pass out right now.

"I know you. You're Ermick's daughter, Rio Tarnilier. Isn't it?"

Rio's face scrunched upon hearing the name. Ermick. Who is this? Has she heard that before? The man just said she's Ermick's daughter. That meant Ermick is her father. Really? She crossed her arms on her c.h.e.s.t looking hard at the half-opened lid of the container. It was only yesterday when there was a discussion about her father. That reminded of Kner and all the incidents till the last hour. She could feel Rio's face scrunched upon hearing the name. Ermick. Who is this? Has she heard that before? The man just said she's Ermick's daughter. That meant Ermick is her father. Really? She crossed her arms on her c.h.e.s.t looking hard at the half-opened lid of the container. It was only yesterday when there was a discussion about her father. That reminded of Kner and all the incidents till the last hour. She could feel her blood boiling in her mind. Before she could say anything, she dashed open the lid of the control panel with a loud thud. She gritted her teeth to get her attention to her work. She couldn't see anything wrong there. Her eyes darted here and there in the panel to catch any fault but head started giving way.

The man slid from beneath to get a look of her. But she moved away from the panel towards another box which read heat exchanger on it. She flinched as she touched the surface of the lid. She forgot it might still be hot even if it was shut down since the last couple of hours.

The man tried waiting for her to respond. But seeing her so focused, he sat on the floor leaning on the machine, and then spoke, "OK. Don't be sacred huh. I just knew your father when he was… you know."

"Alive?" she blurted out suddenly, hoping he would understand she wasn't liking him. She really didn't know anything about her father. If there was anything about it, she would've known already. It wasn't something that would be discussed every day in her home. She barely knew her mother too, let alone her father. How she's supposed to say something she didn't know about? So she assumed her father to be not alive, just to avoid the man she was currently dealing with.

"That's not what I meant. I mean he's alive. But that's what I'm not trying to say." he saw Rio pulling out her tools and unscrewing the lid. He felt the time to be perfect to start the conversation. "OK. Now you're not scared of me. Good." he realized Rio's pair of scrutinizing eyes hovering at him.

Scared of him? What was he thinking of himself? A stealer? Or a gangster? He rather looked lousy, maybe not in a literal sense but more like an addict. She wondered if people like them lived in street four. She suddenly remembered that there was a woman who caused chaos this morning claiming to witness an attack by a Zolzein. She saw the man carefully to see any signs of him being a Zolzein. Unlike the prominent dark hair, this person had more of an orange-brown. He had bent his legs and rested his hands on his knees.

"You're just like your dad. He also loved to tinker with the machines," he spoke dreamily.

"I'm not here to tinker", Rio spoke under her breath. She wore gloves to easily open the hot lid. She had her tools in her backpack she was lucky to have with her. Her eyes widened as she saw thick silver liquid being covered in most regions, producing sizzling sound. The miniscule plates of heat exchanger were twisted which made her hair curled up.

The plates were twisted in different weird shapes. Smoke poured from the plates, which Rio guessed might be the place from where such a large break out occurred this morning. The silver thick liquid caused the smoke to spread over two streets. She stood gaping at the compartment, thinking about what she could do with the damage beyond repair. The whole unit might have to be replaced as she couldn't see any hope of them ever working like they used to. The plates going into one another might wreck the entire machine. The possibility of dangerous blow up sent a shiver behind her neck. Still, she has to clean up the mess.

"It's from the silver swirl." the man sat up facing her, resting his head on the machine.

"Eh?" Rio glanced at him, still thinking who this person might be that wants to talk to her.

She searched her backpack to see if she could get anything to clean that. She found a chisel-shaped tool to work with. She started chiseling out the thick silver residues. But instead of falling off like dust, it got stuck to the chisel instead. She pulled off her right glove to cautiously examine it.

"I would've sprayed if I were you." this time Rio looked at him, waiting if he has anything more to say. Instead, he lowered his eyes, gave out a low chuckle. She rolled her eyes and continued to take a bit of the thick liquid on her fingertips. She brought it closer to her nose but it didn't give any smell. She then remembered that her nose remains blocked most of the time, how could she even get the lightest whiff undergoing literally under her nose. Giving up, she pulled out her nepgimet spray. She hated that she had to follow some random stranger's advice. Before she could get another round of outburst, she decided to ask things to him instead.

"You didn't say how you knew my father." she shook the spray bottle and sprayed generously on the liquid messed area. She took out a brush that she considered necessary to be with her and started dusting away the thick liquid turning into dust. She wanted to know everything that the person knew. She might confirm those facts later.

"I used to be his assistant when I was younger. He was a good person." his eyes were on the heat exchanger. Rio glanced sideways towards him and continued dusting away. She didn't know anything about this and she had no courage to ask about it to someone she knew well. If a stranger knows things quite well, it's not bad to get the information. Is it?

"Where is he now?" She bent down and started collecting dust just cleared from the machinery into a small container.

The man's face shot up upon hearing her question. "It must be known to you." he looked at her searching eyes, wondering what was going on right now. Doesn't this girl know where her father is?

"I don't know. I even don't know whether he's here or not." Rio said as a matter of fact. The man didn't believe what his ears heard just now. If the daughter doesn't know her father's whereabouts then who must have known? Is this the same girl who he saw the last time fighting for her father?

" How come you don't know about him? You're his daughter, right?" he asked shakily. He wasn't sure whether he was talking to Rio or some stranger. If she had been some stranger, she wouldn't have asked about her father.

"I said I don't know." he heard as he saw her look at the heat exchanger again. No one in Termist can fix machines out of pure love as she does. She has to be Ermick's daughter. Then why she doesn't know about her great father?

"You must ask Mrs. Tarnilier. She might know about this." he saw Rio's hand pause as she was going to taking pliers towards the plates.

This person is telling me to ask my mother about this as if she's going to lay that out nicely. Even if she does, there is no chance her mother would tell anything about it. She would ignore as if she knew it was coming. Rio felt irritated to think about it again. She was eager to know more about her father, as she was hopeless to rack her brain to remember. This man must tell me everything, I would validate it later on, Rio thought to herself.

"Do you know or not?" she asked irritably, as she continued reaching the plates, trying to straighten them if she could.

"Last time I heard from someone that he was in the city hospital. Well, it was a couple of years ago. I wonder where he might be now." his head lowered as his mind wandered around the time left far behind.

"What happened to him?" she kept looking at the man, whose eyes were looking at far away. As if hit by something, he jerked on hearing Rio's question.

"Have you forgotten? Your father had a major breakdown and you don't know?" he realized he had forgotten she doesn't know things at all. "Oh, nevermind." he paused to search for the right words to put that in front of her. "His consciousness was stolen like many others. During the severance period a decade ago."

Severance. I think I heard that before. Does my mother know all this? Why wasn't I told about it? Or have I forgotten like I forgot the password? No worries. I'll get to know it anyways. "Who stole that?" that's right. Who might have stolen the consciousness? What happens when consciousness is stolen? What does it look like?

"No one knows. But I guess it's from the silver swirl." he watched Rio's face changed from thoughtful one to irritable one as if someone woke her up from her sleep.

"How can the dust steal things?" her brows furrowed at the thought. Also, her mind went back to the last night, where she saw her mother floating in the air, around the glowing silver swirl of dust, among many others. She could only find her mother. She couldn't know who were the others in the chaotic darkness.

"That's the question. And no one knows how." Rio looked at his face to see if he was right. A silver swirl and no one knows how or when. She felt she was hearing a lot of things never heard before. She must find a way to know all about these.

As she tried straightening many of the plates, her hands gave up. She saw Mr. Baetroine climbing the stairs. She stood away from it for him to have a better look towards the machine.

"Sorry. Got caught up with workers." he glanced at Rio and then at the heat exchanger. He didn't look surprised at all. His eyes wandered around the machine. They rested on the small container on the open compartment of the heat exchanger.

Rio's head had been lowered since that time. She slowly glanced behind her to look at the man. He was not there anymore. Not a single shadow of him was visible under the machine. Was she talking to a man just before? Or to a ghost? Where is he gone now?

"I see the dust is already cleared off," he said as he carefully examined the twisted minuscule plates.

"We don't want a cavity where we stand. These would eat up wherever they stay. Better off I dispose of them somewhere else." she took off her gloves and put those along with the small container of dust in her backpack. She looked beneath her, where the whole production line was visible. They stood on a transparent floor with sparkling colorful waves flowing in them.

"The plates have to be changed. The machine can't function with the twisted ones." she looked behind to see if by any chance the man was still there.

"Yes, we have to." his eyes followed to the line of sight where Rio was looking. "I guess we would have to change the whole unit," he spoke a bit louder for her to pay attention. She tried not to flinch too much.

"Better. I think that's all I had to do." she straightened herself and looked around herself to see if she had left any tools there.

"Thank you so much. Um-- wait a moment." he lifted his left hand and a blue light flashed. He swiped in random directions in the air. "Here your today's - - --Um don't you have your palm reader?" he put forth his arm. Maybe he was paying her wage. She remembered that she was not hired to work there that day. Should she take the money?