Hexad: The Chamber (13 page)

What an insane mess. If I'd thought any of this was going to happen I'd have stayed in bed and kept my mouth shut about the other Amanda smelling a little different.

Who was he kidding? Of course he wouldn't. Despite the madness, despite the danger and the fear, Dale had to admit, to himself at least, that this was one hell of a wild ride he was on. It was just a pity that if they managed to succeed then he wouldn't remember any of it and he wouldn't even exist any longer.

It was a sobering thought, but he knew what he had to do, try to do, at least.

Ignoring the dizzying sight of multiple Amandas in all possible configurations from barely out of her teens to well past middle age, from beautiful slender figures to versions where she had clearly taken up eating pies as her new religion, the effect understandably setting Amanda on edge, they finally made it near to the end of the cylinder.

The closer they got the patchier the ground became, morphing from lush grass to gorse, to finally little more than compact bare earth. Dale got the distinct feeling that if he dug down a little bit then he would uncover the material the place was made of, but he had other things to occupy his thoughts. He wanted to understand the environment before he tried to leave it — it was important, saving the world important, so he didn't want to rush things.

What he couldn't shake off was the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that Cray was going to pop along at any moment and simply eradicate them, or that something catastrophic would occur and the whole artifice would simply conform to the laws of gravity and normalcy and crumple in on itself, crushing them into tiny balls of flesh.

What he did know for certain was that there were a lot of questions remaining to ask host Amanda, or any other Amandas willing to talk to them for that matter, before he wanted to jump from where he was right now. One thing he realized he'd forgotten to ask was what they actually called this place. Did they really call it the Hexad? As in for real? Did she mean it was an actual time machine itself? No, that would be daft, wouldn't it?

~~~

Standing just a few feet away from the sheer wall that constituted the sealed end of the cylinder really put the size of the interior into perspective. Dale had to reevaluate his initial guesstimate concerning size quite dramatically as it must have been well over half a mile in diameter, and probably at least a couple of miles long — you could fit a lot of Amandas into such a space.

"It's pretty impressive, isn't it?" said Amanda, craning her neck to look up the full length of the sheer wall they were facing.

"It's mind-boggling."

"Kind of reminds me of a manhole cover, like it's just a giant lid that's keeping everyone locked inside."

"Haha. You know, you're right, it is like that." Dale stared at the surface, a dull gray, clearly made of metal; he was sure he could spot very subtle welding spots, just places that were a little lighter in color, a pattern where steel or something similar had gone through an epic fabrication process. But what kind of factory could make something on such a scale? Never mind the rest of the whole crazy place.

Thud, thud, thud.

Wrapping his knuckles on the surface, Dale was surprised at how dense it felt. There was no echo, just a dull thud, his knocking sucked up by the dense material. It was warm too, the same temperature as every surface he'd touched. He had a bizarre image flash into his mind of some giant in overalls on the other side dropping a monstrous manhole cover, sealing off his invention of a world in miniature, peering in at them through tiny holes in the cylinder, amused by the antics of the tiny Amandas and the Dale that should not have been there, and if what host Amanda had told him was true, would not be there for much longer.

How long have I got before I start to simply fade away as this isn't somewhere I belong? Is it like the way the Universe reacted to too much time travel? Will I just go pop and I'm gone? Or haunt the place forever as a literal ghost in the machine?

Dale shuddered at the thought, urgency rearing its head, telling him it was time to get the answers he wanted before they left. Soon, they had to do it soon. Amid all the strangeness he'd half-forgotten the warning about him not being welcome: an intruder in a hell made just for the countless versions of a single woman that were lost in time and space, this their only refuge.

But he refused to believe it. There was more at play here, and he intended to find out what was really going on, what secrets were being kept from them.

"You okay?" asked Amanda, noting Dale shuddering.

"Yeah, fine, just getting freaked out by this place. Let's go find host Amanda again; I have a few questions. Then I think we should check out the other end before we get out of here."

"Can't we just skip straight to the getting the hell out of here bit?" said Amanda, smiling weakly, trying to stay lighthearted when both of them knew they felt anything but confident in their current situation.

"Soon, I promise. But if we are going to beat this madness we need to know what it is we are facing. Was there any hint of any of this when you, you know, began your jumping last time?"

Amanda didn't need time to think. "No, absolutely not. I think I'd remember something like this."

"Yeah, I think you would too."

More Questions

Time Unknown

"Go on then, ask away. You haven't got a list or anything, have you?" asked host Amanda suspiciously.

"What!? No, of course not," said Amanda, averting her eyes. Unsurprisingly she was finding it rather hard to have a conversation with what was, to all intents and purposes, herself.

Dale knew he couldn't do it, he'd freak out big time.

On the way back they had tried to get into conversation with some of the other Amandas, but most were either tight-lipped, ignored them completely, or, in a few cases, spoke only to Dale and were rather forward about inviting him, and him only, into their homes.

Dale had joked with Amanda about her being rather horny and pushy but she hadn't taken it kindly at all — Dale never had been very good at judging her emotions, and proved the point once more with his rather misplaced attempt at humor. Still, a man had to try.

In the end they had given up trying to get on good terms with any of the women, although it was clear that it rankled Amanda no end that she was so unhelpful. After all, this was her, shouldn't the others be going out of their way to be helpful, considerate?

There was a definite vibe in the air though, and as they walked they discussed it, coming to the conclusion that the others had simply been here too long and had become somewhat institutionalized, maybe more than that: resentful that this was the Amanda that had started it all, skewed time and created universes, and now wanted to change it back, make as if their lives were worthless.

Did they know all that? Could they?

Then it became clear: of course they did, they were her. Amanda told Dale that they would all pretty much know what she had in her heart as they would, if not now, then at some point in time, have felt the same way.

In the end it didn't matter, their host was at home and as they settled down once more on the picnic bench, the wood warm from an invisible sun, the day clear and bright as Dale suspected it always was, their host said with a resigned sigh that she would answer their questions as best she could, just so Amanda would feel more at home, as it was, after all, where she would be spending the rest of her days.

Dale saw her visibly gulp at such a thought, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate living such an alien life one little bit, realizing that this was probably where the resentment lay with the others: they hated it, and always would. Not that this one seemed like that — she was surprisingly chipper after their words earlier in the day.

"Okay, first question," said Dale, all business-like. "What do you call this place?"

"We call it The Chamber, both capitalized."

"Why?"

"Duh." Amanda swept her eyes around the circumference, indicating what was more than obvious.

"Fair enough."

"How long have you been here and how did you get here?"

"I've been here for about three years I think, although that isn't exact," she said hurriedly. "It's hard to keep track really, every day is the same. I got here because in my timeline I was trying to escape Laffer with a Dale remarkably like you, when another me jumped from somewhere and landed right beside me. I vanished and ended up where I am now."

"Do you know who the other Amanda was?"

"Yes, and before you ask, no, we don't talk, we don't get on at all."

"Not surprising," said Amanda. "Silly bitch."

"Amanda! That's you you're talking about. Jeez."

Host Amanda just nodded, as if confirming she could be a little hard to get on with at times. The other her, obviously, not either of the two at the bench.

"How do you get to be here? I mean, why not just vanish entirely, like you'd expect from the paradox?"

"Because this is how the Hexads run. Um, I mean, this is just how it is, how it all works. We are all so much a part of this craziness that as this is where it all started this is where we come to if we find ourselves in an impossible situation involving time travel."

Dale knew she was going to tell them more but caught herself and was lying, but he didn't pursue it, he had other questions he wanted answers to.

"Who runs the place, this place?"

"We have no idea, not really. We've heard Cray's voice, over some kind of hidden speaker system, but he's never actually said he's the one that runs it all, although we assume he is."

"But assuming isn't the same as knowing, right?" said Amanda.

"Exactly."

"All right, the really important one. You said that this is a Hexad, the original Hexad, do you really believe that? You think this is an actual Hexad? What makes you think that?" Dale was really keen to hear the answer to his question, it would lead to a lot more questions for him to ponder, sure, but if it really was, well, the mind boggled at what that could mean. Such a huge place jumping through time, it didn't bear thinking about.

She shifted uncomfortably on the bench, an all-too-familiar twitch at her right temple, visible as her hair was brushed back, telling Dale that there was no way she was going to tell the whole truth. Amanda seemed oblivious to the coming deception, but then she probably didn't know the subtle signs she made when she was lying or trying to be evasive.

"Just look at this place, isn't it obvious? The Chamber is just like the shape of a Hexad. Long ago some of the girls actually measured it and it conforms exactly to the dimensions of the Hexads, the portable ones. Blunt end, blue curved dome on the other, what else could it be?"

"A prison?" offered Dale.

"That too, but it's better than being dead."

That's it, they are living here as they don't like the alternative, but there's more. She's nowhere near to telling us the truth.

"But that doesn't mean anything, it doesn't mean it's a Hexad. How do you know?"

Host Amanda got up, looking cross, folding her arms. "I think that's enough now, if you're going to question my answers then what's the point?"

Amanda stood too, staring her in the eyes for the first time. "I understand how you feel, I really do, me more than anyone. But we're just trying to figure things out. Look, you said that Dale is going to just disappear from this place, that he doesn't belong, we need to find a way to get him out."

"I'm sorry, but no, that's all I have to say." Host Amanda turned to Dale. "I'm sorry Dale, but we've seen it happen before. You don't belong here, you have a day or two at most and then you will be gone. It's why most of the girls won't even look at you, let alone talk to you. It's too hard for us. We love you."

"I love you too Amanda."

He got a dirty look for that comment from his Amanda, but he just shrugged. What else could he say? It was true after all, wasn't it?

Their host, placated somewhat, and clearly surprised by his words, relaxed a little and said, "Look, I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you both, it's hard for everyone that comes here, but I can't say more than I already have, not yet. Not until..."

"Until I'm gone, right?" confirmed Dale.

She just nodded before walking back into the house, leaving Dale and Amanda alone with the flowers and the bees in the upside-down world that still threatened to fall from the sky onto their heads.

Amanda turned to him, looking as cross as the other her had just done.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shifted her arms to her hips, a sure sign he was in trouble.

"Aw, come on, you know what I meant."

"Do I? Do I indeed?"

"Honey, what can I do to make it up to you?"

"You can help me save the world," said Amanda, smiling, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Eh, what? You were joking?"

"Of course I was, I know I'm gorgeous. Got you!"

"Very bloody funny." Dale couldn't help chuckling, he really did love this woman.

To the Dome!

Time Unknown

Amanda was as keen as Dale to explore the other end of The Chamber, although he had the sneaking suspicion that she would do anything to get away from company that was in effect herself. It must be almost impossible to hold yourself in check when you see another you acting in ways that you find disagreeable, so they set off at a decent pace, slowing the further they got away from their temporary accommodation.

As they walked they talked, Dale asking Amanda if she noticed how evasive their host had been when it came to The Chamber and how she knew it was a Hexad, let alone that she'd said something about this was how Hexads ran when he asked her how come they didn't just disappear from reality when they became involved in what would be seen as a paradox.