Sealing Death (11 page)

Perfect

      Cassie looked around at the change in scenery as they emerged from the reality crack. It was like they entered some kind of future world. Flying cars, open fields, clean air. Everything was so amazing! Cassie wished her and Will could just get out right now and stay here for the rest of their lives. Wait, the last two times they thought a place was great, they found out it wasn't even close. This place was different somehow. It just resonated a vibe that lead Cassie to one conclusion. This place was perfect.

      Stella was immediately at peace. She held Charlie's hand and felt incredible. Everything here was so sleek, and smooth. The cars passed over head, the fields were so, so green, and the air was the freshest she's ever breathed! She rolled down her window, and the loveliness rushed inside. "This place is great!" she exhaled. In fact, it was better than great. It was absolutely perfect!

      Charlie looked around at the new and exciting sights. It was awesome! He saw the glistening buildings in the distance, the bright blue eyes, and the flying cars! If this is what the Earth was like in the future, he'd have to invent a time machine to go there! Stella grabbed his hand and he felt amazing. The window was rolled down, and in drifted the purest air ever! Charlie thought the air was so fresh, it could probably cure asthma! This place was so perfect!

      Will sniffed. Really fresh air came in his nostrils. Stella had opened the window and he was blasted with the swirl of freshness that surrounded him. It reminded him of pure happiness. That was it! He was breathing happiness! Will looked some more. The flying cars intrigued him, but he was having trouble comprehending things. It was, simply put, perfect here.

      Mr. Braddock was coming to the same realizations as the others. As was Betty, James, Susan and the twins. The bright blue sky, teamed with the green of the grass, and the glimmer of the buildings added to the vibrancy of their surroundings. The flying cars made neither noise nor pollution. Everything in the realm was perfect. That is, everything but them.

      Red lights went off and sirens played Ode to Joy, joyfully. A mechanical voice said, "Would you fine visitors please pull over your old fashioned automobiles?" It talked like it was British, which Cassie thought was just adorable! Mr. Braddock and James halted the vehicles, and a pristine white robot with blue screens for eyes hovered to the side of the van.

      "Pardon me sir," it began, "You must be new here. Welcome to Idyll! I am an Idyll bot, specifically designed for serving all life forms. I noticed your automobile is on the ground. You will receive a FREE UPGRADE to the Yornoroak Flying Car 27." Soon, the group stood aside their vehicles as they were towed away and replaced with a new ride with a sleek design. "Enjoy!" the Idyll bot chirped, turning to leave.

      "Wait!" Cassie cried out, catching the bot's attention, "You are right, we are new here. Could you please explain where, and what, here is?"

    The adorable robot's eyes glowed brightly. "Welcome to Idyll!" it answered, "The best place in existence! Idyll is the one and only, perfect realm. Idyll has many other names as well, such as paradise, utopia, the promised land, and heaven." The drone tilted its head. "Anything else?" it asked.

      "Yes," Stella added, "Tell us more about, the creation of Idyll." The robot buzzed, and faced the asker. "Idyll is the perfect place!" the bot whirred, "Also known as paradise, utopia, the promised land, and heaven, Idyll was created from a void realm by inventor, philosopher, and entrepreneur, Julius Yornoroak over five billion years ago, and thanks to his Life Elongation technology, he continues to create for Idyll to this day! He also holds the record for the oldest living man in existence! Julius Yornoroak is the savior of all, for creating Idyll."

      Cassie gaped. He must be pretty full of himself to program the bots to say that. And by the look on her friend's faces, she could tell they felt the same. Even though they should be trying to save Reality, it couldn't hurt to get a quick tour. "Idyll bot?" Cassie questioned, "Can you give us a tour of Idyll?" The bot whirled and chippered, "Follow me!" The bot turned and floated away, and the group followed in the flying car.

      Once they were close to the city, the Idyll bot began its narrative. "On your left is the Life Elongation Tower, and on your right is the Bot Factory, where I was born, and the Flying Car factory just behind that!" The bot flew over the factories and to three tall, shining towers, and continued, "These are the Idyll Trade Towers. The best job to get assigned to!"

      "Assigned?" Cassie wondered, "What do you mean?" The bot laughed a robot laughed. "Of course!" it beeped, "We can't leave that big of a responsibility in the hands of the civilians! Everyone is carefully evaluated, and when the time comes, they get paired up, are given jobs, and their own house in the Idyll Residential Center to your left. It has rocket tubes to every corner of Idyll, and UD-SINE technology, also invented by Mr. Yornoroak!"

    Will butted in, "What's UD-SINE technology?"  "Glad you asked!" the bot clicked, "UD-SINE technology is the best thing for over-population! Each housing space receives nine square feet, and the owners design whatever they want. Then the machine creates what they put in, and voila! They can have up to 100 acres of land in only that small space!"

    "That's impossible!" Susan exclaimed. Cassie gave her the really-you-think-that's-impossible-look-at-me look and she dropped the issue. "This place can't be perfect! Nobody is perfect!" Braddock ranted. The Idyll bot tilted its head and beeped, "I am not programed to respond to such rubbish."

      Cassie looked at all of the people below them. No imperfections on any of them! Flawless hair, smiling faces, they were perfect! Cassie wondered how one person could make everyone so perfect. "It's like magic!" Cassie yelled. The robot stopped and turned around. Having gotten to Cassie's window, it's eyes flashed and chirped, "No magic whatsoever! Magic is simply science that your simple minds do not understand." It beeped and continued the tour.

      Once it arrived back at the Life Elongation Tower, it asked if they needed anything else, since it was programmed to do so. "We need to meet with Mr. Julius Yornoroak, please." Will spoke up. "No autographs." the bot replied. Charlie butted in, "We just need to speak with him." "No autographs." it repeated.

      Cassie knew they weren't going to get through to it. It was programmed one way, and that's it. The poor robot didn't have the ability to think for itself. That's it! Cassie went over to the window and looked at their guide.

Little bot that doesn't know,

You were programmed to do your orders without fighting back,

With my powers, to you I bestow,

The ability to think on your own, and a name that is Mac!

    The robot shook around and sparked. It whirred and clicked and dinged. With a big screech, it stopped moving.

      "Mac?" Cassie called quietly, "Can we speak with Mr. Julius Yornoroak?" The bot looked at Cassie and flashed its electric eyes. "Well," Mac pondered, "I really do not see why not. Follow me!"

      They parked the flying car outside Julius Yornoroak's Palace. It was so tall that you couldn't see the top from the ground. Mac flew up the steps and scanned a mark on the wall. With a few beeps, the doors slid open. "Come on!" the robot yipped. Everyone hurried inside.

      Everything was white and glistening. The floors were paved with gold, and the ceiling dotted with silver. Its incredibility could rival that of the legendary streets of Olympus. The group walked down a narrow hall, tracking in tons of mud; some robots promptly scurried over to clean up the tracks. They went up some steps and another door opened.

      They all walked in the huge vibrant room, with more gold than where they were previously. At the opposite end of the room sat a solid gold throne with goose feather-stuffed cushions. "Whoa." Cassie whispered. Stella rolled her eyes.

      "Who enters my home?" a voice bellowed. An old man stood a few feet away from the chair. He looked at the robot and said, "Report?" Mac twirled and beeped, "Um, these visitors wanted to meet you." "And what did you say?" Yornoroak persisted. "I said 'No Autographs.'!" the bot buzzed proudly, making Cassie snicker.

      "And then what?" Yornoroak pressured. "They said they didn't want autographs so I brought them here!" it whirred in response. The man nodded. "I see," he sighed, "a malfunctioning robot. That mustn't happen again. TRASH THIS ONE!"

      Big sumo-sized robots thumped out and went for the robot, who scrambled for his life. "NO!" Cassie yelled, stopping the scene, "Why waste him, when I could fix him? Or at least try?" Yornoroak frowned, "I don't think so."

      Cassie put her head down and sighed, "In a
perfect
world, maybe."

      Yornoroak ordered his minions to leave. Idyll WAS perfect, and one girl's rumors weren't going to ruin it! "It's yours now." Yornoroak snorted, "Still under my command, but yours." The inventor sat on his throne and then continued, "Are you new here?" They all nodded. "Well then," he sighed, "Welcome to my greatest invention! Idyll is the only perfect place there is! We'll get you some housing, and I'm assuming that the delinquent gave you a tour. Any questions while you are here?"

      "Just one," Cassie began, "How do you keep this place, so 'perfect'?"

Mount Olympus

      “It worked!” a beautiful woman dressed in pink cheered. Her hair had no specific color and her face the likeliness of the most beautiful women throughout history. She looked down from her seat high in the sky on the mortal she bewitched. “The royal family will totally fall just as Zeus ‘prophesized’!” she proclaimed, standing from her chair as the mortal joined hands with a woman, “Clytemnestra will be soooo jealous when she discovers her hubby’s cheating on her!”

      “At least you have come through, Aphrodite.” a young man sighed, “Hades wasn’t so successful in the conversion of the Death Realm. He was captured by
him
.” The man sat down in the center throne and looked down on Earth.

      “Well what are we going to do, Zeus?” Aphrodite worried, “These foolish Greeks won’t be around forever! I want to be worshipped!” The goddess slammed her fist on the arm of her love throne, breaking a nail.

      “Relax!” Zeus comforted, placing his hand on Aphrodite’s shoulder, “I have finally created the spell that will do what we need. It requires the force of the three divisions of Reality: air, water, and death! All we need to do is distract
him
, free Hades, and cast the spell!”

      Aphrodite stood and crossed her arms. “What do I need to do now?” she huffed. Zeus smiled, “I’m sure you have an idea.”

      “Hello?!” Aphrodite called, waltzing into the Death Realm, “Is Tartarus here?” Aphrodite fixed her hair and looked around. That brute had better be there; she put on her most expensive cloak for this!

      A red lightning bolt shot across the dark sky, striking the inky ground. In a swirl of goop, a menacing-looking man appeared, sitting in a rocking chair made-of bones. “Hello, Aphrodite.” Tartarus greeted, rocking back and forth, “I know what you are up to, but have no fear, I want the same thing you do! Have a seat and we’ll discuss.”

     With the wave of his hand, Tartarus made a second bone chair appear from the slime. Sitting in the chair, Aphrodite began, “So.”

     “You and your fellow Olympians want to be worshipped as gods, and in order to do that you need to cast a spell that requires the three forces of Reality.” Tartarus recounted, “Hades tried to overpower me, but failed. Even though you tried to destroy me, I have decided to offer my assistance. I will free Hades and let you cast the spell which will make you into immortal Greek ‘gods’, so long as you spread the word that I, Tartarus, is the Darkest Soul, and all shall fear me.”

      Tartarus looked at Aphrodite, his black eyes swirling in his evil skull. “Deal.” Aphrodite agreed, “Now bring me Hades.”

      The Darkest Soul whisked his hand, turning into black ink, and vanished. In his place sat a ghostly white man wearing black rags. “Hades!” Aphrodite yelped, “How are you?”

      “Fine.” Hades grumbled, “Let’s go back to Olympus and cast this spell I heard about.”

      After arriving back in Olympus, the Big Three gathered around a gold cauldron; Hades with Tartarus’s staff, Poseidon with his trident, and Zeus with his lightning bolt. They each pointed their tools at the cauldron and Zeus began the spell.

Better than mortals,

Wizards we are,

Atop Mount Olympus and behind its walls,

Gods we shall be forevermore.

      The gold cauldron and the wizards’ tools glowed brightly, emitting a golden smog from the handles. “It’s working!” Poseidon yelled, “I can feel the power rushing into me!”

      The smoke cleared, and the gods emerged, clothed in shining satin robes. “I am Zeus!” Zeus announced, raising his arms, “King of the Gods!”