Mask of Humanity

‘What do you want?’ asked the woman, once they were some distance from the others. She was terrified but trying hard not to show it. That was the correct move, but fruitless. She couldn’t hide her emotions from him.

‘Like I told them. You’ll be prisoners,’ he said. ‘Keep moving.’

She threw a sullen look over her shoulder, and stumbled on.

Nicolai was pleased that she seemed to understand the situation well.

In an unusual reversal of the norm, his Mask had actually wanted him to kill this pair. It had erupted with a killing rage when he first came upon the others and saw the state they were in. Though, once things had cooled down, it’d started to get unhappy about him letting Azure kick the woman, and then Perro’s words had grown an uncertainty within it. However, even after that, it had still wanted him to kill them and be done with it.

But that would be a waste, he’d told it. If they were going to die anyway, he might as well make best use of them. Their Seeds weren’t too far from completion, and that completion would grant them two Symbiotes. Nicolai wanted those Symbiotes.

They could also come in handy in another way, one he hadn’t mentioned to Jo. The Lotus Blossom Soul Trap required Cultivator’s Souls to complete it. He could keep them alive until he’d located the final pieces he needed to fashion it, and then these prisoners would provide two of the required Souls. Through this method he could “store” their Souls—as one might store food in a freezer—for quite a long time.

As he had this thought, he felt his Mask squirming uncertainly. It had descended from its vengeful, killing rage. Now, it was giving him a dim feeling that, in some way, simply killing these two was “a better thing to do” than; imprisoning them; force-feeding their Seeds until they were able to integrate; seizing the Symbiotes they would be rewarded for becoming Cultivators; and then killing them and using their Souls for refinement materials.

But Nicolai, despite allowing himself to ponder this, couldn’t see any reason why one was better or worse, “morally,” than the other. The only real difference was wastefulness and efficiency.

It would be wasteful to simply kill them when they could be so useful. And wastefulness should be avoided. Avoiding wastefulness was the kind of trait a Better Man would have. These two had already stolen some of the take in undead soul wisps from the other three. From what he’d gathered they’d been forcing the others to harvest the undead for quite some hours, until he’d gotten here. That time, and the energy they’d taken, would be wasted if he simply killed them. Of course, their Seeds would likely provide a good boost to any of the others, but that was a much less valuable return than gaining two extra Symbiotes.

Based on that: this was in fact the correct, moral, and sane route to take.

His Mask disagreed, and the crux of its argument seemed to be something to do with treating people as objects. It was getting increasingly abstract as it tied itself in knots thinking on the matter.

Nicolai remained unconvinced. He told the Mask that it had wanted them dead, and they would be dead, as it had desired—once he had extracted maximum value from them.

After some time he finished transporting the pair, biding the woman to stop. They had wound their way through the tunnels, ignored by the undead miners who were among the most stupid of the undead and didn’t even care about Nicolai obviously not being a prisoner.

They were now in a place he’d found in his previous explorations down here. There was a collapsed tunnel, one ignored by the dead, but through this tunnel was a crawl-space, a way through to the other side. On the other side there was a small, secluded area, with a big hole in the ground. A big hole with sheer walls.

Nicolai made the woman crawl through first, and instructed her to drag the man after her. Before that, though, he charged his rapier and sent it through to lurk on the other side. His Soul Sense was just able to reach.

‘If you try anything, this rapier will stab you,’ he’d told her before this, flicking his wrist to display the darting rapier.

He still expected her to try something, and so wasn’t surprised when after emerging on the far side she suddenly dashed away from the rapier, toward the hole.

Nicolai let her go, focusing on crawling through the tunnel, getting behind the man who he pushed the rest of the way. He felt the woman coming back towards them, presumably having realised this was a dead end and that there was nowhere to run, that her only chance was to fight. But she should’ve tried that earlier, now he was closer he had more room to move the rapier and he had it dart at her in stabbing motions, stopping just shy of catching her. The intimidation worked and she stumbled backward.

Nicolai shoved the man the last few feet and climbed out of the tunnel, brushing the dust off. The woman was staring at him. They could see one another because there was one torch in the wall, up here, though the hole itself was dark.

‘I’m not going in there,’ she said, her voice wavering.

‘You are going in there,’ he corrected her, and stepped forward.

She tried to fight but she was a very long way from being any kind of match for him. He dragged her to the edge of the hole, holding her by her wrists, then kicked her feet out from under her to send her over. She yelled as she dropped backwards, her arms jerking as he held her dangling over it.

‘I’m going to let you go in a moment,’ he began, in a calm and patient tone he hoped would help her relax. People were less likely to suffer injury when their muscles were relaxed. ‘The floor isn’t too far. Only around six or seven metres. That’s an easily survivable fall.’

‘Don’t drop me!’ she screamed.

‘You’ll be fine. Bend your knees slightly, and tense the muscles in your legs,’ he continued, most of his focus on his Soul Sense which was keeping tabs on the man on the ground behind him. He’d noticed that the man was just starting to come to, waking up, listening. ‘When you land, let your legs bend and try your best to topple backwards into a roll, that way you can safely disperse the force of your landing.’

‘Wait—‘ she began, the word turning into a shriek when Nicolai dropped her. There was a rustling from behind him as she landed with a thump and a grunt. She followed his instructions surprising well, rolling backwards.

He rose and stepped to the side in time to avoid the shove as the man, already on his feet, lunged toward him. Nicolai kicked out as he dodged sideways, and instead of shoving Nicolai into the hole, the man tripped over his leg and tumbled into it himself, letting out a shocked yelp.

Nicolai reached out and grabbed the man’s leg as he went by, tensing his body and rising, arresting the man’s momentum, holding him dangling over the drop. He ignored the yelling as he stared down, seeing the woman already getting to her feet and staring up at him.

That was good. It would be quite unfortunate if, while dropping them into the hole, one of these two were to break their necks. That would be a waste. So, it was necessary for him to give them instructions to help lower the risk of accidental death. The man would be harder, because he was upside down, which wasn’t ideal.

So he slowly got onto his knees, then leaned forward, holding tight to the man’s leg as he lowered the man closer to the ground. The man was squirming and thrashing. This forced Nicolai to make rapid adjustments to his stance to remain balanced, a challenge which he enjoyed. His increased strength due to becoming a Cultivator came in quite useful.

‘I’m going to drop you now,’ he began. ‘Extend your arms, bend your elbows slightly, and keep them tense. Try to land on your forearms, not your wrists. Ideally, try to roll forward. Make sure you tuck your head.’

Nicolai let go, and watched with interest. The man had ignored his instructions but his instinctual reaction of screaming and extending his arms to protect his head was correct enough, anyway, though from the yell when he landed it sounded like he likely damaged his shoulders and might even have a broken arm.

Not a problem. They didn’t need to be entirely healthy; mostly whole would do. Nicolai rose to his feet. He took out the water bottle he’d taken from the pair and tossed it down. However, he’d also taken a batch of sustaining seeds from them, which he kept, intending to give it to the others who would distribute it to the prisoners. The food, parcelled out at mealtimes, would be used to encourage good behaviour.

The pair were staring up at him.

‘What do you want!’ yelled the man, holding his left arm gingerly.

‘You two have stolen from my people,’ said Nicolai. ‘You stole their time, and their effort, in the form of the wisps of Soul from the undead. As payment for this, you are going to give us something in return.’

‘What?’ asked the woman.

‘First, you are going to complete your Seeds. Once your Seeds are complete, I will allow you to integrate them and become Cultivators. I will even take those bands off from around your necks.’ Nicolai smiled kindly down at them, and shifted his tone, patient and explanatory. ‘It does not bother me that you stole from my people. It is understandable. Everyone in this world is out for themselves, and we are not allies. I am not angry and I do not desire revenge. But, I cannot afford to suffer such a loss. You must pay us back. Once you have done so, you will be free to go. In fact, not only will you be free, you will be stronger, having completed and integrated your Seeds.’

‘That doesn’t explain what you want,’ said the man, slowly.

‘I’m sure you have both completed some challenges in the past. When you integrate your Seed, you will find that another challenge is completed. There will be a Reward Shrine. You will turn over the rewards from these shrines. That is all. After that, you will be free to go.’

The pair frowned up at him, uncertain. The reason Nicolai was telling them these things, rather than simply leaving, was that he knew that giving them some kind of hope, dangling the possibility that they might survive if only they did what he told them, would make them less likely to do something foolish like committing suicide.

They wouldn’t believe him, not entirely. But a part of them would cling to his words nevertheless. A drowning man will reach for anything that floats, no matter how small and flimsy.

‘I’m sorry! About your people, about hurting them!’ said the woman, all of a sudden. ‘That we did all this! We didn’t have a choice, that’s all it was. We’re not bad people. Come on. Please!’

‘Yeah, yeah, come on man. Everyone has to do some tough shit out here,’ spoke up the man, inspired into his own effort by her. ‘Can’t you just let us go?’

Nicolai ignored them, busy examining the hole. It had been dug for reasons unknown out of the stone, and bore the marks of pickaxes. He could imagine that some time, long ago, the dead must have been gradually mining their way down to the bottom of this pit, getting in and out via ladders. Perhaps there had been an unusually large vein of Oma crystal down there.

Now, there was nothing, just an empty space. The walls were sheer, the stone was strong and these two would not be carving handholds with their fingernails. The top was also high enough that even if the woman were to stand on the shoulders of the man, and jump, she would not be reaching it.

It was a secure prison.

‘Okay, sure, we’re pieces of shits!’ said the woman, still making the hopeless effort. ‘But ain’t you better than us? Remember what that kid said. About not being as bad as us, right? You’re a good person, I can tell! That’s why you made sure we didn’t get hurt, when you dropped us, right?’

Nicolai snorted, and almost laughed. He was tempted to tell them that Satan kept a spot ready for him, that for a soul as soaked in red as his their blood represented mere drops, that if she actually thought he was a good person she was a fool.

But Nicolai had learned long ago that it was generally best to keep his true thoughts to himself. If they knew that only death awaited them, they would go to any and all lengths to escape, or even seek to kill themselves.

So, he looked halfway convinced, he looked thoughtful. He sighed. He shook his head. ‘I’m not letting you out. I’m sorry. Once we’ve done the business, as I said, I’ll let you go.’

‘You’re just stealing from us, by taking whatever rewards we get!’ the woman spat accusingly, arrowing in on the weakness he was apparently showing.

Yes, that’s right. Nicolai gave an even bigger sigh and looked all glum, but it was a halfhearted effort at best. ‘Sorry about that.’ He was tired of the act and felt he’d done more than enough to encourage hope. In fact, she really seemed to believe that he would let them go after taking the Symbiotes they gained. Job done.

Ignoring their cries, he stepped away then crawled back out through the cramped hole through the collapsed tunnel. He hoped that the difficulty of getting inside would mean that in any future bug attacks, these two would be spared. He spent some time finding a decently large chunk of rounded stone, which he rolled into position, loosely blocking the gap.

He wasn’t certain how much to tell the others. He was sure that he was doing the right thing (in terms of making the best, most efficient use of this opportunity), but he wasn’t sure if they would feel the same. Jo and Beth, of course, would be on side. Azure wouldn’t care. Perro… Nicolai wasn’t sure how the boy would feel about this.

However, ultimately he concluded that he held enough influence and sway to convince them that he was in the right. It was best that he did explain roughly what was happening, because he’d need the three down here to mind the prisoners, as well as start splitting some of their take with the prisoners. He could have Jo do all of that herself, but it was better that she had help.

He decided to simply tell them a slightly false version, similar as the one he’d told the prisoners.

###

‘—and once they have paid us back, perhaps we can let them go. If they seem properly repentful. Who knows.’ Nicolai was smiling at the others as he finished the impromptu speech.

Jo, standing a little aside, eyed him. She kept her mouth shut since she was aware his words were for the benefit of the other two, not for her.

She already knew the truth: that once those two had served their purpose, they’d be suffering a short, sharp, end. She wasn’t sure she minded. It was just… she’d expected him to just kill them. Taking them prisoner for eventual Symbiotes made sense, she supposed, but it just seemed very… cold. Using people as resources. It was the kind of thing her father would have done.

He wouldn’t have liked Nicolai, she was increasingly sure of that. He would’ve been unwilling to trust someone presumably very old, who’d been part of a killbot for so long. And Nicolai wouldn’t have liked him. People like that couldn’t be around one another. There would always be an awareness that sooner or later, only one could remain.

‘Let them go?’ said Azure, snorting. ‘Not likely. It’s a good idea, though. They owe us.’

Perro didn’t say anything, but he was smiling and clearly pleased. The relief was practically boiling off the boy, ever since Nicolai had taken care of Honey Bear and Honey Boo.

‘It’ll be up to you three to look after them. I know you may be angry,’ he glanced at Azure meaningfully, ‘but you must put that aside. They represent an investment so don’t harm them. Every day, take one third of the total take of Soul wisps and deliver it to them. Try to ensure they split it evenly. If they give you trouble…’ he shrugged, and glanced at Jo. ‘You have the sustaining seeds, so simply starve them until they are willing to behave.’

‘So we’ll fill a Soul Trap, and toss it down to them?’ asked Jo, who’d identified an issue.

Nicolai nodded.

‘What if they refuse to give it back?’ she continued.

‘If you starve them long enough I suspect they will. But there’s things you can do. Throw stones at them, perhaps. If they cause significant trouble, simply let me know via the drone and I will come and remind them to behave.’

Remind them to behave. The language was gentle, the meaning was not. Jo felt she understood what that would involve. Beside her, Perro and Azure, who she suspected didn’t, were nodding blithely.

‘Your Seeds appear to be in your stomach,’ said Nicolai. He eyed Jo curiously. ‘Why?’

She shrugged. ‘Don’t look at me, it was the kids idea,’ she said, glancing at Perro, who received Nicolai’s gaze.

‘Uh, well, those guys wanted to steal our Seeds. So I thought of swallowing them, since they might not die in our stomachs.’

‘Looks like you were right,’ said Nicolai. ‘I can see them, they’re fine.’

‘Wait, what?’ spoke Azure. ‘See them?’

‘The more advanced Soul Sense you gain upon becoming a Cultivator has more capabilities than the basic Seed version,’ he explained, staring at Azure’s stomach. ‘With it, I can see inside of your stomach, so long as you aren’t too far from me.’

The three of them gaped at him. Jo hadn’t realised it could do so much; Beth had just told her “It’s totally dope, way better than the old type.”

‘So you can literally see inside our stomachs?’ said Azure, eyes wide.

‘Yes. I’m looking inside yours right now,’ he confirmed.

‘Holy fuck!’ she squealed, raising jittery arms and stumbling sideways, then turning and running around the tunnel as though chased by an invisible creature. ‘Get the fuck out, dude!’

‘There is no reason for concern,’ he said, seeming confused. ‘Your stomach is fine.’ He looked to Jo and Perro. ‘Can you remove them?’

Perro had been quiet, focusing, in this time, and he spoke up then. ‘I’m working on it. I’m making it crawl up… it’s coming.’ As he spoke, the rest of them watched him. ‘Here it is, it’s—‘ He suddenly gagged and spluttered, abruptly bending over and coughing, then a little pale, shining glow was spat out of his mouth, caught in his quickly raised hands. ‘I—‘ He began, then coughed again. ‘I, uh. I got it.’ He managed a slightly damp grin at them.

‘Good work,’ said Jo, smiling at the youth, not feeling particularly enthused at the idea of going through what he’d just gone through. No choice, though. The Seed wasn’t much good to her in her stomach.