Free Mobius by Vincent Vale Page B

hypo-injector?
    Despite my worsening condition, two guards escorted me to a room attended by twelve officials. All exuded a self-righteous air, suggesting they were diplomats and military personnel. They sat in a row at one side of a large smart table, across from a single lonely chair to which I was directed.
    Of the twelve faces before me, I could only identify two—Allienora Chang and Defense Minister Renworth Vole, the gentleman I had met through simulacrum on the Brahman Station, only hours before its sabotage.
    I took my seat and experienced an irksome sensation. It wasn’t related to the illness induced by the injection from Sensimion’s colleague, but rather it was a sensation somehow dreadfully familiar. I couldn’t remember when I had felt it before. It warped my mind in a terrifying way. The sensation flowed through me, and twisted in my stomach like a coiling serpent.
    Before I could put my finger on the familiar sensation, Allienora began the inquiry. “We gather on this day to address your involvement, Theron Mobius, in the sabotage of the Brahman Station.”
    I pounded my fist on the table. “Goddamn you all! I’ve lost everything from this tragedy. Why do you wish to further plunge me into this quagmire of misery? I’ve done nothing wrong!”
    “Don’t jump to conclusions, Mr. Mobius,” said Defense Minister Renworth Vole. “We’re not here to incriminate you for the events on the Brahman Station. We don’t believe you were directly responsible. Yet, we do believe you were deceived by this fellow, Sensimion, so he could gain access to the Brahman Station. From the recordings we have of the events, we’re certain Sensimion was behind the sabotage.”
    “I’m confused,” I said. “If you have recordings of the events on the station, then you have the recording of Atticus crying out just before my pod-ship was damaged.”
    “What are you referring to, Mr. Mobius?” asked one of Renworth Vole’s advisers.
    “Just before the dimensional gateway was activated, Atticus spoke about his doppelgänger. There was someone aboard the station impersonating him. Atticus also indicated that Sensimion was trying to stop the saboteur.”
    “There are no such recordings,” said Allienora. “You were badly injured, Theron. Could these events be a hallucination?”
    “No! These events happened before I was hurt.”
    Renworth Vole drummed large fingers on the table. “Maybe Atticus was also a part of this conspiracy.”
    “A possibility we should look into,” said Renworth Vole’s advisor.
    I stood tall out of my chair. “How dare you implicate Atticus! He was a good man! He was my friend! My family!”
    “Calm yourself,” said Renworth Vole. “Tell us how Sensimion coaxed you into giving him access to the Brahman Station.”
    I’ll tell them everything. I’ll clear Atticus’ name. I’ll tell them of the unnatural dimension shrouding Earth and the manifestations of the Fume that manipulate humankind.
    But, as my lips formed words, I hesitated. I remembered the oppressive sensation that afflicted me minutes ago. The only other time I had felt such visceral dread had been in the presence of that bastard doctor from the sanitarium. And if I took all Sensimion’s theories for fact, then the doctor from the sanitarium was a manifestation of the Fume—and, by some mysterious ability, I was able to sense the presence of these manifestations. If this was indeed the case, then I sensed another manifestation at this very moment sitting across the table from me.
    One of these twelve officials is a monster. A monster I will kill! Kill! Kill!
    I froze in anger. The true saboteur of the Brahman Station—and demolisher of my life—sat with confidence before me. I now knew why there were no recordings of Atticus’ outcries before the sabotage. The manifestations of the Fume were attempting to blame Sensimion.
    “Are you all right, Theron?” asked Allienora. “It’s not a difficult question.”
    “But