AMBYSSUS | Ch. 16 - The Crime Spree (Patreon)

She studied the man in front of her. He was short, and his hair was meticulously combed and drenched in hair products. His lab coat was full of oil smears, which were highly unusual for someone in his field of study. She had read his file before and integrated the panel discussing whether he was a suitable candidate for the academy. Even though he was undoubtedly a brilliant man with a degree in mechanical engineering and another in neurology, the academy considered his research eccentric, and his nomination had been turned down more than once.

"It’s no trouble at all, emissary. Having someone from the Science Academy here to see me is an honor. Although I have to admit that, for the life of me, I can't understand why you'd come to see me."

"To be honest with you, Dr. Neuer, I came to see you because I read your file, and I know you're the best neurologist in New Lisbon."

The man stood there unfazed, silently accepting the professor's praise. He didn't bother with false modesty but didn't look proud, either. It was just a fact. Esther imagined that had she said that the sky was blue or that water was wet, she would get the same reaction.

"Who's the patient?"

"Me, actually." The doctor widened his eyes and jolted upright with a flashlight in hand.

"What symptoms do you have?" He turned on the flashlight and tested her pupil's reactions.

"I was aboard a Zeppelin for a week, and suddenly, I and a colleague passed out. None of the other crew members suffered anything similar. We were taken to the hospital. I was out for two days, and my colleague hasn't awakened yet. I woke up with no recollection of what happened to me."

"This is highly unusual. Were you and your colleague together when this happened?"

"I don't remember. But the crew that found us said that we were."

The doctor spared a look at the machine. "When did you say this was?"

"Three days ago." She noticed how the man gulped nervously.

"What time of the day?"

"Mid-afternoon?"

"Please excuse me for a moment. Doris! Come here!" Esther felt heavy steps like a bear was walking in the lab but was greeted with something entirely different. It was a short woman, or at least, that's what Dr. Neuer had designed the automaton to look like. She was entirely made of metal, and a huge tube kept her connected to what Esther assumed was a boiler of some kind.

Esther couldn't help but think of the automaton clock in her hometown. Her mom had taken her there several times at noon when the parade of choreographed mechanical dolls performed an amusing ballet for the public.

"Did you build this automaton?"

"No, an old student did."

"Really? He must be brilliant."

"He sure was. Came from Mr. Jebediah’s opportunity school. He knew his way around machines like no one else. Everything he did was ground-breaking. I might be the best neurologist, but that boy was a better mechanical engineer.”

“Was?”

“Yes. Sadly, he's no longer here with us.”

With precise movements, Doris finally arrived at their side. The craftsmanship was exquisite!

"It's impressive. And did it just obey your command?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Sounds are vibrations in the air. It's tricky, but I created a mechanism that responds to certain sequences of vibrations caused by my commands." She noted how he proudly took credit for the upgrades to his student's inventions.

"What commands does it understand?"

"It's all still very rudimentary. It responds to 'come,' 'rest,' and 'report.'" The mechanical doll stared with her dead eyes at Esther but didn't move otherwise. It was unsettling and fascinating at the same time.

"She hasn't done anything after hearing you issue those commands just now."

"It's because I need to preface it with her name. Doris, report."

"When?" The voice was muffled and seemed to come from an entirely different place in the lab, almost like a recording played on a gramophone. "Three days." This automaton was much more advanced than the doctor was letting on. They were having a conversation. Esther made a mental note to send a letter to the academy. This man was far too brilliant to remain here. His student was also a genius for creating this automaton. Both would be valuable assets to the academy. From the doll's back, a long slip of paper rolled out. By the time the slip had fully come out, it was three meters long.

"What's that?"

"Since the flood started, my wave scanner has been giving me trouble."

"Wave scanner?"

"My latest research."

"Which is..." prompted Esther.

"Just like we use vibrations in the air to propagate sound, I've been researching the existence of other invisible vibrations in the air. I call them mental waves." Esther made an effort not to twist her mouth. She didn’t want to disrespect the man or show her reluctance. "This machine is designed to scan them and register the results on this piece of paper. But from a few weeks back, the device has been going haywire. It's always giving me results off the charts, and the time you experienced this brain trauma coincides with when my machine picked up these readings. Here. Look."

As Esther picked up the paper, at first, all she saw were scribbles. But then, she recognized the oscillations running through the paper. They weren't very different from the ones produced by seismographs. "Are these mental waves?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes. Look over there. See that spike? It coincides with your condition."

"Can't it be a coincidence?"

"Were it just one person, I would say so. But two?"

"What is your suggestion, doctor?"

"What if all the static my device has been capturing isn't static? What if it is the prelude of some mental wave eruption? Perhaps some phenomenon produced a huge burst of mental wave energy. It was localized and only affected you and your colleague."

Esther sighed. So this was why he hadn't made it into the Science Academy. After you spoke to him briefly, all the crazy started coming out. "Thank you so much for your help, Dr. Neuer. It's been terrific."

"I'd like to run some tests. Just to make sure you're alright."

"Maybe some other time. I have an afternoon appointment that I'm dreading but can't miss."

*

Joey had been brought to the precinct and rushed into the commissioner’s office. All blinds were closed, and he was feeling woozy after the effort of coming straight out of a hospital bed. To make it worse, they had ridden here on horseback. Given the urgency in the commissioner’s tone, Joey couldn’t understand why they hadn’t brought the locotank. Now that they weren’t galloping on horses and in a quiet place, the commissioner let Joey make himself comfortable so that he could brief him.

“What is this about, chief?”

“Where should I start, Joey?” The commissioner walked toward a board filled with notes and connected with strings. “Toward the end of your journey aboard the Albatross three days ago, there was an unprecedented crime spree in the city.”

“What happened?”

“The most outstanding thing was a series of kidnappings. Clocksmiths, blacksmiths, train engineers, zeppelin mechanics, and other craftsmen disappeared overnight. They were all at the top of their fields. Some didn’t make it home. Others disappeared from their beds without their loved ones noticing. They simply vanished. All throughout the city. So far, we have registered over a thousand people missing without explanation.”

“A thousand?”

“Over a thousand. The real number is one thousand two hundred and three.” Joey thought furiously. This had never happened in the city. Sure, sometimes kidnapping and ransom demands happened here, like everywhere else on the planet, but it was exceedingly rare for there to be a kidnapping in a week. But over a thousand in just one night?

“This is a disaster! Any ransom demands? Any word from the kidnappers?”

“Nothing. No leads, no clues. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There was a string of thefts, too.”

“What was stolen?”

“To begin with,” Joey noticed how this sentence was dripping with rage, “All of our locotanks were stolen.”

“What?”

“You heard me. The bandits had the gall to break into our precincts' trainyards and steal our locotanks.”

“The nerve!”

“The rendezvous clock was also stolen.”

Joey stared blankly at the commissioner.

“Excuse me?”

“The rendez-vous clock. Stolen. The market one, too.”

Joey was silent for a few seconds. These were huge pieces of machinery. How could they disappear into thin air in one night?

“The whole tower?”

The commissioner chuckled. “I don’t blame you for asking. The whole thing sounds preposterous. No. Just the clock and the crank. It is an empty tower now. Everything inside was stolen.”

Joey couldn’t process the scale of the criminal operation involved in making all these legendary crimes in one evening.

“That’s not all. Two zeppelins have disappeared. Six trains were stolen. And almost every single diamond in the city has gone missing. The most significant theft was that of the Dawn Star, the biggest diamond in the world, that was on display in the New Lisbon Metropolitan Museum.

As Joey tried to wrap his head around what had happened, he started to make sense of the board in the commissioner’s office: A list of names showing all those kidnapped. Next to it, there were some notes. 'Most victims are craftsmen. Why?' Croppings of newspaper articles were also pinned next to it. 'Where did they go?' read the Chronicle. 'Finley Thompson, right-hand of the mayor, gone missing.' The board had similar croppings next to notes related to some thefts. 'Only the bones of the clock remain,' read the New Lisbon Times.

"The whole city has gone crazy. A thousand people is a lot. Everyone in the city knows at least one of them or one of their relatives. The news spread and things started to get ugly. There have been acts of vandalism everywhere. The whole city has been graffitied. But that's not all. Something weird is also happening in the lake."

"Again? Don't tell me it has flooded."

"This is different."

"Did Dr. Link's expedition make it back?"

The commissioner sadly shook his head. Joey saw that the commissioner had bags under his eyes. He also noticed that this wasn't the usual briefing. It didn't feel like a boss briefing an underling but a detective touching bases with his partner.

"I'm going crazy. I have this unsettling feeling that all is connected, but I can't see how. Everything looks strange, and I can't make sense of it. I want your pair of fresh eyes on this, Joey. What do you make of all of this?"

"The first thing that stands out to me is that there is no way these crimes happened on the same night by accident or coincidence. This well-planned operation most likely involved every single criminal in New Lisbon. Not even a local pirate lord could activate so many resources at once. One would have to have control over all the pirate lords of the city to get this done. My first suspicion is that the black merchant did this. I mean… we have never confirmed whether he is an actual person or a local legend, but after seeing this, I can’t think of anyone else who could orchestrate something like this.”

“So we have the who and the how.” Fabius flipped the board to reveal a chalkboard. He grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote in big capital letters, 'black merchant' and then to one side, 'every criminal in the city involved.'

“As for the why… All that has been stolen is related to machinery. Even the people that were kidnapped were all craftsmen. My best guess is that the black merchant wants to build something.” Joey stopped. “I am sorry, commissioner, I am so tired that I am spinning a fable. This is all too far-fetched. Perhaps we should…”

“Nonsense, Joey. Quit whining and keep talking.” Fabius wrote on the board: 'Building something. What?' “So, how would you go about cracking this case, Joey?”

“I wouldn’t spend any time looking at the individual crimes and would try to see the bigger picture.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, if every criminal in the city had to be involved, I would go out into the streets and bring in every single criminal I could get my hands on to interrogate them. Maybe by cross-referencing their interviews, we could get a glimpse of what was going on.”

Fabius wrote down his suggestion on the board under the ‘to-do list.’

“What else?”

“I would consult the academic community in the city. I would list everything stolen and ask them what could be built with it.” Fabius wrote that down as well.

“Sir, something is bothering me, which I think will have to be considered too.”

“What is it, Joey?”

“The locotanks… wait a minute! Is that why you went to get me to the hospital?” Fabius grimaced.

“So you noticed,” he sighed. “Joey, there is no way on earth criminals could waltz into the precinct and take the locotanks. We have had hundreds of hours of training to learn how to operate the thing. They wouldn’t be able to drive it easily either.”

“They have people inside the force,” Joey exclaimed.

“You’re the only one I can trust, Joey. You’ve been outside the city for a week and in a hospital for the last few days. You are the only one I'm sure couldn’t have been involved in this.”

*

The Lithos Mountains were the most extensive mountain range in the world. They stretched hundreds of kilometers and were famous for their mines and precious gems. The mountains were so colossal that they impacted the weather throughout the continent.

Deep underground, a rock started shaking. Then another, and yet another. The vibration turned to warmth, and the warmth became smoldering heat. Incandescent rock melted into a trickling fiery ooze, which began converging into a mighty river of fire.

There was something in the air. It wasn't in the rock but in the water. It was far away, but it was there. How long had it been since another mind great as this had visited this backend world? Could it be that there was someone new to play with?

*

"Impressive, hey?" signaled Geoffrey toward the lake shore. From here, a crowd of people could be seen on one of the beaches near Geoffrey's animal pens. They were carrying people in wheelchairs and on beds and bringing them into the water. There were also shouts of joy and festive music. "What would you say is the scientific explanation for these miracle dives, professor?"

"I believe it to be some placebo effect. The crowd has been built into a frenzy. Once they calm down, the pains and symptoms will return."

"I don't know about that. I went to check it the other day, and there was a boy who could hardly talk when he got there, and once he came out of the water, he was singing like an angel." The professor let out a raspy sigh, signaling how annoyed she was. Geoffrey was having a hard time breaking the ice.

“Are you sure I can’t interest you in some tea?” asked Geoffrey.

“No, Mr. Geoffrey. You can not. But I thank you for your hospitality.”

Professor Esther looked tired and pale, perhaps due to her recent hospitalization. But the discomfort she felt was more than that. She didn't like him. She resented him for some reason. He wondered where that had come from.

“I was so worried to hear about what happened to you two. I got to see Joey this morning."

"How is the constable doing?"

"He had just woken up when I saw him, but the doctors believe he'll be OK. What about you? Are you feeling better today?”

“Yes, just slightly out of it. But I trust I should be back to a hundred percent in two days or so.”

“Good. Good. Find anything interesting while flying over the lake?” Geoffrey felt nervous and apprehensive about the possible answer. He didn’t know why he felt this way, though. His concern was what was happening on the lake shores, not deep into the lake.

“Nothing that I am ready to share at the moment. I still have to study the notes of my journey, and, as I am sure you can imagine, after leaving the hospital, I still haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Certainly. Certainly.”

“Why did you call me here, Mr. Geoffrey? Asking for a Science Academy’s ambassador is no small matter. I hope that your reason to call me is substantial.”

“Yes, professor. I understand that any unexplained ecological phenomena must be brought to the academy's attention.”

“That is correct, yes.”

“I would like to invite you to follow me, then.”

Esther stood and reluctantly followed after Geoffrey.

“Where are you taking me, Mr. Geoffrey? You're not taking me into that crowd of 'miracle divers,' right?”

“No, not at all. You see, shortly after the flood, I noticed something unusual.”

“What?”

“It’s easier if I show it to you. Please, bear with me.”

Geoffrey walked past the pier and headed toward one of the beaches on his property. The lake had again receded to normal levels. Although no trees emerged from the water now, some had branches long enough that they stretched over the lake’s water. Unlike the other beach, which was filled with people, this one was empty and quiet.

“What is unusual about this beach, Mr. Geoffrey?”

“Please, bear with me. Wait.”

Plop.

Esther turned. Something had fallen off one of the trees and fallen into the water.

"Probably a pond apple or a horse chestnut," suggested Esther. Pond apple trees and horse chestnut trees thrived in salty soils and lined the lake shores. Its fruits sometimes fell onto the water and were appreciated by the sirenian herds.

"Except it is not the right season for one or the other," riposted Geoffrey. “It’s something else, Professor.”

Plop. Something else fell into the water, somewhere else. Plop. Again.

"Please, hold this for me," asked Esther after taking off her long coat and handing it to Geoffrey. She promptly started climbing the nearest tree. Despite her recent health episode and age, she climbed it nimbly like a monkey. Once she got into the canopy of the trees, she disappeared behind the leaves.

Geoffrey smiled with an evil grin. It was all going according to plan. He patiently waited for a few minutes.

"Mr. Geoffrey, bring me my bag! Quick! Quick!"

Geoffrey put the rucksack around his back, hung the Professor’s jacket and his on one branch of the nearest tree, and started climbing clumsily. As he made it past the canopy of trees, he found Esther sitting on a branch, immobile, like a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse.

"Please, get me one of the jars inside my bag," she whispered

Geoffrey searched the bag and, finding one, passed it to her. She slowly grabbed the jar and, after a few patient seconds, in a swift movement, put a bug into it, quickly closing the lid.

A beetle, dark as the bark, looked at them through the glass jar. The unusual thing about the beetle is that it had only one eye. It tried going against the glass to leave the jar without success.

"Have you ever seen this insect?"

"Not before the flood. No."

A flash of light brightened inside the jar. The beetle had been set on fire and, in seconds, was reduced to nothing. Not even ashes remained.

"It did it again."

That’s why I told you it would be easier to show it. I couldn’t catch one despite several efforts.

Plop. Plop. Plop. Plop.

The sounds of objects falling into the water all around them interrupted the quiet silence of the forest.

“And there we go again. After you try to catch one, they all run away.”

“Strange. It’s not natural for beetles to swarm like this.” She took a notebook from her pocket and started drawing and taking notes. “Its eye was the strangest thing. I have never seen anything like it. It’s so unusual for an animal to only have one eye. As far as I know, only some microorganisms have only one eye.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” interrupted Geoffrey, “I would like to go back down. I am not as comfortable as you seem to be with heights.”

They swiftly climbed back down.

“You did well to call me Mr. Geoffrey. This insect has to be studied.”

“Is it a new species?”

“I am not sure yet, but I believe it is.” She took out the book that she had been drawing in on top of the tree. She had drafted a very realistic portrayal of the animal. “Most insects have what is called Bilateral Symmetry. This means that if you had to draw a line through the middle of their bodies, you would see that both sides are the same. These”, said Esther, pointing to her drawing, “are different. They have one eye. They are asymmetrical. When I counted the number of legs, it was an uneven number. Additionally, what animal bursts into flames by being observed? This is unheard of.”

“And how strange that its appearance matches the timing of the flood.”

Realization hit Esther, and Geoffrey could see the gears in her head turning. The seed had been successfully planted.

“Mr. Geoffrey, would you mind if I stayed here for the rest of the afternoon? I want to study these creatures more if that’s OK with you.”

“Of course, of course! I'll tell my boys to come and set up a tent for you and get you some supplies. Feel free to stay for as long as you like. I apologize, but I need to be back now. I have business to attend to, you see?”

“Of course. Thank you, Mr. Geoffrey.”

“Don’t mention it.” He winked and walked away.

*

As Esther saw Geoffrey’s back disappear in the distance, she sighed, intrigued. She looked at the drawing she had made. What were the chances of a new species of insect being discovered after all the strange events in town? She took the map she had drawn aboard the Albatross out of her bag. Looking at it and comparing it to the beetle, she sighed. It couldn’t be just a coincidence, could it?

*

"Miracle water! Miracle water! Get your miracle water for one quid!" It looked like Reggie had decided to change his game. Instead of claiming that he was the keeper of the passersby's deepest, darkest secrets, he shifted toward selling lake water. Even though the idea looked ridiculous, multiple people were coming to him and making purchases.

"You won't regret it, miss. After you drink this, I promise you'll feel ten years youngah."

"If that water is miraculous, how come none of your teeth has grown back? Or your hair?"

"Constable Joey, what a jolly good pleasure to see you. Came to get a bottle of the good stuff? Hey?"

"Please, Reggie. Don't try to fool me. Do you believe this stuff?"

"Do I? My good friend Tibbers got a limp for ages. The other day, I saw him runnin'. How do you explain it, chief?"

"Reggie, come on. You can't be serious. Is this even water from the lake?"

"Yeah."

"That doesn't sound too convincing."

"Constable, what do you want with ol' Reggie? I already told ya everything I knew the other day. I know nothin' about no oil."

"Today, what brings me here is something else entirely. Come to the precinct. You and I need to talk about what happened three days ago."

Ch. 15

INDEX

Ch. 17