Chereads / earth orc / Chapter 169 - 39

Chapter 169 - 39

You have acquired two artifacts that should help you halt the Surgeons' incursion into Earth. You place them on the table before you.

The first is the Zapp Sapper, which you brought back from the year 2089, and which Mekk promised would be a powerful weapon against the Surgeons. Powerful in what way, you aren't sure—but Zara Nalluri manipulated Mekk into bringing it to Seattle. That gives an indication of how much the Surgeons valued it.

The second is a replica of the ancient jinn flask, created in MetaHuman's laboratories by your own research team. It contains a jinni, a massive creature of flame and destruction, which is immune to the Surgeons' corrupting influence. You only wish you had some idea of when, precisely, you're supposed to quite literally let the genie out of the bottle.

Just then, there is a knock on the door of your office. Claudette enters. "Mr. ., I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Please. It's no disturbance at all. How can I help you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the warehouse you visited in July, the one containing the clone of Anaru Katariki."

You nod. You remember it well.

"That warehouse was surrounded by sorcerous boundary sigils, creating a sort of barrier spell, one that only you could cross. Similar sigils have been found in caves near Rabat, in Morocco. I believe you were there recently?"

Again, you nod. "Where are you going with this, Claudette?"

She swallows, then says, "That barrier spell was effective against the Surgeons, I believe. Though magic isn't my forte, I think I can replicate the spell and alter its…its "magical frequency," if you will, so that it would only affect Surgeons. I could place a barrier around MetaHuman Tower, for example, which would stop the Surgeons from entering—or it would confine them indefinitely, if they are already present."

"Just around MetaHuman Tower? That's as much as you could do?"

Claudette shrugs. "I could place the barrier spell all around Seattle, really. But that would be as large as I could make it."