Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

gulf between him seemed much too wide to pass if his change in mobility stayed the same.

Moving to one of the large sections of wall, he sat on one that reminded him of the “S” shape in Tetris. Instead of supporting his weight, the massive piece of stone tipped over like a movie prop, tumbling him onto the ground.

Gus leaned forward to touch the stone and found that without even contacting it he could move and position it. He extended his palms in front of him and lifted the large stone easily in the air. Twisting his right wrist the piece rotated clockwise and counterclockwise. Pushing his left palm forward or back rotated the shape away and towards him. Once again, this took no MP and he showed no active abilities on his display.

Setting the rock down, he put his hands on his hips and looked up at the castle ramparts. Picking up other pieces of debris and manipulating them, his inner gamer began to see some distinct patterns with the broken sections on the ground.

Gus found his original piece, which was one of the smaller ones, and manipulated it up into the broken rampart. After positioning it, he ‘set’ the piece and it clicked in place just like a Lego block, locking in position without the need for mortar. Nodding to himself, he set to work trying to fix the broken walls.

It turned out placing small pieces first was a mistake, as there was no place for the larger pieces. It quickly became obvious that there were enough stones in the rubble pieces to entirely rebuild the section of the rampart and no remaining openings, so Gus put himself to the task of fitting everything together. The pieces snapped apart just as easily when he had to remove them, but he could only manipulate one at a time.

Once he flipped a piece and inverted it, he could see how its unique configuration would slide into the right side of the breach. After that, the other large piece could only fit one way and this drastically cut down on the area he needed to fill. As he slid the last piece in place, the edges of the bricks flared and the rampart was whole again, becoming indistinguishable from the remaining intact sections of the castle.

Gus found that he could no longer remove the individual pieces either. A large portcullis stood to the right of the section he had just repaired. After a minute of nothing happening, he went up to the bars and peered in, but could see only darkness as he held onto the cold steel bars. There was nothing to manipulate here, no handles or levers, so Gus began walking around the castle walls.

As he turned the corner around a cylindrical tower, he saw another section of broken rampart. Thick vines had grown around the blocks in this area and Gus had to pull on certain vines and untie them from knot-like growths to free the blocks before he could set to repositioning them in the wall.

Instead of rectangular blocks, these pieces were hexagonal and took much longer to manipulate and get in a correct orientation. Instead of putting them up on the wall, Gus climbed onto a tree thick with vines and used the vantage point to flip and turn the blocks until he finally managed to get them to fit together.

An advantage to this approach was that as two blocks connected in a correct way, a purple light would flash and the pieces would connect. As before, it became much easier once a couple of pieces were in place, and after much trial and error, Gus had the entire section back in place.

There were four more broken walls, each with increasingly difficult challenges. There were smaller sections which increased the time it took to figure out how to place everything. Tougher knots encircled pieces and some were partially buried in the ground. Then there were extra pieces that did not belong in the wall that increased the time it took to single out what belonged and what did not.

Finally, when he had the last piece in place there was a tension in the air, then a popping sensation. Gus rattled his jaw left and right and he could hear again. A rasping noise could be heard in the distance like stone sliding across stone, peppered with the tinkling rattle of chains.

Gus jogged back to the front of the castle and saw that the portcullis was raised, and torches had sprung to life along the corridor leading inside. He walked an unnaturally long time before finally seeing daylight glowing at the end of the corridor. There was no way the walls could be that thick, but it was probably due to some way the cube functioned. Gus wondered if this was a simulation, another dimension, or what he was actually experiencing as he came closer to the end of the tunnel. Loose dirt and an arena could be seen ahead as if he was entering a coliseum.

The realization made him tense up and he slowed down and warily exited the tunnel. No one attacked, but a large blue window opened up in the center of the large arena. A pleasant female voice cooed, “Welcome back, Dr. Flak.”

Gus read the screen.

Directory (Amethyst)

- Sapphire: Hybrid Research (Mammalian)

- Ruby: Transdimensional Effects

- Citrine: Hybrid Research (Insectoid)

- Emerald: Augments and Enhancements/Blueprints

- Diamond: Mandrite Crystal Research

As he gazed at the different options, a portal would open under the display and the dominant color would populate the inside of the portal. The edges looked like a liquid form of neon that appeared to flow around the borders of the portal. Gus sensed that it would not be a good idea to touch it, but his curiosity did make him wonder what would happen if something did graze the edge.

Gus recognized the circuit board walls visible in the augments and enhancements selection, as well as the jungle tinged with orange. He was about to step