Mage Against the Machine by Shaun Barger

Author:Shaun Barger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saga Press

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Nikolai awoke in a panic, heart thumping with adrenaline. Lush, red-leafed forests closed in on the ruins of a half-burned town distantly below them.

He resisted the urge to thrash and struggle. The tentacles holding him did so loosely, just firmly enough to keep him from falling. If he started to move too much, they would probably tighten to keep him from escaping or, well, plummeting to his death. A problem a human might have—but not Nikolai. He kept his eyes half lidded, forcing himself to remain limp.

Tiny machines held aloft by tiny rotors buzzed around him like a swarm of insects, their little bodies like ten-sided dice, each surface glinting with bubbles of plastic. Cameras? They moved quickly, jerking from one spot to another, constantly shifting positions as they followed, examining Nikolai from every possible angle.

He realized that he’d dropped the bag. No matter—his Focals remained firmly sheathed in their holsters, and that’s what was really important.

Nikolai gently turned his head, surveying the scene. The sun was still out—and there, back where they came from—he could still see the lake. It was far now, a tiny black puddle in the distance.

They were flying roughly east toward a distant series of structures, like whitewashed cement honeycombs—sterile and alien. Nikolai couldn’t even begin to guess what purpose any of the structures might serve. There were dozens of them, and though they looked small from this distance, he could tell they must be massive.

Glinting crafts circled the sky over the structures like scavenger birds. Clouds of tiny coordinated drones surged in complex formations through the airspace over the honeycombs. The area was bustling, though not with any sort of human activity he could see. The forest was cleared for miles around and twisted with neat service roads.

Nikolai was struck with the mental image of a wasp bringing prey back to its hive. To lay eggs in, or tear it apart, or—hell, whatever awful shit wasps got up to. As they drew closer to the structures, it became increasingly difficult for him to smother the terrified claustrophobic panic threatening to overcome his fragile calm.

But then—there! Wispy columns of smoke coming from the north. Though it was difficult to make out from this distance, it appeared that there was another settlement, much different from the cement hive. Some sort of military base surrounded by chain-link fences, dotted with watchtowers. Runways, hangars—the tarmac scattered with sleek, futuristic jets and lined with sturdy buildings.

West of the runways were what appeared to be a series of squat living complexes. Northwest of the runways, but still within the vast area surrounded by the fence, was some sort of tent city. Beyond that, houses. A town!

The installation was huge—everything was spread out, with vast plots of grass between the runways, the town, and the various other facilities scattered across the base.

The fence surrounding the base was surrounded by an even broader area of exposed soil. Dozens of tanks lined the fence, facing out in all directions—dark green trucks and other, smaller vehicles zooming along, constantly patrolling the parameters.

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