Chapter 6
What is going on?
Circe didn’t know what to think anymore. A dream that turned out to be real. A co-worker who went from flirting to attempted murder to self-immolation. And now, she had several overly large men and a few women eyeing her, expecting answers.
She’d been escorted from the room holding the bloodied and muddied Taurus—who nobody seemed to care had passed out—to an office where too many people had gathered.
Daunting, and yet, unlike her own co-workers, none of them mocked her theory about the asteroid.
On the contrary, they took her seriously.
“I realize this situation is likely frightening; however, you are in a safe place,” Aries said to start.
“When we met last night, you shared with me your suspicions about the asteroid. Since I’ve not yet had a chance to fill in those present, I’d appreciate you briefing us on everything you’ve discovered thus far, including the incident that injured Taurus.
Once everyone is caught up, we can get started on a plan of action. ”
“I’ll be honest, I’m still not quite sure what happened at my place,” Circe murmured. She’d yet to process the insanity of Andreas’ attack.
“Just stick to the facts. Even the stuff that seems inconsequential,” Aries clarified, looking grimmer than the last time they met. “Start with the asteroid and your work with the Antikythera mechanism. Don’t leave any detail out, as it could be important.”
A seated Circe took a quick glance at all the watching faces before starting.
“For those who aren’t aware, I’m an astronomer for the National Observatory of Athens.
Not too long ago, our monitoring systems detected an interstellar object exiting the Milky Way and entering our solar system.
They named the asteroid 8675309 Odyssey. ”
A man who’d introduced himself as Aquarius snickered. “You’ve got to be kidding.” When he received blank looks, he sputtered, “Don’t any of you know the song about Jenny?”
“You know I don’t like that modern shit,” Leo grumbled.
The woman, introduced to Circe as Dr. Ruth Warmstone, snorted. “Because you’re old. I know the song.”
As did Circe, who’d looked it up and had a listen when their American colleagues mocked the name given to the asteroid.
“If you could continue,” Aries prompted, giving a stern look to Aquarius.
“The interstellar object is quite large, spherical in shape, the surface of it pitted and rocky in appearance. Spectroscopy determined it to be a solid rocky mass, therefore an asteroid, and not made up of ice and gas like a comet would be. What’s odd is it’s moving faster and at more variable speeds than expected. ”
“Could it be a spacecraft?” interrupted Aries.
“A few days ago, I would have said doubtful,” Circe’s wry reply.
“There are no visible signs of a propulsion system, such as exhaust. Most likely it’s outgassing or pushes from solar radiation pressure giving it movement.
Computer modeling indicates it will pass by the Earth without harm.
However, there is a possibility those predictions are wrong. ”
“You think it will change course?” Aquarius prompted. “Asteroids and other space debris don’t usually do so without some kind of outside force affecting their path.”
“That is correct. However, in this case, there might be a problem with our data.” She took a deep breath and launched into her theory, bracing for the mockery that had followed the last time she’d done it in front of her colleagues.
“I’ve been writing a paper on the Antikythera mechanism, which, for those who’ve never heard of it, is an ancient device for charting planets and other astral phenomena such as eclipses.
Until recently, the results it provided matched our observatory’s planetary positioning perfectly. ”
“What made it change?” asked Aries, who already knew the answer from their earlier conversation.
“I think it was the Ophiuchus constellation. For some reason, it began shining brighter, and I believe that’s caused the Milky Way to exert a slightly different force on our solar system, which, in turn, nudged the planets out of long stable orbits.”
For some reason, that comment led to those in the room looking at Zora, who murmured, “The increased activity of Ophiuchus most likely coincides with its Astraeus being released from the void.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Circe didn’t follow, even as everyone in the room nodded.
“We’ll explain later. Please continue.” Aries steepled his fingers and leaned forward.
“If the Antikythera mechanism is giving out accurate readings, then the shift in the planet’s location will affect the asteroid’s path. Rather than sailing past Earth, it would crash into it.”
Aries glanced at Aquarius. “How come we knew nothing about this rock?”
“We knew, just didn’t pay it any mind because, as she said, modeling isn’t showing it posing a problem.”
“But computers are reliant on programming,” Zora noted. “Not all that hard for someone to alter the data that feeds those programs.”
“Why would anyone do that?” Circe exclaimed, even as her brain raced to Andreas. He would have had access.
“The reason is simple. So no one tries to stop the asteroid from hitting.”
“Who the fuck would want to annihilate the planet?” barked Leo.
“That is the question,” Aries agreed. “Which leads us to the man who attacked you and Taurus. Before you tell us about that, how long has he been with the observatory?”
“Longer than me. Although not in the same department. He worked in the data management section, whereas I’m more of a modeling expert. I input various scenarios so we can examine outcomes.”
“I assume you ran your theory past other people?” Leo inquired.
“Of course I did. Got laughed at. Andreas especially took delight in tearing my theory down.” Circe grimaced. “He convinced everyone that an ancient device couldn’t be as accurate as our modern tools.”
“A man who then turned around and tried to kill you,” Aries softly stated.
The reminder had Circe rubbing her forehead. “I don’t know what got into him. I mean, it’s not as if anyone even listened to me.”
“But that didn’t deter you from trying to prove your theory,” Sage added. The woman had been sitting there quietly holding a baby.
“No, it didn’t, although part of it is selfish.
I’m writing a paper on the Antikythera mechanism and how accurate it’s been plotting the planets and eclipses.
For it to suddenly throw out differing information was a big deal.
And then when I realized that its deviating output affected the asteroid predictions, I tried to find out why the data differed so much. ”
Leo cleared his throat. “I know I’m not the smartest one in the room when it comes to stars and planets and shit, but given the awakening of Ophiuchus was unexpected, how could this device, created well before that event, have predicted and accounted for it?”
A good question that had Circe shrugging. “It shouldn’t.”
“But you believe the data,” Leo insisted.
“I do.” She paused before blowing out a breath. “There’s something about the Antikythera mechanism that leads me to believe whoever designed it was well ahead of their time.”
“Or it could be they weren’t human,” Aquarius stated. “I know a bit about the Antikythera mechanism. The intricacy of it is beyond anything else ever discovered.”
Sage pursed her lips. “Could be whoever devised it saw a future where Ophiuchus awakened.”
“A seer?” Aries questioned.
“Definitely a possibility.” Sage nodded, and no one argued.
A twilight zone moment for Circe, whose first impulse was to snicker at the suggestion that someone had a vision and somehow accounted for a celestial event thousands of years later. Then again, the impossible no longer seemed so far-fetched.
“Which brings us back to the data the observatory is working off of. If Andreas worked in data management, I assume that means he had access to it and could have tampered with the results.” Zora eyed her, and Circe shrugged.
“I guess it’s possible, but I find it hard to believe he’d do such a thing. We’re scientists. Facts are supposed to be sacred. Then again, I never thought he’d tried to kill me.”
“Ever noticed anything odd about Andreas?” Aries questioned.
“Before today? No.”
“Leo said Taurus mentioned his eyes glowed.”
She nodded. “It was the strangest thing. When he barged into my apartment, they were alit.” She then recounted what happened.
How Andreas had a knife and wanted to kill her.
How Taurus barged in to the rescue. Andreas’ claim that he’d been ordered to murder her, and how, when Taurus asked who’d hired him, Andreas had steamed and glowed head to toe.
As for the explosion itself, she’d not seen it since Taurus blocked the blast.
When she was done, silence fell for a moment before Sage murmured, “In all the lore I’ve read, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Meaning we’re facing a new threat, one that likely originates from outside this solar system.
” Aries stood. “Capricorn and Zora, I want you to head to Athens. Find out everything you can about this Andreas. Go through his home. His office. Also, be sure to see if you can collect any of his remains for analysis.”
“On it, boss.” The pair left, and Aries turned to Aquarius next. “I want to know more about this asteroid and see if Tower has any old records that indicate what might have infected Andreas.”
“You think he caught something?” the other man asked.
“Maybe. We need to find out if he was born that way, tainted from contact with an artifact, or if something might have attached itself to use him as a conduit.”
“Like a parasite,” Aquarius murmured.
“Could have also been magic,” Sage added. “Perhaps he was compelled by a spell.”
Circe listened in disbelief as they all spoke seriously about Andreas being controlled by a bug or magic. At least they seemed to have moved past their theory about demonic possession.
When Aquarius left, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Is this really happening?”
Aries nodded. “This is all very much real, and it appears you might have a pivotal role to play. I’d like to see your results with the Antikythera mechanism. You said you had a replica of it.”
“Yes, in my apartment.”
“Which might not be accessible if authorities were alerted to the explosion,” Aries mused aloud. “What if we could build you a new one?”
“Tower won’t be able to do that.” Sage shook her head. “Not only is the Antikythera mechanism too complex a machine, the replicated versions are lacking parts.”
“Even so, the device seemed to work,” Aries countered.
“Does it though? Part of my research was to see if they guessed correctly when recreating it,” Circe explained. “It’s very possible they didn’t, and the planets haven’t moved and the asteroid won’t hit.” Ignoring her gut, Circe downplayed her own conviction.
Aries frowned. “You wouldn’t be here if that were the case. You were brought to our attention for a reason.”
“My husband is right. You’re here because you’re the only one who sees the coming danger. I might not be seeing much since the baby’s birth, but I did get a flash. That asteroid is going to hit.”
“No, it won’t, because I’m going to stop it.” A firm declaration by Aries, immediately countered by a lisped, “You can’t, Uncy Aries.” A little girl entered, her solemn expression at odds with her cartoon-covered tracksuit.
“What do you mean, Olivia?” The big man moved from behind his desk and crouched to her height.
“The stars can’t see it, so they can’t stop it. Only the machine can.”
“What machine?”
The little girl pointed to Circe. “Her machine. She needs to make a new one with all the parts.”
“Me? I’m just an astronomer. I don’t know how to build anything,” Circe exclaimed.
“You won’t build it, silly.” The girl giggled. “But you can find the instructions. You and Uncy Taurus.”
“Where are these instructions?” Aries kept his tone soft.
“Hidden in the maze. But that’s not where the special rock is.”
“What rock?” Aries showed the patience of a saint as he drew answers.
Answers that Circe personally struggled with. Who was this little girl to tell them what they should do?
“The rock that got lost in the ocean. It used to be inside the machine. But now the bad people have it.” The girl’s lips turned down.
“What bad people?”
She shrugged. “I can’t see their faces. They wear hoods.” The child covered her face with her hands and peeked through her fingers. “Only, the bad man who hurt Uncy Taurus took his off.”
A claim that raised Aries’ brows. “Andreas has associates. Do you know where they are?”
The little girl shook her head. “No. The rock won’t let me see.”
Sage’s turn to mutter, “An object of power, obviously.”
At that claim, Olivia nodded. “You have to find the rock. It’s the most important part of the machine.” The girl then cocked her head and a smile brightened her face as she exclaimed, “Ooh, I smell cookies.”
With that, she ran off, with Leo and Ruth following, leaving a perplexed Circe—who most definitely didn’t smell anything other than bullshit. They wouldn’t seriously put credence into anything that child said.
Wrong.
“Looks like I better let Aquarius know Andreas wasn’t working alone.” Aries bent down to kiss his wife and child before he headed for the door.
“You’re leaving? What about me?” Circe cried out.
“Sage will take care of you.”
To which his wife snorted. “Don’t you mean Tower?”
As the man left, Circe glanced at the other woman. “What’s going to happen to me?”
“For now, how about accommodations and a meal?”
Sounded divine but… “And after?”
Sage looked at her, and her eyes went from normal to suddenly swirling with colors, and the voice that emerged sent shivers up Circe’s spine.
“Beware the perils within the labyrinth. Its guardian is not dead.”