Fifty-Two: Alarmist Talk

Beneath the seats of the Council of Elders sat nine marquises, including Legang, Michael, and Bella; no counts had been invited.

The Consul said, "Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, you have kept this court waiting a full twenty minutes."

Michael said loudly, "My lord, Lieutenant Colonel Longinus has only just recovered from grievous injuries. It is hardly fair to reproach him so."

The Consul replied, "Yet he looks full of vigor to me. He does not seem unable to move at all; rather, he appears to lack respect for the Elder Council."

Maxwell said lazily, "Typhon, do not obsess over such trifles. We all possess eternal life, do we not?"

I felt grateful to him. Duke Maxwell's gaze was calm and still, like a black Greek statue.

The Consul answered, "If we handle matters properly, then yes, we truly are undying. But in this age there are many deadly threats, even more than in the last century."

He turned to me and said, "For example, the sun-infected."

At last I understood why I had been summoned to such a solemn gathering: they were going to discuss this matter of utmost importance.

Typhon said, "Gentlemen, let us invite Legang to speak."

Legang stood and, in a clear and eloquent voice, gave a detailed account of the expedition to the Pan-American Pyramid, as well as our experiments concerning the sun-infected and the empire's expansion under the current era.

Some in the hall knew the details; others did not. His words drew gasps and exclamations. Yet Typhon even managed a smile. "Even if only one sun-infected remains, it is a grave threat to us. Therefore, I propose that the Black Coffin's foremost strategic priority be shifted to a thorough purge of Black Coffin Town, meaning everything in the vicinity of Silicon Valley must be eradicated. We must leave nothing behind."

The six consuls voted and unanimously approved the proposal.

The Consul said to Dr. Maison, "You may begin."

Maison snapped his fingers. From one side of the hall, three soldiers pushed in a small cart. On it sat a basin of soil.

I looked at the soil and felt that it was extraordinarily dangerous, enough to fill one with dread.

Maison put on his glasses. "I learned of Marquis Legang's discovery at once, and I performed experiments based on his theory. This soil is the remains of a newly destroyed sun-infected."

All the nobles showed curious expressions. A lady marquis said, "There is truly nothing more disgusting in this world."

Among the blood kin, I saw Bella. By her nature she should have been chattering incessantly, yet now she was unexpectedly silent.

Maison said, "I also discovered that when the remains of a sun-infected cool and are left in darkness for a period of time, their chemical composition changes, gradually becoming what we call ember crystal."

The blood kin cried out in alarm. Those who were more agitated rose to their feet, craning their necks to stare fixedly at the soil.

The Consul asked, "You... mean..."

Maison said, "Exactly. The remains of the sun-infected are the primary material from which the Black Coffin is built: ember crystal. The sun burned the beings of an ancient civilization to ash, and upon those ashes we built this great monument."

Lamia and I could not help taking each other's hand. I looked around in alarm, half expecting countless arms to burst from the walls of the Black Coffin and seize us.

Maison said, "Rest assured, it is absolutely safe. Sun-infected can die as well, contrary to what they claim."

The Consul said, "Humans once believed the sun was absolutely safe. And then what happened?"

Maison said slowly, "We cannot use isolated probabilities to deny everything we have done. I guarantee the Black Coffin will not suddenly come alive, singing as it devours us like ingredients in a hotpot."

Michael stood and said, "My lords, it is said that the Black Coffin began to be built long before the disaster occurred. In that case, where did these... these ember crystals come from?"

He was absolutely right. The greatest flaw in Maison's theory was that the building material required for the Black Coffin should not have existed at all. Could it be that long before the catastrophe, many people had already been killed by the sun's upheaval?

Everyone looked at Maison, waiting for his answer. Maison replied, "According to dating tests, the ember crystal in the Black Coffin formed about three hundred thousand years ago."

The blood kin cried out together, "Three hundred thousand years ago?"

Maison replied, "Yes."

Typhon said, "That means... three hundred thousand years ago, the sun also... also..."

Maison said, "According to my theory, three hundred thousand years ago the light of the sun underwent another upheaval, destroying all living things. The Sun King was soon slain by moonlight, and through geological change he became these ember crystals, which are now our Black Coffin."

The Consul asked, "Can we conclude that every sun upheaval occurs at intervals of three hundred thousand years?"

Maison replied, "I have not found ember crystal from other eras, so I cannot draw a simple inference, nor can I determine whether the sun upheaval was artificially caused."

I could not help asking, "Artificially caused? What kind of person... could possess such terrifying means and such power?"

Maison sighed. "The end of science may be metaphysics. Compared with truth, I am merely an ignorant fool. My hypothesis is this: the sun upheaval was not natural, but the product of some scientific experiment. But I may be wrong; I have no evidence at all."

He clutching his disheveled curls, said, "But for now, we need not worry too much. If we keep fretting over the end of the world, then society will collapse, and the apocalypse will arrive ahead of schedule. What I truly want to say is that I have found a way to detect the sun-infected."

The blood kin let out relieved breaths together. Though they did not need to breathe, it was an instinct inherited from their human days. The Consul asked, "How?"

Maison patted one of the soldiers in coffee-colored uniform. The soldier let out a shout, and in an instant demonic horns sprouted from his head. His body also became more sculpted and powerfully built, nearly two meters tall.

He became even more oppressive than the White Devil.

Maison said, "Demonic instincts fear ember crystal, but I have adjusted the nerves of these soldiers so they can sense the sun-infected. As long as such a threat exists within a hundred meters of them, they will immediately know its direction."

Priest Bosch suddenly said, "Wait! Where did these soldiers come from? Why have we never seen them?"

Maison said, "They are test subjects I raised in secret."

The Consul said darkly, "You concealed this from us and secretly developed enhanced half-demon soldiers? Do you not consider the Elder Council worth your notice at all?"

Maison rubbed his hands together, but I felt he did so not from panic, but from boredom. He said, "If I had told you, you would never have agreed. Then my research would have gone nowhere, and that would have left us unable to search for the sun-infected today."

The Consul snorted. "How many more things are you hiding from us?"

Maison thought for a moment. "Not many."

The Consul said furiously, "You..." and for once was left speechless.

Maison said, "Typhon, may I continue?"

The Consul reluctantly nodded. Maison went on, "According to the experiments, moonlight has a significant lethal effect on the sun-infected. The closer it is to the full moon, the stronger the effect. This gives us the chance to destroy large numbers of sun-infected and harvest the burnt crystal."

He took out a map and pinned it to a whiteboard. "First, we must rule out the presence of any sun-infected within the Black Coffin itself."

Sommo, the investor from the Blood Pact Syndicate, cried out, "My lord, how is that possible?"

Maxwell said, "The sun-infected will assimilate others at any cost and sing seductive hymns. If there were any signs, they could never escape our notice."

Maison sighed. His gaze was weary, like that of a university professor faced with students who always hoped for the best. He said, "We cannot be certain that the sun-infected are always ruled by instinct. In my view, they, like humans—like us—all possess intelligence, and remarkable intelligence at that. For nearly ten thousand years, our blood kin have been able to hide among humans and suppress the urge to feed. How do you know there are no anomalies among the sun-infected? No cunning and terrifying beings who know how to disguise themselves, slip into the Black Coffin, and hunt and assimilate in secret?"

His words sent a chill through all of us.

Maison said, "So we must rule out that possibility, especially in the lower levels, where gangs are everywhere and the illegal underclass swarms. To the Black Coffin, those places are full of holes, and that creates a tremendous vulnerability. The middle and upper levels have strict personnel records, and every homicide is thoroughly investigated. I believe that for a clever sun-infected, the lower levels would never be left behind as a hunting ground."

I could not help thinking, "He may be the secret backer of the Blood Pact Syndicate. Does he regret it now?" But his expression showed not the slightest trace of regret.

The Consul said, "Then we shall immediately investigate the lower levels!"

Maison said, "Lieutenant Colonel Longinus must be present. It is said that he can already wield the power of the Lassan beast with great skill. Aside from moonlight, that is the only known method."

Most of the blood kin were deeply shocked by this. Typhon murmured, "Cain above, the Lassan beast? A mortal?"

My mood improved considerably. The feeling of inspiring awe was always pleasing.

The Consul said, "Not even your sorcery will do?"

Maison said, "I tried lightning and fire. Neither worked. Until we find a means to mimic moonlight, we can rely only on the colonel's power."

I shouted, "I am willing to help, but the overtime pay has to be ten times higher..." Lamia hurriedly clamped a hand over my mouth.

Legang said, "If what you say is true, and there really is such an infected one in the lower levels, then once he realizes we are hunting him, he can turn into blood and flow through any crack to escape anywhere, especially in such densely populated places. This operation must therefore remain absolutely secret."

Maison walked to the map and said, "The details of the operation will be decided by the Rangers. I am only providing my enhanced soldiers. They can detect infected in both active and dormant states, and they will not be affected by ember interference." He pointed at the map. "This map shows the underground levels of the Black Coffin."

I had never heard that the Black Coffin possessed underground spaces, yet the map showed them to be vast indeed: eight passages stretching at least five kilometers.

Maison said, "Once we have ruled out the infected inside the Black Coffin, the Rangers will need to descend into the underground reservoirs and mines four hundred meters below. If the sun-infected exist there, they will be in a statue-like state. As long as they are not exposed to large amounts of sunlight, they can be safely transported. We will gather them in sealed warehouses and dispose of them together on the night of the full moon."

The Consul said, "The underground facilities of the Black Coffin are classified. We cannot let too many people know about them."

Maison said, "Memory alteration is a specialty of the blood of the Ventrue. I have no good advice to offer on that matter."