text: [Themes: sci-fi, LGBT, fantasy]
  
  You and your party are made to stay with the Glow Stone Tribe another week while Susan confers with another tribe. When she returns, she asks the queen mother to assist you and the others in packing some provisions for the trek to the headquarters of the Vulcan Minerals Company.
  
  "How long will the journey be?" you ask her on the day of her return.
  
  "Oh, only about two days," she replies. "There's a small crevice hidden in one of the tunnel walls which was carved out with heat rays several years back. It leads to another network of lava tubes, one of which goes directly to the outer fringes of the mining company's main base of operations."
  
  Within a few hours of Susan's return, the tribe has packed leather satchels with bottles of water (the containers are made from dried dragon bladders) and several pounds of jerky meat patties preserved with rock salt. Also within the satchels are bone-handled knives with obsidian blades-- although Susan assures you, Esmeralda, and Dumont that these weapons probably won't be needed.
  
  "They always like to give me small weapons," she explains. "Although I try to assure them that I get along well with most of the tribes in this local confederation."
  
  "How come none of the more hostile tribes takes you hostage and demands human weapons for your return?" you ask.
  
  She smiles warmly at you, and you almost forget what you'd just asked her. "I think it has to do with the fact that I bring medicines they have had trouble making from their available sources."
  
  "Why do they like those green rocks?"
  
  Susan chuckles. "Mostly, they don't. That was originally a novelty for the tribes for maybe the first ten years that humans would venture into this part of Mercury. You could say that the market got too saturated with those baubles."
  
  The two days of the journey are rather uneventful, but you and the others enjoy your conversations with Susan, who seems almost as knowledgeable as Esmeralda. The tunnels on the other side of the fissure show zero signs of Lacertillia activity and are only lit by Esmeralda's high-beams and an electric torch Susan holds before her as she leads the way. Finally, you see your first signs of human civilization on this side of Mercury. At the end of a tunnel is a Romanesque arch carved into the wall, and within it is a tall, oval, metal door with two rows of bolts and no handle.
  
  Susan looks back at you and the others and smiles. "Well, here we are, friends."
  
  "Do we knock?" you ask.
  
  "Nothing so crude as that, Sandra." She steps into the arch and faces the door.
  
  "Who are you?" says a tinny-sounding female voice from some hidden speaker.
  
  "Doctor Susan Beyene. I come with several guests."
  
  "Guests?"
  
  "An unfortunate party I found living among one of the Lacertillia tribes in the Outer Regions."
  
  "We're not running a charity here. Tell them to leave this area. You may come in, though."
  
  "No, I insist you let them in as well. They came looking for Kendall the third."
  
  "Let me try," you say, stepping up to the door. "I'm Sandra Acosta, daughter of Miguel Alejandro Acosta, Vice President of Vulcan Minerals, Inc."
  
  "Miguel?"
  
  You sigh, annoyed. "Michael Alexander Acosta. I'm his only child. Kendall the third knows me personally."
  
  "One moment."
  
  The moment turns out to be several minutes. Finally, the voice comes back.
  
  "Very well," it says. "You may all enter."
  
  The metal door slides open and you're eyes are briefly dazzled by the bright light spilling out.
  
  "Go ahead," Susan prompts.
  
  You step through the doorway into a large metal room the size of a rocket ship hanger. Long, thick cables snake across the floor. In the center of the room, suspended from four chains and hanging twenty feet above what appears to be a stainless steel well, is a bathysphere-like contraption. Men in yellow rubber coveralls punch buttons on banks of consoles while large robots move wooden crates, apparently preparing for something.
  
  "This looks interesting," says Dumont, stepping up beside you. "Do you have any idea what this is?"
  
  "No clue," you reply.
  
  Susan comes up to your other side. "They're getting everything ready for Kendall the third's descent into Mercury's core."
  
  "Really?" You mouth hangs slack with shock. "What does Kendall think he will find in the interior of Mercury?"
  
  "He's not sure," says a familiar female voice.
  
  You look to your left and see a thirty-something woman with large glasses and candy-apple red hair pulled back into a bun. She's wearing a slate-gray dress and matching jacket and carrying a clipboard under one arm. As she approaches, she puts out a hand.
  
  "Young Mr. Thompson is determined to find out, though," she continues in what you realize is a Scottish accent.
  
  You take her hand. "Hello, Miss...?"
  
  "I'm Fiona Cameron. I'm Kendall the third's personal assistant. I'm in charge of overseeing this entire operation. Although I'm afraid you've arrived a bit too early to see him make his momentous descent. That's not scheduled for another two weeks. So you're Sandra Acosta... Mr. Thompson has told me much about you. And the other members of your party are?"
  
  "Oh...um, well this is Dumont Jones, professional computer. And over here"--you glance back at your robot-- "is Esmeralda, my tutor...and oldest friend."
  
  Fiona cordially extends her hand to Dumont and Esmeralda. She then gives Susan a slight hug and smiles at her. "I trust the Lacertillia are behaving themselves, Doctor Beyene."
  
  "As much as can be expected, Fiona," says Susan.
  
  "Well, well, well..." says a man's voice.
  
  You look off in the distance and recognize the blond, boyishly-handsome features of Kendall Gregory Thompson. He's dressed in a blue three-piece suite. He quickly strides up to you and your party.
  
  "Sandra," he continues, stepping up to you, "it's been a while."
  
  You notice his once-gawky features have filled out more and he's looking his eighteen years, though his eyes bear a smugness of someone older still.
  
  "Two years," you say, smiling.
  
  He smirks. "Two years is such long time, my darling. Too long, if you ask me. I've missed you, love."
  
  Before you realize what's going on, he puts arms around your shoulders, pulls you to him, and plants a deep kiss on your mouth. He's holding you tightly so you can't escape. His deep green eyes burn into yours.
  
  Your skin burns and your blood pressure goes up. An intense hatred seethes within you. You always knew Kendall had little tact, but now he's gone too far.
  
  > try to Carefully Remove Yourself from His Clutches and Diffuse the Situation
  You manage to pull your face away from Kendall's and gracefully disentangle yourself from his arms. "Kendall, please. I realize you haven't seen me in two years, but control yourself. I have something important to tell you."
  
  Kendall lowers his arms to his sides. "What is it?"
  
  You slowly inhale. "It's about my parents." You inhale slowly and swallow. "They were murdered."
  
  "Murdered?" asks Kendall, his normally stoic face registering just the slightest surprise. "How? When did this happen? Why didn't you report this?"
  
  "I kept telling her to," says Esmeralda, "but she wouldn't listen to me. At first we couldn't because we were stuck on Lozano's Island and the assailants had destroyed our radio."
  
  "You were there when it happened, Sandra?"
  
  "Yes," you say, wiping your eyes. "I didn't know what to do, so I hid from them at first. Then I got into my father's gun cabinet and shot down the ship they'd come in."
  
  "My friend, Harlan Zamora, was the captain of that ship," says Dumont. He places his hand on your shoulder. "Sandra, you didn't tell me you'd shot the ship down. Harlan...did you kill him?"
  
  You look to Dumont and sigh. "I don't know. I certainly wasn't trying to kill an innocent person. I...I'm sorry if he died. The ship exploded...well part of it. Then the men came out with guns and tried to kill me. Esmeralda dealt with them."
  
  Dumont takes the handkerchief out of the breast pocket of his jacket and wipes his brow. "I think this is all too much for me to process right now."
  
  "I'm sorry, Dumont...if I did kill Harlan."
  
  "This is all a bit weighty, I've got to admit," Kendall says. "Let's all have dinner tonight. We'll discuss things in more detail at the time. Right now, I have other matters to attend to."
  
  "I may have to decline your dinner invitation, Mr. Thompson," says Dumont. "You understand I hope?"
  
  "Nonsense....Dumont, was it? You must appraise me of everything you know about this unpleasant situation. We'll be sitting at a long table. I'm sure you needn't sit next to Sandra if you don't wish."
  
  "Sir, I really don't--"
  
  "You'll be there!"
  
  Kendall turns on his heel and leaves.
  
  Susan steps up to Dumont and whispers, "It's best not to contradict him."
  
  > A Civilized Meal
  Fiona shows your party to several guest apartments, each of which has its own bathroom and shower. You and Esmeralda find yourselves in a spacious apartment with wood paneled walls and elegant Modernist furniture. You've lost a lot of your possessions in your perilous quest to reach the Vulcan Minerals HQ, but Fiona pulls out a notepad and takes down a list of the items you lost (including clothing) and assures you they will all be replaced in less than thirty minutes. You take a shower and are happy to discover a new set of cloths laid out for you on your bed when you get out. You pick a light blue dress with short sleeves and start dressing.
  
  "I don't know if I can do this," you tell Esmeralda as you pull on a sock while sitting on your bed.
  
  "The dinner?" she asks.
  
  "Yes!" You tie the laces on your dusty boots, even though Fiona got you slippers based on the shoe size you gave her. "I can't face Dumont. I also don't know about Kendall's behavior earlier. If my parents had been here with me, that would not have happened. He's gotten drunk with power."
  
  Esmeralda walks up to the foot of the bed. "Kendall was always a bit of a problem child. As to Dumont, I really don't know what to suggest. It had to have occurred to him that you killed Harlan Zamora."
  
  "Maybe he just pushed that possibility to the back of his mind, if only so he could give me the benefit of the doubt. I'm afraid to face him. Kendall I think I can deal with; I've learned how to put up with his nonsense. But I probably killed Dumont's best friend..."
  
  "Sandra, you've come this far. At least explain the situation in detail to Kendall to see if there's anything he can do. It's got to be a better option than taking the law into your own hands."
  
  Dinner is served in an hour and Fiona shows you and Esmeralda to the dinning room. Like every other section of Vulcan Minerals HQ, it seems larger than it needs to be. There's wood paneling on the walls like in your apartment. Your boot soles click on rose colored marble tiles as you enter. Three crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling and light a long, long table draped in a blood-red cloth and covered from end to end with dishes. At the far end of the table sits Kendall. On one side of him is Susan and on the other Dumont. Fiona tells you to seat yourself wherever you please so you and Esmeralda sit near the other end of the table. Seeing that you've situated yourself, Fiona takes a place by Susan.
  
  "I'm glad you could make it, Sandra," says Kendall, a stiff, unnatural smile on his face.
  
  "Is it okay if Esse and me stay over here?" you ask.
  
  "Certainly, love. This room has excellent acoustics."
  
  "Where is your grandfather, Kendal the first?"
  
  "I'm afraid Grandfather isn't terribly sociable these days. He mostly stays in his room with his robots and his nurse. Oh, here comes Charles with the wine."
  
  A tall, elegant robot butler with a painted face like Xavier's steps through a side door, a crystal flask of red wine in his gloved hands. Seeing the others already have drinks, he steps over to your place. "Would you like some Pinot Noir?"
  
  "Kendall," you say, "I'm only sixteen. Can't I have soda water?"
  
  Kendall smirks. "Oh, come now, Sandra! Those are arbitrary Earth rules. We don't have to follow them here. Especially not refined people of our class. I insist you drink wine. It should allow your words to flow more freely."
  
  "I think that would be a good idea," says Dumont. "After all, we would benefit from having all the facts on the table."
  
  "I didn't mean to kill Harlan!" you protest. "And it's not as if we checked The Elizabeth Proctor. For all we know, he could still be alive."
  
  Even from this far away, you can see Dumont's eyes screw up into an incredulous look.
  
  "Okay, maybe not," you continue. "I don't know. My parents had been killed and my own life was in danger. What was I supposed to do?"
  
  "You did the only sensible thing a young girl in your position could be expected to do," says Kendall. He looks to Dumont. "I'm sorry, Dumont, but you can't expect her to have acted any differently, not given the circumstances. Not from what you've told me about Harlan's assignment."
  
  "You guys have already been discussing this?"
  
  "Charles, pour the young lady a glass of Pinot Noir."
  
  "Yes, Sir," says Charles, filling your glass with the red wine.
  
  You nod your appreciation to the robot butler as he leaves and take a sip from the glass.
  
  "Anyway," continues Kendall, "you and Esmeralda were a little late."
  
  You take another, deeper sip of your wine. "I didn't know if I wanted to come here. But I need answers. Do you know anything about the artifacts, Kendall?"
  
  "Oh, that. Dumont was telling me about those."
  
  "I've never heard anything about them," says Susan. "But they're supposed to be from Mercury."
  
  "Not all of them. One was found inside Vulcan's Forge, a volcano on Venus," you say.
  
  "But the Lacertilia never mentioned anything like these artifacts."
  
  "I don't' think that should come as too much of a surprise," adds Dumont. "The archeological site that corresponds to the crystal head is by New Melbourne, which is on the night side of Mercury."
  
  "But their oral culture would have stories about the ancients responsible," says Kendall. "Certainly if this lost race of aliens visited Mercury in antediluvian times."
  
  "That's what I mean," Susan says. "I've been doing field recordings of their chants for several years now."
  
  "Yes, one of those recordings came in handy for me when I had to communicate with the Lacertillia," Esmeralda adds.
  
  "Well, their oral tradition goes back over thirty thousand Earth years, and the only mention they make of visitors concerns the coming of humans."
  
  "Maybe Atlanteans made the artifacts," says Dumont. "Those were supposed to be human."
  
  "If you actually read Plato's Timaes and Critias you'll notice he doesn't mention the Atlantean people having access to spaceships," says Kendall. "No, such ideas are nonsense. Sandra, I think I may be able to give you more information to help your investigation, though."
  
  "Really?" you ask. "So you do know something about the artifacts."
  
  Just then, Charles returns to the dinning room pushing a wheeled tray covered in silver dishes with lids.
  
  "Oh, good! Dinner's ready. I hope you all like Tilapia fish and wild rice. Sandra, I know you do."
  
  "Oh," you say, "well, thanks, Kendall."
  
  Charles serves everyone and then exits the room.
  
  "But we were discussing the artifacts," says Kendall, picking up the conversation's thread. "Your father had mentioned them to me. I'd told him to keep me posted on any further discoveries. Anyway, there's something I've found out on my own that I'd like to relate to you...in private."
  
  Your blood runs cold.
  
  "I want you to join me on expedition to the interior of Mercury. I'll tell you everything then."
  
  "But, Sir," says Fiona, "You said I would be your partner on the expedition. The sphere is only capable of holding two people."
  
  Kendall gives his assistant a stern look. "Plans change sometimes, Miss Cameron. I'd originally picked you as my second in command because Sandra wasn't here. Well, she's here now. And she's of my class."
  
  Fiona looks down. "Yes, Sir."
  
  Kendall turns to you. "What say, Miss Acosta? Would you care to accompany me the core of a planet?"
  
  > risk Being Cooped Up in a Vessel With Kendall To Get More Answers
  For the next two weeks you see very little of Kendall. You also see very little of Dumont, and that's when you realize he's probably avoiding you. Maybe it's just a bad case of Catholic Guilt, but the whole issue over Harlan Zamora weighs on your conscious so heavily that, two days before the expedition, you force yourself to go to his apartments to ask his forgiveness. Not wanting to be alone when you face him, you bring along Esmeralda for moral support.
  
  You have to knock on the polished oak door several times before Dumont finally answers it. He's wearing a purple silk bathrobe and his pince-nez is conspicuously absent. You notice a white bath towel in the crook of his arm.
  
  "Um, Dumont," you say. "I'm sorry. Did I interrupt you when you were bathing?"
  
  "Don't worry about it, Sandra. Since you got me out of the tub, you might as well say what you came to say."
  
  "Please don't hate me over Harlan. I didn't know he was piloting the rocket ship. I-I just assumed everyone onboard was equally culpable. I guess it's like if an over-zealous security guard went after a gang of bank robbers and wound up shooting the driver of the get-away car."
  
  Dumont chuckles mirthlessly. "Is that the analogy you're going to use?"
  
  You sigh and close your eyes. "My mother is dead. My father is dead. And, I'm guessing, so is your best friend. If Harlan hadn't agreed to be a part of the mission, there'd be some other pilot dead now." You open your eyes and look at Dumont. "I mean, he couldn't have just flown several men with guns to my family's island and not expected there to be potential violence."
  
  "No. No, I guess not. Sandra, I'm willing to forgive you. I just need some time to let the pain subside. You're a young girl; you should never have been put into this situation. But let me return to my bath. We'll talk about this further after you and Kendall complete the expedition."
  
  The next day Fiona takes you into the magma bathysphere (named Caduceus One) to go over the basic operations of the device.
  
  "Mostly," she says, leaning on the control panel, "just keep your little hands to yourself. Kendall's in charge of basic piloting and navigation. If for some reason he should fall ill or become incapacitated, you should know that this"--she points to an orange lever--"controls ascent and descent, and that this"--she taps a gray lever--"is for horizontal movement."
  
  "I'm assuming then," you say, "that we have an air supply. Are there any back-up air tanks for the off-chance that we lose air, or if we're for some reason trapped somewhere and our air gets depleted?"
  
  Fiona gives you a cynical grin. "Oh, you're a smart girl, aren't you?"
  
  You return her grin. "That's what they always told me at school."
  
  Fiona squats on the vehicle's metal floor and slides out several air tanks and breathing masks from under one of the bunk-like seats. "Satisfied?"
  
  "Words cannot express how much I am. But there are no windows. How are we supposed to see anything? Or are we using sonar to navigate the magma sea?"
  
  Fiona stands and taps one of the wall panels. It immediately flickers like a florescent light and an image of the outer hanger slowly materializes.
  
  "Now," she adds, "I don't know how useful the cameras will be when the two of you are swimming in molten rock, but this button" she points to a large red button on the control panel--"can turn the screens on and off. Oh, and you were right about the sonar."
  
  She taps a round, green screen on the panel and then points to several switches below it. "These will activate the sonar and let you change its range," she continues. "But again, Kendall is in charge, so don't get any big ideas in that pretty little head of yours."
  
  You smile. "I bet green is your color."
  
  > Journey to Mercury's Core
  When the day of departure to interior of Mercury finally arrives, there's no real fanfare. Kendall's staff is rather coldly matter-of-fact about the whole thing, including Fiona. You don your blue blazer and a pair of khaki pants and say your goodbyes' to Esmeralda and Susan, though Dumont is absent, much to your dismay.
  
  One of the giant robots wheels a set of metal steps to the side of the rigging holding the Caduceus One and you and Kendall mount the stairway and then slide through the open portal and close the seal upon entering. You buckle the straps on your safety harness while Kendall radios the control technicians and orders them to open the well-like covering beneath the craft. When the technicians confirm that everything is a go, Kendall orders the Caduceus One be released from its chain net.
  
  You feel your innards shift up as the craft falls down a long, dark shaft that penetrates the planet's crust. Soon the wall screens light up with a shimmering orange glow and you're jolted as the Caduceus One splashes into a river of molten rock.
  
  Kendall smirks at you. "We've hit the lava vein. It's basically a river that flows southeasterly. Soon we'll sink beneath the surface and let the river carry us to an underground cavern system that our sonar detected three months ago."
  
  "Really?" you ask. "What are we supposed to do when we get to these caverns? Get out and look around?"
  
  Kendall chuckles. "You always were a smart one, huh, Sandra? That's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to need to put on our breathing apparatus before exiting the ship, of course, but I want this to be our very first stop in our journey to Mercury's core."
  
  "Will this be like the giant cavern Jules Verne imagined in Journey to the Center of the Earth? A big subterranean ocean with dinosaurs and islands with mammoths and giant, hairy shepherds?"
  
  "I only wish it did, Sandra."
  
  You sit up. "Kendall, you said you knew more about the alien artifacts, right?"
  
  "Yes. And I'll tell you everything when we get to the caverns. Not anytime before, though."
  
  You let a thick sigh hiss through your clenched teeth. "I'm trying to find out more about the people who murdered my parents, Kendall. This may all be some abstract game to you, but to me this is very personal."
  
  "Sandra, believe me when I tell you that I respect that fact. I know what it's like to lose one's parents. Just have faith in me, won't you? We'll unravel this mystery and bring your parents' killers to justice."
  
  > Unsettling Revelations in the Fire Cavern
  The screens have mostly just shown swirling orange ribbons of magma, but soon the molten rock sinks below the cameras' line of vision and a huge, gaping cavern descends into view. It's similar to the lava tubes that network Mercury's crust and it scintillates with the flickering copper light of the magma flow.
  
  "Here," says Kendall, making a few more adjustments on the Caduceus One's controls. "This should get us properly positioned." He looks to you and smiles. "There. I've secured her onto the side of a low rock outcropping. We can now don our air breathing gear and have a look around."
  
  "What?" you ask, surprised. "You want us to go out there? Won't it be too hot?"
  
  Kendall unbuckles the straps of his safety harness, stands and stretches, then stoops down to collect the air tanks and breathing masks from under the seats. He hands you your equipment.
  
  "Not at all," he says. "I admit that it will initially be a bit on the Summer side when we first alight from our humble craft, but a short march down into the depths of the cavern will get us away from the brunt of the heat."
  
  You slide your air tank onto your back and secure its straps over your shoulders. "What do we expect to find, though? I'm assuming not much of anything can live down here."
  
  "Bacteria," replies Kendall, positioning his own air tank. "My robot probes have already discovered microbial life in these caverns."
  
  You chuckle. "Oh, well that's reassuring. No plants or animals or anything. Not even a fungus. But we can still catch ourselves a disease."
  
  "Not at all." Kendall reaches under a seat and pulls out a metal canteen, which he hands to you. "Drink up, Sandra. I don't want you getting parched on the hike."
  
  You take a long swig of water from the canteen before handing it back to him. "Are there alien artifacts down here, Kendall? Is that why you wanted me to make this journey with you?"
  
  Kendall laughs smugly and takes a drink from the canteen. "All in good time, my love. The answers you seek will soon be laid before you."
  
  Exiting the craft proves to be much less perilous than you'd initially thought. Leaving the hatch, you easily alight onto the cavern floor. You look back and see that the Caduceus One has sprouted metal claws which have gouged into the rock face of the small fissure leading down into the lava river.
  
  Kendall steps out, places an unwelcome arm around you, and hugs you to his side. "Let's go forward, Sandra. I've got a surprise waiting for you."
  
  He walks ahead of you down the vast cavern and you soon follow.
  
  There's a constant low rumbling coming through the solid ground. Hot air blows on you from behind, but you notice it's getting cooler the deeper you head into the cavern. Overhead are giant chandelier-like stalactites which cast long, dancing shadows on the stuccoed ceiling.
  
  You and Kendall continue walking for another ten minutes until he directs you into a shadowy alcove of rock.
  
  "Look over there," he says, pointing into the darkness.
  
  At first you can't make out anything, but soon your eyes adjust to the dim light and you begin to discern a large black cube. It's about fifteen feet tall and wide as a cabin.
  
  "Oh, my god!" you say. "So that is another artifact."
  
  Kendall laughs from behind his plastic mask. "No, no, Sandra, my dear girl. I had my robots set that up last week. I'll answer all your questions once we're inside."
  
  He approaches the surface of the black cube and a rectangular doorway slides up, emitting a ghostly blue light. Kendall looks back to you and steps into the cube. You reluctantly follow.
  
  You now stand in a dimly lit room decorated with Victorian furniture. Winged cherubs smile down from the wallpaper. On a small end table is a metal bucket filled with ice and a bottle of wine. A tall, thin lamp in the corner illumines everything in deathly blue.
  
  Kendall takes off his breathing apparatus and smiles. "You can breath easy in here, Miss Acosta. I had timers set to activate the air in this space two hours ago."
  
  You remove your own mask and air tank, set them on a small table beside you, and inhale the atmosphere.
  
  "You were wondering about the alien artifacts, Sandra," continues Kendall, pulling the cork out of the wine bottle and pouring its contents into two metal goblets.
  
  "Yes...What does that have to do with all this?" you ask, dreading the answer.
  
  Kendall smiles, takes the goblets into both hands, walks up to you, handing you a drink. "Taste this. It's a vintage Pinot Noir. 1930, to be exact."
  
  Reluctantly, you take a sip from your goblet. "Are you going to answer my question?"
  
  "This is nothing but a formality, my dear. You want to know about the artifacts? Where they came from? What they all mean?" He takes a long sip of his wine.
  
  "Yes. Yes, all that. I assume if anyone has the answers, it's you."
  
  "You're right, Sandra. I have the all the answers. These remnants of a long-lost alien civilization, these methods to so many peoples' madness, these so-called keys to immortality...well, they all come from a planet straight out of my imagination."
  
  "What?"
  
  Kendall falls onto a divan and lets his legs hang over the side. "I've sent everyone on a wild goose chase, so to speak. Part of an elaborate campaign of discrediting one man. He and his compatriots have killed so many innocent people, your parents included, but it was all for naught. The root of immortality lies not in alien relics, but in the leviathans that ply the oceans of your native Venus, Sandra."
  
  You let your goblet clatter onto the rug and step up to Kendall. "My mother and father are dead because of you?"
  
  Kendall stares up at you, grinning. "No, Sandra, my love. That was an unforeseen misfortune. I would never have allowed it if I'd known it could happen. Believe me."
  
  You close your eyes and feel them warm with moisture. "Why did you do all this, Kendall?"
  
  "I told you, Sandra. I didn't want people to continue believing the story that John Szymanski was telling everyone. I want people to leave the leviathans alone. I need those creatures for my own research. You see, no one wants to die, Sandra." He takes a swig of his wine. "And that's where I'm going to corner the market."
  
  > A Modest Proposal
  You feel sick to your stomach. At first yo think it's just a reaction to all that Kendall has laid out before you, but then you begin to notice the queasiness is accompanied by a dull pain. You're also starting to feel dizzy.
  
  "Kendall," you say between gasps, "What was in that drink you gave me?"
  
  "Only the finest grapes in the South of France, my dear, my darling. Do you like stage magic?"
  
  Placing your hand on your stomach, you manage to stumble to an armchair and seat yourself. "I don't care about magic."
  
  "Well, you should, Sandra." Kendall stands up and slowly circles the room. "When I was a boy, I always loved prestidigitation . Oh, not the stupid card tricks or anything, but certainly the fine art of slight of hand. I'm pretty sure I showed you a few tricks back when we were kids. You don't remember?"
  
  You wince as the dull pain in your stomach increases. "I don't care. What did you put in my drink?"
  
  Kendall stops his circuit of the room and stares across at you. "Well, you should. But as to what happened to your parents...I'm sorry about that, by I couldn't have foreseen all the possibilities. John Szymanski had been telling people for years about a leviathan swallowing him up in the early 80's and putting him in a dream world till he was able to convince it to let him go. And he hadn't aged for decades once he got out. I'd always known that there had to be something to his story."
  
  You rest your head on the inner upholstery of the the chair. "Slight of hand. That's...that's how you slipped poison into my drink without my noticing? Why? I thought you loved me."
  
  Kendall stops before you and rests his hands on your shoulders. "Oh, but I do, Sandra. There's no one else in the whole universe I'd rather be with than you. Do you want the antidote?"
  
  You squint your eyes shut. "Yes..."
  
  "Than marry me. I'll let you and your friends live in exchange for a lifetime of joy and bliss."
  
  "I don't love you. I like girls, not boys." You open your eyes and stare into Kendall's smiling face.
  
  "And I don't believe that, Miss Acosta. Yes, I admit that I've given you plenty of reason to hate me, but it's not impossible for you to bring yourself to feel romantic feelings for me. Sigmund Freud said humans are inherently bisexual. You could love me, Sandra; you just need to apply yourself."
  
  Your whole body feels like slumping down further into the armchair.
  
  "Okay," you finally manage to utter. "I accept your proposal. I'll marry you. Just give me..."
  
  Kendall beams. He leans forward and plants a wet kiss on your mouth. He then places his hand inside his jacket and retrieves a small glass vial with a rubber stopper on top and a milky liquid inside.
  
  "Here," he says, unstopping the vial and gently pouring its contents between your lips.
  
  The antidote tastes like chalk water and sulfur, but you quickly guzzle it down.
  
  "That should do the trick," Kendall continues. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes! I'd followed all the stories of John Szymanski and was able to verify that he did indeed resemble the veteran of the Martian Wars he claimed to be. So I immediately started Project Gilgamesh, named after the legendary Sumerian king who, aided by his beast-man friend, Enkidu, sought out the fabled Root of Immortality."
  
  You notice the pain your stomach subsiding. Your queasiness and dizziness are also waning. When you've regained enough of your strength, you ask: "What are yo trying to do, exactly?"
  
  Apparently pleased in your interest, Kendall begins pacing the room again. "I propose that we place wealthy clients with leviathans kept alive in a controlled laboratory environment. Not only are the leviathans long-lived, but they are telepathically linked to each other-- or so our research seems to indicate. Even if the host leviathan dies, the client will live on in the collective dream world."
  
  "And you tricked a bunch of desperate people so that they'd murder the innocent just so you could discredit them?"
  
  "Yes. No one will believe John Szymanski's claims now. We'll can to stay underground with our research until we're ready for this business venture to go public. And you, my dear"-- he approaches you and takes your hand into his own--"will be able to share with me in this adventure of discovery. We'll never die, and we shall live out our wildest dreams."
  
  Your realize your ray pistol is in your blazer pocket. You can kill Kendall the moment he has his back to you and then pilot the Caduceus One back to Vulcan Minerals HQ. All you have to do is say there was an accident.
  
  Or is it that easy?
  
  > kill Kendall, Stop this Madness, and Have Your Revenge
  "How do you feel?" asks Kendall. "Do you think you have the strength now to get up?"
  
  He steps back from your chair to give you room to stand.
  
  "Uh, yes," you say, placing your hands on the arms of your chair and slowly pushing yourself onto your feet.
  
  Kendall replaces the cork in the wine bottle and then redons his breathing apparatus. "You'll want to get yourself ready for the march back to the Caduceus One then."
  
  You slide the air tank onto your back and place the plastic mask back over your mouth. "Are you taking the wine back to the craft? I could use more of it."
  
  Kendall grins at you, hoisting the metal ice bucket into his hands. "I think you have the right attitude, Sandra. Just let go of all your preconceived notions about propriety and what's right and wrong. Those rules don't apply to our kind. We are not like the uneducated primitives of the lower classes; we are as gods. Here, follow me out."
  
  He disappears out the sliding door.
  
  You pull your ray pistol out of your blazer pocket, close your eyes, and follow him.
  
  You step out and find that he's already covered a distance of about ten feet. His back is to you and he's obviously still holding the ice bucket with the Pinot Noir. You don't need him to be at close range; it's actually preferable that he isn't. You point the gun, aim...
  
  Kendall drops the ice bucket as his body bursts into flame. He rolls across the rocky floor of the cavern, possibly in an attempt to smother the flames. You fire again and he soon stops moving.
  
  You slowly approach his smoldering remains.
  
  The bottle of wine has slid out of the bucket. You grab it by the neck and head to the Caduceus One.
  
  Getting inside the craft proves no problem, but you soon find it's impossible to disengage the vehicle from the rock lip its metal claws are embedded in. You start randomly hitting buttons on the control panel, but nothing seems to work.
  
  You slowly inhale, grab microphone, and dial the people at Vulcan Minerals. "Caduceus One calling. Anyone there?"
  
  There's the hiss of static and then Fiona's voice comes out of the speaker. "This is Fiona. Is this Sandra?"
  
  "Who else would it be, Fiona? I have to report...a great tragedy."
  
  "What? What's going on, Miss Acosta? Where's Kendall?"
  
  "Um, I hate to admit it, but he died."
  
  "What?"
  
  "It happened so fast! He fell into the lava flow beneath the ship. He must have slipped on the rocks as he was climbing over. I never even left the craft; I was too terrified after what I'd seen. But now I'm stuck here. I can't seem to disentangle the Caduceus One from its rocky perch."
  
  "Oh...my...God..."
  
  "Can you help me, Fiona?"
  
  There's silence for about thirty seconds.
  
  "No," says Fiona. "He didn't give you the lock code for a reason, Sandra. It looks like he was right not to be so forthcoming with that information." She sighs over the radio. "It looks like you're on your own. Goodbye, Sandra. My God have mercy on your sorry soul."
  
  The radio crackles and then there's dead silence.
  
  Your skin becomes damp and cold.
  
  If they don't harm Dumont and Esmeralda, maybe it was worth this. You've had your revenge now.
  
  You uncork the bottle and start drinking the wine.
  
  If you're lucky, you'll pass out from drink.
  
  Beats suffocation.
  
  The End