S16: To the Tower and its Hypnotic Eye

6 Dec, 2pm: Gil Maskill watched the two winged barrels (Elders) bouncing along in slow flight carrying Starkweather between them. “The Enderby is almost warmed, oiled, and ready for flight. If we takeoff now, we can catch up to them.” Robert asked, “Who’s going? Someone needs to stay to guard Williams…I mean Danforth. Don’t need him getting loose and finishing his attack on our camp. Sorry Professor Moore, but with your frostbite and wrapped hands, you best stay. And you’re in no condition to guard our saboteur.”

And that’s when Willard spoke up, “Where’s Charles?!” Long pause as Doug looked around, “He was here two hours ago, bringing me plane-oil. He was looking at his sketchpad and said something about VERY detailed carvings.” Wilbur entered the camp tent, soon to report, “No missing supplies. He didn’t take extra oxygen bottles. You don’t suppose Danforth attacked him before killing Ralph?” Peter Sykes barked orders which Moore nodded to, “Wilbur and Willard, join me in a search party as the others begin loading the plane. We’ll sort out who’s going once we find Charles. With only his original O2 bottle, he couldn’t have wandered far.”

The trio began a clockwise search on the edge of the plaza looking for his boot-prints. “CHARLES! Prof Myers!” Wilbur reminded his partners, “Don’t confuse our tracks when we went looking for Danforth’s approach.” A quarter way around the plaza, near one of the taller buildings, Wilbur sang out, “Boot prints and his green pencil he used for his sketches.” Analyzing the tracks, Wilbur surmised, “Normal pace till he got about here. See the scuff marks and the end of his tracks? And look at the dusting of snow that seems to be brushed away. As if an Elder swooped in, flapping wings that blew the snow away as it grabbed Charles and lifted him away.” Peter added, “Seeing 2 struggle with Mr. Starkweather, I’d say it took 2 to grab our Archaeologist.”

Willard was skeptical till he noticed the loose sheet of paper, “Charles’ charcoal sketch! I think you’re right.” He gazed at a tall building nearby, “They could have been spying on our camp from on high.” Peter entered the building and soon announced, “Those triangular footpads of theirs. They watched from the top as Charles approached alone, descended the stairs, then swooped out from here to grab him.” Per arranged signal, Wilbur fired 2 rifle shoots to let the camp know they found something. They then cut across the plaza back to the camp.

6:30pm: Wilbur announced, “The bad news: they took Charles too. The good news: 2 Elders to grab Starkweather and 2 for Myers means none left to threaten the camp.” Oskar had given Moore a dose of morphine to ease his pain. But the professor had enough sense to give directions, “Gil and Doug will pilot the plane. Oskar, Wilbur, Robert, and Willard will go along to find and retrieve our teammates. Myself, Peter, and Pat will remain to guard Danforth and ready for your return. See what can be salvaged from the burnt Weddell wreck.”

Oskar spoke up, “While you were searching for Charles, I made this sign using Elder-Script, hoping we can peacefully resolve the issue. It says, ‘We come in peace. Return our men and we leave.’ But just in case they don’t comply, I’m bringing these 2 Molotov bottles.” Wilbur sarcastically showed off rifles, “I’m bringing my own message. And a couple sticks of dynamite and flare-gun.”

The plane bounced down the runway on its skis, lifted off, and banked right as Doug pointed the plane west to pursue the Elders. The passengers peered out the windows with binoculars, hoping to catch sight of any movement. The city itself was laid out in a long north-south hotdog-shaped span. Westerly, they quickly exited the city as they flew toward another mountain range. Its tall peaks seemed to pierce a cloud layer. As Doug flew the plane, Gil sat beside him (as copilot) gazing at the wonder before them, “My God! It’s even taller than the mountains we just left. 30,000ft? We’ll never climb over it! Hell, we’re already at 22,000ft; I doubt we can climb another 100ft.”

For 30 minutes, they droned toward the dark and foreboding storm that seemed planted around the taller mountains. Oskar suddenly shrieked, “THERE! Against the dark backdrop. Can you see them? Squiggling and bouncing along… it’s the Elder flying beasts.” Doug maneuvered the plane closer and slower to match their speed, despite Gil’s warnings, “Don’t want to alarm them. They might drop their captive and attack us.”

And that’s when Wilbur caught sight of a silvery glint in the distance, “It’s the Bell; Lexington’s plane. Landing skid seems to be strapped on with wires. Panels are missing over its engine. Get closer so I can see who’s onboard. That German, Baumann piloting. That’s Dr. Meyer and Priestly sitting behind him. There might be others across the aisle.” Gil tried to contact them via radio but only got static. Doug waggled the wings to let them know they’d been spotted. They slid into formation as lightening flashed from the storm ahead. “Have you ever seen lightening as a bluish-green flickering pulse?”

Willard marveled at the landscape before them, “Those 5 spires. Like fingers of an upturned handed. And that valley like its palm. So evenly distributed and exact. I’d swear they were manmade. Elder made. As menacing as they are, you have to admit their intelligence and vast achievements detailed in the city murals. LOOK! A tower. There’s your source of the flashing light.” Gil pointed out, “And those flying beasts are heading toward the tower.”

And that’s when the tower light swept across the plane. Inside. As if an xray penetrating even the metal skin. The light seemed to pause on the plane, like a cyclops’ eye gazing at its foe. Everyone seemed to have different visions triggered by the light. Doug became fearful as he swore the dark clouds seemed to begin forming into the barrel bodies of the Elders. The light continued its sweep, returning as an amber light. Visions of the plane in another place and time. Lush tropical jungles below, then a city growing out of the jungle that soon became encased in ice. Another sweep of the light brought an image of a great gathering of Elders. Another pulse brought earthquakes. Another sweep displayed Starkweather himself seated aboard the plane as another man clutched a briefcase to his chest. Another sweep = people then dinosaurs. As if the passing of millennia was on display, at least in their thoughts.

“HANG ON!” as Gil helped Doug steering in the crosswind. A jolting touchdown but the sound of tearing metal wasn’t encouraging. “Everyone OK?” Oskar and Robert (on the rightside of the plane) watched out their windows as the Bell made its own landing on its jerry-rigged skids. Oskar commented, “Anything you can walk away from. I’m curious who all is onboard. Why were they following us? Was someone abducted from their camp too? Cover me as I go say hello.”

Acacia Lexington, Priestly, Baumann, Meyer, and Rucker, exited the Bell. Sucking on the oxygen straw while being buffeted by 15 knot winds hindered Oskar’s conversation, “I see your plane was damaged before you landed. What happened?” Priestly spoke up, “Williams went crazy and sabotaged our plane before he ran off.” Acacia joined in, “We arrived in the city first. Saw you flying nearby and shot a flare to get your attention, but you flew on. Williams did his thing that first day. We were lucky Maxwell and Herman were able to fix the plane enough to fly. Then we heard a distant explosion. We were making ready to send a search team when we saw those things flying overhead with someone dangling between them. We scrambled to takeoff and follow and soon saw your plane. What were those things and who did they have?!”

By now all passengers of both planes had gathered round as Oskar described Williams’ killing Ralph DeWitt before fire-bombing the Weddell. “It may surprise you to learn Williams was really Danforth from the 1931 Miskatonic Expedition. He sent threatening letters before our New York departure, hired crew to sabotage our ship. He’s the one who orchestrated the dock fires back in New York.” A long conversation reminiscing till Wilbur interrupted, “Those barrel-things took Starkweather and Charles Myers. We’re here to rescue them. Care to join us?” Wilbur wanted them along versus the idea of them left behind with the Enderby that was in better shape than their Bell. He was already envisioning the Germans ‘upgrading their plane-tickets.’

“OK. Gil, Doug, and Robert stay behind with Herman and Maxwell to get the planes ready. That means Dr. Myers, Miss Lexington, and Priestly join Oskar, Wilbur, and Willard to trek off to find the abducted members.” Wilbur leaned into Robert to whisper, “You outnumber the Germans, but keep an eye on them. I don’t trust them. One shot from you and I’ll come running.”

Since the planes had landed on the frozen river, they had to cross snow-covered rocky ground to reach the tower. 45 minutes to trek 1.5 miles. The black tower rose above them almost 50 stories tall. "An overgrown lighthouse." "More like the 'Tower of Babel'. God help us."

Herr Meyer excitedly studied it, “5-sided. Reminds me of a quartz crystal. You say you saw those things enter its base? Looks like there are ramp entrances at each of its 5 corners.” Wilbur encouraged Meyer to take the lead as they entered the tower. Wilbur’s instincts (or paranoia) told him to always keep his enemy in sight, as he took rear guard. The last to enter the 4ft x 8ft trapezoidal opening. To the left, a ramp descended while to the right – up.

Willard explained the peculiar railings that lined the ramp going up, “Elder handholds. Snow has blown in; so, you can see their triangular footprints going up.” As they climbed, they began to sweat, “It’s already 25 degrees warmer inside. Yet look at the frost clinging to the walls.” Acacia squealed when she found four Elder parkas, “The stench! Oh my God: the garment is pieced together tent canvas, seal hide, and dog fur.” Oskar just had to test their sanity, “I’m surprised there is no human-skin addition.” Acacia dry-heaved at the thought.

As they climbed higher thru an hemispheric-domed chamber, they noted the lack of snow cover and the temperature at least 40 degrees. Dr. Orendorf instructed, “We’d best remove our own parkas. Sweat now will easily become frostbite when we step back into the cold.” Only their flashlights illuminated the chamber as they climbed. And their ears began to pop from the change in pressure. A faint red light ahead. For whatever reason, Herr Meyer took off his mask, “Wunderbar! The air is breathable. And look at the floor; a map!”

As the others stood back to observe the map, Oskar walked up to a hole in the center of the chamber, where the red light seemed to originate. “Look! It’s a shaft that descends hundreds if not thousands of feet. Can you feel the heat? That red glow. I’m guessing lava. Nature’s heating system.” But the others were too busy puzzling over the map, till Willard suggested, “Those long-dotted shapes represent the mountain ranges with the tower between. The lines that radiate out and end at sets-of-dots. The dots are their language and name cities. Thus, I think the lines represent a tunnel network. See the spurs that branch off on a couple? Those bold 3-dot sets represent major cities. The closest just inside the mountain ranges is the city we just left.”

panel 1: Elders Losing

panel 2: Death Rays?

The floor map was one thing. But murals covered the hemispheric walls and ceiling. The murals seemed to be added in spiraling bands. Each band representing a millennial or some span of time. Colorful battle scenes as Elders fought on land/water/air. But the Elders seemed to be losing. “Are those death rays?!” Further along the band, the Elders were shown holding boxes that radiated light that seemed to kill their enemy. A 2^nd band depicted 5 Elders standing before a huge crowd of Elder survivors: victory? A 3^rd band included scenes of massive construction as they channeled rivers of lava. Meyer could only gasp at the suggestion, “Their cities and constructions seem to span the entire continent. I can only marvel and wonder about their great machines.”

Oskar seemed to read more into the German’s words: scientific or more interested in the war machines that turned the tide of war in the first band of images? Meanwhile, Willard had seen similar mural scenes back in the city. These seemed to suggest more, “It’s as if lines-of-force interconnect the cities. Could they have harnessed the sun’s energy?! We could be standing above their initial great machine that powered all of their construction.”

Poor Wilbur. Once a scientist himself: a Botanist. But lately he’d found himself a survivalist. A rescuer. “Over here! There are droplets of green ichor. Oskar had shot one. They’ve climbed even higher, dragging James and Charles along.” Meyer reluctantly abandoned the murals and began the climb as the passage spiraled up in a tightening curve. A purple lite flickered ahead, drawing them toward a landing with 5 chambers. Within them, millions of crystal lattices intertwined. Prismatic as the purple light penetrated each and angled off in a multitude of directions of different colored lights. Jaws dropped in wonder, “More beautiful than the Northern Lights!”

But as Oskar stepped into the path of a redirected beam, his thoughts turned to his dad. He could hear muttered phrases of his dad teaching baseball. How to ride a bicycle without training wheels. The smell of his cologne and hair tonic. Oskar was mesmerized and lost in thought, before he looked around to see if anyone else seemed lost in their own thoughts and visions. The warmth in his pocket reminded him, “I wonder if that stone I found in Lake’s camp could be the reason only me? A focus-stone to harness one’s deepest and most cherished memories.”

As they continued up the ramp, Oskar slipped beside Wilbur to reveal his visions. Wilbur listened but only gave a polite, “OK. So the stone is reacting to our gathered presence.” Yet mere yards further, Wilbur experienced his own moment of clarity. As if he was reading Herr Meyer’s thoughts. German and English mixed. “The Pym papers were the key. Fantastic machines to take back to the Führer for the Glory of the Reich. Rule the world and make slaves of the lesser. We will wait till the time is right. Then, the power will be ours.” Wilbur noticed a grin cross Meyer’s face as he happened to look around. Wilbur couldn’t help to grin, “Just as I thought, you Kraut!”

They huffed and puffed as they climbed higher up the tightly spiraling ramp. Till it opened unto another landing with 5 trapezoidal chambers. But 2 of the chambers were damaged, letting in drifts of snow and freezing wind. Shelves on the opposite side displayed strange bowls filled with… (bioluminescent organic material?) that cast a greenish glow. A strange plant life with fleshy white leaves. An unwholesome chill permeated the landing. A sickly greenhouse smell assaulted their noses. "Wasn't there something in Pym's journal about strange fleshy plants?"

Most stood there shivering as they gazed upon more murals. Another progression of panels starting with primitive Elders cowering over a symbol. Then Shoggoth blobs rising from the sea carrying sacrifices to their god. Then Elders beneath the sea. Another scene of Elder Things throwing human and animals bodies into a tub with Shoggoths and then taking the heads and placing them on an altar as offerings to their god. A newer panel recently carved. “The 4 surviving Elders have recorded their awakening in Lake’s camp. Being attacked by human stick figures before they destroyed and dissected the men. They even record their burial of Gedney under a 5-pointed star. 3 larger Elders stand before smaller… are those smaller ones children?! They’ve even drawn our planes.”

A Psychologist would diagnose paranoia. But Wilbur knew his reasoning as urgency. [POW failure 97 vs 60] If Wilbur could read Herr Meyer’s thoughts, were others reading his? Preparing to thwart his intervention? Wilbur chambered a round, shouldered his rifle, and fired. “BOOM!” 

The gunshot echoed thru the enclosed landing then out of the damaged chambers. Frost and snow were dislodged from the walls, replaced with blood and gore splattered across them. A headless Johann Meyer collapsed to the floor as the others clasped their hands over their ears, wincing in pain.

Next episode (conclusion): https://rigglebmm.blogspot.com/2021/04/s17-conclusion-for-good-of-humanity.html