Episode 2
Part Two
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang swept down the gold-and red lined narrow hallway behind his temporary quarters. A shadow of a man paced him, bald and frail with a narrow face, and dressed in rich blue robes. Yang remained aware of him, but only peripherally.
The hallway forked and Yang decided, at that moment and not before, to take the left fork. The hallway would fork again and again, it's gold lined pathways zig-zagging between the major shafts of the Hive.
He glanced back at his escort. The man looked concerned, his brow knitted almost comically. Good. Yang had not picked the man because he remained cool under stress. He picked him because he could read every emotion on his face, every twinge of anxiety, and any hint of betrayal.
"Talk to me, Zhu," Yang said, and took the right fork when the hallway split again.
"What else is there to speak of? We can feel its weight even down here. It casts a pall over everyone."
"I chose the underground to remain protected from the world above. I don't like this turn of events."
"I understand, Chairman."
Yang nodded and thought of the strange blue-tinted light that now filled the entire height of the primary shaft, which was designed to bring light from above down to the main passages of the Labyrinth. The air felt dark and electric, coming down through the strange clouds above ground. He shook his head.
"I believe we should close off the primary shaft," said Yang.
"Perhaps."
"Do you object?"
Zhu thought for a moment. "No. It is best that we cut off the light from above. And that's what worries me."
Yang stopped at a panel decorated with an etching of a coiled jade dragon. He looked at the soft yellow sunglobes lining the wall of the hallway. "We will have to order more of these spectrum lamps from Morgan. Larger ones to fill the recreation levels around the primary."
"They are expensive. All the factions need them...supply and demand."
"I know. Morgan is making a killing." Yang studied the smooth golden surface of a dimmed sunglobe as if puzzling out an expression on a dead man's face.
The dragon panel in front of him slid open. He stepped into a small car beyond, lined with red to symbolically protect him from his enemies. Zhu stepped in behind him.
"To the surface," said Yang. "I want to see this phenomenon again."
The car glided up, past layers and layers of Yang's growing underground world. He looked at Zhu. The man's face collapsed with fear as the elevator car took them to the world above.
Back to Centaurian Tales Intro Page
(c) 1999 Electronic Arts. All rights reserved.