The Industrialist

Chapter 12: Exoskeleton

"A conductor is a material that let electricity flow. On the other hand, an insulator is a material that restricts the flow of electricity. Gold wires are good conductors that are used in minute electronic components for faster flow of electrons than the average copper wire.

But, nowadays, Scientists are looking at the bones of Abominants to be better than Gold. They called it the perfect conductor wherein there is almost no resistivity of the flow of electrons. Somehow, the biological weapons’ radiation had augmented the physiological and genetic structures of the mutated beings, making organic skeletons into high-conductivity materials."

Lecture of Erik Berkley to his son, Lance.

***

There was no wisp of life emanating from the defeated creature. A handful of Rebels and an Outsider slew a level 3 Abominant. Unlike the Wolf Abominant that infiltrated the City which took almost a day to kill by the full might of the police force, the Obsidian Scorpion was trapped and cornered to its surprising demise.

Luck was on their side. The group had weapons that comprised the elements of weaknesses for the beast. The electric stun grenades created light, its major weakness, and nullified the scorpion’s elusive movements. The Peak line was at the top portion of the Trench Hill which was inevitably cold, another weakness of the creature.

The Corporation seemed to have no information about the Abominants as quickly as the Outsiders.

"Let’s go," Damian suggested. "Somebody is waiting for us in Axiom Trench."

"Wait!" Lance said. "I have to extract a portion of its exoskeleton."

"Why?" George asked. His voice seemed annoyed to delay more time lingering in the area or could be afraid of another Abominant encounter.

"Are you sure you killed all the Abominants within the Trenches?" George asked Handsome.

Handsome was silent but his eyes though seemed to be smiling.

"I guess silence means yes," Joe seconded.

"Scientists of the upper level are doing secret projects studying the mutated Anatomy of Abominants, maybe extracting useful residues of radiation from the flesh that caused the compatible genetic mutation.

But my agenda is different from theirs; the skeletons of the Abominants are highly conductive materials that you can use in schematic diagram building connecting electronic components." Lance explained.

He took out the Laser Hunting Knife. It looked large on his hand but the weight was manageable though. Lance liked the design; the material was a somewhat uncommon level of raw materials used for forging such a weapon.

Metal forging was a lucrative profession in Axe Central City. Low-class citizens who wanted to gain more money other than scrapping and trading components studied metal forging.

But not anyone was allowed to learn to forge because what they are going to learn and create in the future was somehow regulated by the Corporation. As they explained that the forgers could tap confidential designs only accessible to the upper echelons of Scientists.

Lance knows a little background in forging metals but not to a scale large enough to manufacture for profit.

Studying further the pommel to the handle of the knife, Masterwork level of materials may have been used that only the Axiom Trench holds, Lance thought.

Lance turned on the button located on its handle and the laser light screamed lightly as it defined the knife’s edge. It vibrated but smoothly.

"How can you be so sure, Damian? The talks back at the base said that the Axiom Trench is a dangerous place." Joe supported how George felt.

"You’ll see," Damian answered. The Specialist winked at Lance. "Axiom Trench is a dangerous place. It is true even up to this time. But not to us. We know how to handle danger, right?"

There was no answer. As if to Damian, looting inside Axiom trench was only a walk in the park. But Lance had a gut feeling about the Axiom Trench. About how it was broadcasted to be a dangerous place.

The Corporation had managed to mask the place with fear and hopelessness. They were hiding something or maybe the rebels and the Outsiders were hiding something from the Corporation.

A walk in the park or not, Lance had placed a stupendous amount of trust in his comrades. Looking at the brighter side, Lance focused only on acquiring the Energy Accelerator.

He formulated an imagination that all the components needed for his invention, all in harmonious function and compatibility; could light up Bay City.

The Supergenerator, Lance thought.

They managed to drive down to the other side of the Trench hill and back to the dry and hot atmospheric temperature. The altitude of the Hill seemed to have a tremendous gap of temperature between brackets of land elevation. The higher the elevation, the colder the atmosphere would be.

It was scientifically wrong for a theoretical global warming.

But instead of barren stretches and bends of desert regions, the place had thick dead trees that seemed to stretch beyond the eyes could reach. There were no leaves, only a comical array of varied lengths of branches and trees that seemed to have begged for the heavens to take them.

The trees seemed to portray the people of the planet. Dead and if alive, desperate. They took travel respites to rest their eyes but they stayed in the jeep. They took turns to watch the surroundings without compromising their seating arrangement.

Lance could not sleep, too. Something told him that an Abominant attack would ensue during their sleep and would deliver their instant deaths as if they were just having nightmares and never waking again. The coldest death ever that one could partake in.

They have been driving all day and Damian took the tiredness toll heavily as he drove a challenging road.

The ochre color clouds seemed to have disappeared.

"It will be dark, soon," Lance said as they started driving again.

"I hope we can reach the Axiom before dark," Handsome said. The Scorpion’s ambush took them an hour to set up and wait for the creature to appear at the Peak Line. They were consuming a significant amount of daytime.

"What will happen if we are still on the road after daylight?" Joe asked.

Lance did not ask because he knew the answer.

"The doors will close," Handsome answered. Then Lance’s hypothetical guess was right. The Axiom was different than what was broadcasted.

"Doors? Where?" George asked.

"Doors of Axiom Trench," Damian said.