SOUL CAGES
by Robert Hanczyk
January 10, 1998

     "That should do it."  Levtus was proud of her work.  Unfortunately,
she had a couple more hundred sections in the unfinished battlestar to
seal against the vacuum of space.  The thought of the hundreds and
hundreds of lives who depended on her seals to maintain the hull
integrity and protect them from space never crossed her mind.  Levtus was
one of the best sealers in the business, and she would never ever let
them down.
     'Attention! Attention!  Everyone clear the area.  There is a phalanx
of Cylon Raiders on the way.  They will be here in seven centons.  Get to
your shuttles.'  The message repeated in her helmet receiver.
     "What?  Cylons?  So close?  This is supposed to be secure from Cylon
attack."  Levtus activated the transmitter in her helmet.  "Spartan. 
This is Lev.  Can you hear me?"
     'I read you.  Are you going to your shuttle?'
     "I'll never reach it in time.  I'm too deep inside.  How did the
Cylons find us?"
     'I don't know but you better find someplace to protect yourself and
fast.'
     "Spartan.  I'm staying in here_"
     'You're crazy!!!  They blow you apart.'
     "Not if they don't know where I am."  Levtus guided herself in
deeper on the front quarter of the battlestar.  She figured the middle
would be the safest place.  With any luck, the Vipers would reach the
Raiders before the Cylons began any attack runs on the
far-from-finished-battlestar.  "Will you come get me when this is all
over?"
     'Promise me you'll be there.'
     "I will."
     'Then I'll be back to pick you up.  Stay in one piece.  Spartan
out.'
     Levtus floated into one of the long corridors.  She directed her
main light down each direction of blackness trying to figure out the
shortest way to the middle without passing any opening to outside of the
frame.  The big pieces of equipment were sent through those once the main
frame was constructed.  They were also the easiest way in and out of the
mammoth ship. However, floating through them, in a space suit, still took
time, time she did not have.  Regardless, a lucky Cylon shot up there
would blow out that whole section_and then some.
     'Attention!  Attention!  All shuttles departing.  Cylon Attack in
two centons.'
     "Frack!"  Levtus was not sure what to do.  Anywhere she went could
be destroyed no matter how deep it was.  All she could do was float and
wait.  She deactivated her main light, but kept it on stand-by.  Her
backup light was at full power in case something should happen to her
main light.  With the radio off, all Levtus was able to hear was her own
breathing inside the helmet.  She knew better than to try and radio out
for fear the Cylons might pick up the signal.  In the absolute blackness,
a centon lasted an eternity.  Levtus closed her eyes and prayed to her
deities for protection.
     Levtus lost track of time very quickly.  She tried to keep her mind
occupied with unfinished work, refining her work schedule, people whom
she had to contact about any flaws she discovered before she sealed, and
so on.  It seemed to help speed up to super slow passing of time, but not
by much.  What else was there to think of?  Levtus had no family. 
Spartan was her closest friend.  The small confines of the multi-dwelling
was not exactly thrilling.  The only reason Levtus stayed here was the
love she had for her job.  To be part of the construction team for a
mighty battlestar, the freedom to float out in space, the peace and
serenity she felt with the stars all around her was enough to exhilarate
Levtus at this point in her life.
     The construction zone was supposed to be well hidden from any Cylon
raids.  No one ever thought the Cylons would be able to penetrate this
deep into Colonial territory.  All types of screening devices were used
to absorb, deflect, or confuse scanner information if anyone flew close
enough.  There had to be an inside leak somewhere reporting to the
Cylons.
     Levtus was in free float, not touching any part of the battlestar. 
Even though she was unable to see or hear anything, she felt the corridor
wall hit her.  She could not see what happened in the blackness, but it
must have been some blow the Cylons delivered to rock this section of the
ship.  Levtus reached out to hold on to the side to help prevent any
other bumps.  If the ship rocked, she should rock with it.  A few more
minor movements had happened, but nothing that seemed to be of any
serious consequence.
     There was a blinding flash of light.  It was the brightest Levtus
had ever experienced.  Her eyes were not ready for it.  By reflex, Levtus
covered the front of her helmet with both her arms.  The affect of the
bright light remained within her eyes for a good five centons. Levtus
prayed and prayed her eye sight would return to normal.
     When the brightness finally faded and Levtus dared to open her eyes,
she saw not the blackness of space, but an unexplainable phenomenon. 
Most everything around was black.  What was not black formed a perfect
cube.  Levtus was enclosed in that cube.  The cubes were aglow with an
eerie luminescence.  The twelve faint lines forming the cube were a
radiating gold.  No, they were silver.  Or was it white?  Nope.  It was
orange.  In reality, or lack of it, to Levtus, the cube was all colors,
but not a one.  It was the way one perceived it and that could not even
be trusted.  On top, below, and to the sides of Levtus' cage were more,
just like hers, forming a row that went as far as infinity.  In front and
behind the cage was another row, identical to the row where Levtus was. 
As with her row, every row went to infinity.
     Where was everyone?  All the cages were void of prisoners.  Levtus
was there.  Was she the only one?  Was it an illusion or a dream to her? 
The battlestar construction worker was very confused.
     "HELLO!!! Is anyone out there?!?"
     "I'm here."  The voice was soft, mellow and seemed to be close by.
     "Where are you?  Who are you?"  Levtus could see not a soul.
     "I'm right beside you."
     "Why can't I see you?"  She fought real hard to keep her sanity in
check.  Levtus heard the voice, but could not tell exactly where it
originated.  At least it seemed to be a man's voice.
     "Did you look at yourself?"
     Levtus tried to look at herself and saw absolutely nothing but the
cage.  "What happened?  Where am I?  Where are you?"
     "Welcome to the Soul Cages of Eternity.  You are there in your own
soul cage_"
     "Why can't I see myself?" she quickly interrupted.
     "There is nothing to see."  The voice was so calm.  So calm, it made
Levtus feel even more displaced.
     "What do you mean?"  Levtus felt panic set in on her body that was
not there.
     "You are there.  That which you were is where you left it.  You, who
makes yourself, is here."
     "You're not making any sense.  Don't talk in riddles to me."
     Another voice was heard.  Again, where it came from was unknown to
Levtus.  "That is to be expected.  In time, which does not exist as we
know it, you will understand."
     The first voice spoke again.  "I do not speak riddles.  What you
hear is the truth.  Only the truth does not make sense to you, but it
will."
     Levtus grew impatient at all this nonsense.  It was beginning to
feel like a bad dream.  "You still didn't tell me what happened.  Or what
will happen.  What is this place?"
     The second voice spoke.  "The life, as you knew it, is over.  Your
physical body is dead.  The essences which made you be you is here, in
the Soul Cages."
     "I can't be dead!"  Levtus shouted, or at least tried to sound as if
she shouted.  "I have a job to do.  I'm too young to be dead.  Get me out
of here."
     "You are not REALLY dead.  Only your body has ceased functioning,"
the first voice said.  "There is a chance you may go back, but it will
not be in a physical way."
     "WHAT?!?!?"
     The second voice pleaded, "Please calm down."
     "Quite right," added the first voice.  With a voice coming from each
side of Levtus, her sanity was on the brink of being lost.  She heard but
could not see.  "What was the last thing you remember doing?"
     "I was sealing the hull of a new battlestar when the Cylons found us
and attacked.  I hid in the battlestar hoping I'd be safe if they made it
thorugh."
     "Attack.  Battlestar.  Your people are violent_"
     "We most certainly are not.  We are only trying to protect ourselves
from the Cylons."
     "What are Cylons?" the second voice asked.
     "They are a mechanical race out to destroy humans.  What I was
helping to build was a means of protection."  Levtus calmed down some,
but still felt very uneasy about this whole situation.
     "That is where you may go."  That was from the first voice again.
     "Where is that?"  Levtus bit her imaginary tongue to hold back her
temper.
     "Where you died.  It happened to me already.  You will go back and
be there until it opens to free you."
     "Huh?"
     "What they are trying to say is your spirit, your soul, your being
will be in the 'battlestar' as you call it," a third voice said.  It
seemed to come from above Levtus.  "You will be there until you are
freed.  Haunting is a loose way of saying it."
     "Then what?"
     The first voice replied, "It all depends on what you do there. 
Picture where you last were."
      Levtus saw a completed battlestar out in deep space.  There were no
signs of accompanying ships, no viper patrols, no Cylon attacks.  The
battlestar was at peace en route to wherever it was heading.  Levtus
pictured herself at the areas she sealed before the Cylon attack.  The
seals appeared free of strain and the wear and tear of space travel. 
Back at the engines, she felt their power and everything depending on the
energy produced.  Levtus placed herself in the launch tubes to see how
well they held up against the vibrations and strains of countless viper
launches.  Other than some scorch marks from Viper turbos, everything
looked up to par.  On the bridge was all the typical activity involved
with controlling the mighty battlestar.  Through the viewport, the
vastness of space was felt with only the stars to guide the way.
     Behind the bridge, in the middle of the front section where Levtus
hid from the Cylon attack, the corridors looked perfect.  Warriors and
other crew members passed through as if nothing ever happened.  More than
likely, they never knew of the attack during the construction of the
battlestar.  Levtus moved through the corridors in that area to examine
every little piece of structure.  It was quite obvious no one ever
noticed her presence there, even those who walked through where she felt
herself being.
     A nearby door opened.  A couple came out into the corridor with big
smiles on their faces.  Noise filled the area while the doorway remained
opened.  Levtus had to place herself inside the doorway to see what was
happening.  It appeared to be a big party.  People dancing around on the
deck and tables.  Some people competed against others balancing Ambrosa
bottles on their forehead only to be covered in the drink should the
bottle teeter.  Typical of any party were those who tried to drink each
other under the table.  They were in trouble if a red alert klaxon
blared.
     Without warning, the people vanished.  Everything associated with a
party disappeared.  Even the furniture faded away.  The lighting dimmed
down to nothing and the walls of the room dissolved.  A light shown on a
figure in the corridor on the other side of the defunct room opposite of
where the doorway was.  The suited figure merely floated there, not
moving any limbs.  Levtus knew who the figure was - herself.  She had to
place herself in front of the figure just to be sure.  Through the
faceplate was a face of terror, frozen for all eternity.  Had Levtus'
soul had a physical essence to it, she would have gone into shock. 
However, looking at her dead body had no major impact on her other than
knowing it was there.
     Levtus tried to picture herself back at the Soul Cages of Eternity
but nothing happened.  She imagined the completed battlestar with
everyone on board voyaging through space.  It did not appear.  Levtus
could not place herself anywhere outside of being in front of her own
corpse.

To Be Continued.....
If enough interest is generated.
hanczykr@gmail.com