A few days later, Demadrian and Jenna arrived in Carrington City. They wanted to talk with their grandfather about what they had discovered at the mountain range.
The Alset family originated from North City. As their wealth grew, they also bought property in other districts. Their biggest property was in Carrington City. Locum made this property his new home. He could no longer tolerate the cold weather in the North District. Carrington City was much milder.
When Demadrian and Jenna arrived, Locum was in his bedroom. He was sitting up in his bed.
‘My two favourite grandchildren have come to visit me,’ said Locum as he raised his arms to greet them. ‘I’m so happy you chose to spend some time with me instead of watching that silly Pound Ball.’
‘I almost forgot. It’s the Grand Final today,’ chuckled Demadrian. ‘We better hurry this along.’
Jenna nudged Demadrian hard in the ribs. ‘He’s just joking,’ she said with a shy grin. ‘We much prefer spending time with you than watching a ball game.’
‘I must confess. I was tempted. To address my curiosity, I watched one game,’ said Locum casually as he gently grinned at his grandchildren. ‘In the first round of the playoffs, our very own Engineers played just down the road from here. I see why some are drawn to this sport.’
‘The game was definitely rigged,’ blurted Demadrian. ‘They wanted an all Capital District showdown in the second round.’
‘Oh, how so easily our emotions can be triggered,’ said Locum with a smile as he could see the agitation on Demadrian’s face.
‘I’m sorry, grandfather,’ said Demadrian as he recomposed himself. ‘The attitudes of the Yensid brothers irk me.’
‘No doubt, and so does their success,’ said Locum.
‘Success from the use of our technology,’ replied Demadrian.
‘Indeed,’ said Locum, ‘but we must all take responsibility for what we set in motion.’
Demadrian nodded.
‘Now tell me, why are you really here?’ asked Locum as he turned to Jenna.
‘We discovered a cave and a tunnel built by a long-lost civilisation,’ said Jenna excitedly. ‘Look, I took these photographs of these drawings from inside the tunnel we found. Both Demadrian and I believe this is a message.’
Locum reached over and grabbed his magnifying glass. Jenna spread the photographs in front of him. Locum carefully studied the photographs. He hummed every few minutes as he moved between photographs. It appeared he was making comparisons and mental notes. Jenna looked across at Demadrian. She could tell he was eagerly waiting for Locum to respond.
‘This is quite a discovery,’ said Locum as he looked up. ‘It is indeed a message and a timeline of events.’
‘It is a warning from an ancient civilisation,’ said Demadrian as he pointed at a few of the photographs. ‘The repeated nature of the drawings shows the rise and fall of civilisations. This civilisation knew they were on the way out. They wanted to warn the next civilisation so they would not suffer the same fate.’
‘A warning is one conclusion we could draw,’ said Locum as he looked across at Demadrian. He then turned to face Jenna. ‘We could even more strongly argue this is a form of storytelling. Its prominent placement indicates it is important. Therefore, the artist believed it to be true.’
‘I believe we need to fully explore these tunnels,’ said Jenna. ‘I seek your permission to bring a larger team with sophisticated equipment to begin this exploration.’
‘I agree,’ said Locum as he nodded. ‘We need to find out more about the caves and those that once occupied them.’
Jenna slightly bowed her head in gratitude and respect. Demadrian nodded approvingly.
‘Jenna,’ said Locum assertively, ‘I would like you to lead this expedition.’
Demadrian was about to speak, but Locum raised his hand to silence him.
‘I found your thesis on loop theory to be outstanding,’ said Locum with a broad grin as he looked across at Jenna. ‘I feel your latest discovery may reinforce or challenge your ideas. Either way, it will cement your work as truly significant.’
‘I feel honoured you took the time to study my work,’ said Jenna, blushing slightly.
‘I feel just as honoured to have such a remarkable granddaughter,’ said Locum as he reached out to touch her hand.
Demadrian started to fake gag.
Locum turned to look at Demadrian. ‘Hmm,’ said Locum, ‘do you think you could do me a favour?’
‘Sure, why not?’ replied Demadrian, sounding a little disgruntled.
‘Go downstairs and bring up the television,’ requested Locum as he began to grin again. ‘I think it would be fun for us to watch this Grand Final together.’
‘You don’t have to ask me twice, old fruit,’ said Demadrian energetically as he sprinted out of the room.
‘I must apologise for his behaviour,’ said Jenna with an embarrassed look on her face. ‘He is still very hyperactive.’
‘I admire his enthusiasm,’ said Locum. ‘I just wish it was slightly better placed.’
A few minutes later, Demadrian walked back into the bedroom holding the television.
‘I’ll have this plugged in, and we’ll be ready to go,’ said Demadrian as he placed the television on a sideboard table opposite the bed.
Demadrian looked around the room for a point to plug it in. He noticed a funny-looking machine.
‘Mind if I pull the plug on this?’ he said with a grin. ‘It doesn’t look important.’
‘Go for it,’ said Locum as he chuckled. ‘After all, it is only keeping me alive.’
Jenna glared at Demadrian with a very unimpressed look on her face.
After some slight rearranging of the furniture, Demadrian had the television set up. When they turned it on, the marching bands had just finished.
‘Great, got the boring bits out of the way,’ joked Demadrian.
‘Come, grandchildren, sit with me on the bed,’ said Locum. ‘I want you to observe this game as scientifically as possible. We need to understand what captures the minds of our fellow Linap.’
A few hours later, Locum turned to Demadrian and asked, ‘What do you think of how your technology is being used?’
‘Feels a little wasted,’ replied Demadrian. ‘It could be used to educate. It has the potential to offer a much richer experience than books and journal articles.’
‘Did you think they would choose education over entertainment?’ pressed Locum.
‘We can’t control how our products are used, nor should we,’ replied Demadrian. ‘They choose to focus on entertainment.’
‘How do you feel, Jenna?’ asked Locum as he turned to her.
‘I agree with my cousin about not controlling how products should be used,’ replied Jenna. ‘Instead, we need to show foresight on how they are likely to be used. Most Linap are more naturally drawn to entertainment than education. The Grand Final has definitively proven that. This is not necessarily bad if we turn it into a learning experience. Demadrian’s inventions provide us with an opportunity to make education entertaining.’
Locum nodded in agreement with Jenna. He then turned to Demadrian and asked, ‘Any other observations from this event?’
‘Everything is rigged,’ said Demadrian firmly. ‘The wedding was clearly planned. They had the flowers and set ready to go. The game was rigged. Ryan scored so many points because they allowed him to. They could have negated his height advantage by covering him with taller players. Remember, he played last season. What did he do then? Not much. He also repeatedly intercepted them because their throwers kept throwing the ball high.’
‘I’m pretty sure they intended to injure him,’ interrupted Jenna. ‘Why not just stop him from scoring?’
‘They needed him to look like a star, and they needed the game to be closer,’ replied Demadrian. ‘By injuring him, they could get both.’
‘Some quite elaborate storytelling,’ said Locum with a concerned look on his face. ‘If the Yensid brothers can fool them all with a game. In what other ways are they capable of fooling them all? The discovery of those tunnels couldn’t be timelier.’
Jenna and Demadrian looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
‘Jenna, you have permission to use whatever resources you deem necessary,’ said Locum as he smiled at her.
Jenna gratefully nodded.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
