Atlantis 15

          There was no one inside the building because everything was completely automated. “The knowledge of the Gods is truly amazing,”  Hokum thought. “Everything works by itself. Now I have to find the room that I am looking for.”  Unfortunately, the huge structure was like a maze. That is how big it was. Luckily, he possessed a copy of the layout of the structure that Wotan had given to Akula. Hokum felt uncomfortable and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. “For some reason this place gives me the creeps,”  Hokum said to himself. “Why do I have the feeling that someone is watching me?”  After a lot of patience, he finally found the room he was looking for. “This must be it,”  Hokum thought. “Soon it will all be over.”
          Akula was waiting restlessly on his throne. The moment Hokum had accomplished his mission, Akula and his army would attack. “Why am I so worried?”  Akula thought. “This is so unlike me. Is it because I am worried about what could happen to Hokum? Was there a remote possibility that he actually cared about someone?”  After all, he had grown up with Hokum and known him all his life. He had to admit that Hokum had served him faithfully and done so effectively. Even when Akula was still very young and getting into a fight, Hokum would take care of things. Hokum was the closest thing he had to a friend. But Akula did not like the idea and brushed it aside. “No,”  Akula said. “I do not care about Hokum or anyone else. I am just nervous.”
          “Nervous?”  a deep voice said. Shocked, Akula turned around to see who it was. “Wotan!”  he said surprised. “What are you doing here?”
          “We have come to visit you,” Wotan answered.
          “Zhuk is very angry at you for that dirty trick you pulled on him,” Karna said. “Don’t you feel any remorse?”
          “Why should I feel sorry?”  Akula responded. “It worked! Besides I’ve always believed that the goals justify the means. I do not like the fact that I had to deceive my own son. I wished that the Atlanteans had surrendered when we had them surrounded and perhaps things could have been different. But when Zhuk is older, he will inherit my kingdom, including Atlantis. He will benefit from my actions now and understand why I did what I had to do.”
          “So you have absolutely no regrets whatsoever?”  Karna asked.
          “None!”  Akula said emphatically.
          “Too bad its not going to last,”  Wotan said.
          “What do you mean by that?”  Akula said annoyed.
          “You’ll see soon enough,”  Wotan said and before Akula could react, he stunned him with some sort of object. Unconscious, Akula fell on the ground like a brick.
          Hokum had at last found what he was looking for. He looked carefully at the metal switch. “Strange,”  Hokum thought. “In my hand lies the power to defeat the mighty Atlantis. I’ve always thought that it would require something very special to defeat Atlantis. Perhaps a mighty army or a special weapon. But no, with just a simple turn and nothing else, I can do what was thought to be impossible.”  Hokum touched the cold, metal switch with his finger. “From this day on my name will forever be inscribed in the annals of history. I will no longer be referred to as Hokum, but as the one, the only one, who vanquished Atlantis!”  He grabbed the switch, hesitated for a moment and then firmly pulled it down.

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 Click on Part 16 for what happens next in this series.