Fall of the Masters
A Tripods Fanfic (Spoilers for The Pool of Fire)

"The slaves are revolting! The slaves are revolting!"

Dlup screamed those words over and over as he spun from the garden pool without thought of where to go, only to warn another Master of what had just happened. It was 105 seconds before finding one.

"Fellow Skloodzi, what is the problem?"

Dlup responded: "I and fellow Skloodzi Xlot were attacked by five slaves. The slaves killed Xlot and I ran away, seeking aid."

"Astonishing. Let us go to the nearest Nexus and inform City Operations."

The two Masters spun their way through still-empty streets, as the light of day reached visible levels. They reached a small pyramid and entered, tapping out commands on a keypad. The triangular viewscreen activated.

Another Master spoke: "City Operations responding to Emergency Signal activation in Sector 23. State the details of the emergency."

Dlup said: ""I and fellow Skloodzi Xlot were attacked by five slaves. The slaves killed Xlot and I ran away. We came here to warn City Operations."

"Unprecedented. City Operations will respond appropriately." The screen shut off. 7 seconds later a booming alarm started to echo outside.

"ALL SLAVES, RETURN TO YOUR MASTER'S ABODE. ALL SLAVES, RETURN TO YOUR MASTER'S ABODE…"

Everywhere in the City speakers broadcasted the message, cycling through the most common languages of the slaves in City # 2. Every Skloodzi who owned a slave was ordered to report to City Operations the status of their slave's whereabouts at 18 minute intervals.

22 minutes after Slave Revolt Protocol 4 had been activated, Emergency Operations Master Hoostai had arrived at Sector 22. He asked Dlup: "Recapitulate all events."

Dlup responded: "It was before First Period. I and fellow Skloozi Xlot were mating in a garden pool when we noticed several slaves passing in the distance, moving at higher than normal speed. This was an atypical event, so we decided to investigate. Xlot called out to the slaves to state what they were doing here. They did not respond immediately. As we approached them, 3 of the 5 slaves suddenly moved towards Xlot, grabbing at his tentacles. 2 of the other slaves struck at his brainstem spot, killing Xlot. I fled the scene seeking aid."

Dlup pondered the words. "The slaves knew that a Skloodzi being struck in the brainstem spot can injure or kill a Skloodzi. Ominous implications."

Hoostai's communicator chirped. "Water Purification Systems Master Arond speaking. My division has found many containers filled with an unknown liquid. Several empty containers are scattered near Water Outflow Pool 3."

"Emergency Operations responds to your message." A few minutes later Hoostai was at the water purification plant, along with a growing crowd of Masters. Hoostai was given an empty container. Very carefully he raised it to his noses and sniffed.

"I detect nothing unusual, which is either reassuring or alarming. Take a container to Operations for analysis." Hoostai contacted Operations. "Status of all slaves in the City."

"There are 845 registered slaves in the City. 821 have their locations confirmed by their Masters." A pause. "The updated count is 834. All either in their Masters' abodes or on their way."

"Inform the Departments of the 11 Masters with outstanding slaves. They are to search their areas for any traces of their slaves' presence." Hoostai turned to his Deputy Manager, Kqop. "Additional suggestions?"

"We should redouble guards of all critical City infrastructure."

"Agreed. What of the 11 missing slaves? We assume they are not under control of the Caps. What might they intend to do next?"

"Further sabotage. Or possibly escape."

"How could they escape the City?" Before Kqop could answer, Hoostai's communicator chirped again.

"Operations to Skloodzi Hoostai. Alarming new facts: the containers were filled with ethanol, highly concentrated."

"Disastrous news," Hoostai said immediately. "The slaves have somehow learned that the Skloodzi are highly vulnerable to ethanol poisoning. Their intentions were nothing less than to kill or incapacitate all Masters, in the hopes of then destroying the City."

Hoostai paused, then raised his communicator. "Emergency Operations, implement Slave Revolt Protocol 9, authorization Hoostai." Now every Master in the City was instructed to go to their designated emergency response station, wearing emergency environmental gear. Send signals to City Number 1 and 3 alerting them to the possibility of slave revolts."

"Operations to Hoostai. All 845 slaves now accounted for."

"Anomalous result," Kqop responded. "Why would slaves who are no longer under control of the Cap voluntarily return to their Masters?"

"Deduction: the humans who attacked Skloodzi Dlup and Xlot were not true slaves; they somehow infiltrated the City, using false or damaged Caps to mimic the appearance of slaves."

"Unprecedented result. If true, then we have no knowledge of their true numbers."

Hoostai went to a terminal and called up the security status of all critical infrastructure in the City. Every location was now guarded by multiple teams of Masters. "These… feral humans… there are at least 5. Either they are seeking to further damage the City—"

"—or they are seeking to escape," Kqop said. "By what method?"

A status updated flashed on the terminal; Hoostai called it up. "Emergency Team at Wall Sector 9 to Operations. We spotted a human approaching the Wall. Upon being chased down, the slave removed his mask and killed himself. Observation indicates the human's Cap was not integrated into its skull, but was being worn superficially."

"Your theory is confirmed," Kqop said.

"The feral humans are attempting to escape through the City's discharge vents. Orders to Emergency Operations: alert all teams in Wall Sectors 8 through 11, continuous monitoring of all outflow pools. Any human encountered must be captured. Repeat: capture any feral humans, highest priority."

Hoostai turned to Kqop and the other assembled Masters. "We depart to Wall Sector 9." Along with nine other Masters, Hoostai boarded a carriage en route to Wall Sector 9. As they passed through the center of the City, Hoostai's communicator chirped.

"Wall Sector 10, another human spotted. Before being apprehended, the human removed his mask and died. This human also had a false Cap."

"Feral humans more cunning than anticipated. We must capture one alive."

"Suggest subterfuge: have teams hide out of sight approaching the pools, then capture when a human approaches."

"Unlikely to work, the humans must now realize we now know they are trying to escape the City."

"The feral humans did not intend these attacks to be suicide attacks – their first priority was to escape. Humans do not kill themselves unless no other option. If they see an opportunity, they might risk it."

"Argument accepted. New orders to Wall Sector emergency teams: when darkness arrives, hide out of sight from anyone approaching the vents. Hold positions and capture any humans in range. Do not approach until humans do not have ability to escape. All other teams in Wall Sectors 8 through 11, clear the streets."

"Halt carriage." The carriage stopped. "We shall wait here until events change. Slave masks last 28 hours before needing to be changed. All communal places now under guard, any remaining feral humans must attempt escape by then or they will die."

They waited. 2 hours later they received terrible news:

"Cities 1 and 3 have not responded to any communication requests in the past hour. All voluntary broadcasts ended 35 minutes after the Emergency Alert here. Implications disastrous."

Hoostai shivered with horror and rage, then composed himself. "Acknowledged. Continue subterfuge plan. More imperative than ever we capture any remaining feral humans."

They continued to wait, in dismal silence. But 7 hours later, they finally received some good news:

"Wall Sector 8 reporting, one human captured alive."

"Excellent. Bring the human to Emergency Operations. Inform the Capping Division to report as well."

2 days later, Hoostai stood before the City Operations Council and delivered the findings of the Emergency Operations Department. The entire City was watching by broadcast.

On the monitor was a small, dark skinned human. "This human is Raul Veracruz, age 16. 3 years ago he fled from his village of Tampoco, Mexico before he was to be Capped. In the past 2 years, City Records have noted an abnormal increase in the number of human boys who have run away from their homes. Since resistance was crushed 110 years ago, we estimate that around 0.5% of the remaining human population has escaped Capping by hiding in marginal environments. Unfortunately, we have never considered these significant enough to resume suppression operations. Just over 3 years ago a Tripod was deliberately destroyed west of City # 1. The Cities initiated counter-responses and no more Tripods had been lost, but we did not increase scrutiny of incoming slaves."

One of the Council Masters interrupted. "How did feral humans obtain knowledge about the City and Skloodzi biology?"

"In the attack on the Tripod, Skloodzi Ruki was found missing. We had presumed he was dead before being taken away, but in light of the attack it is possible the humans managed to capture Ruki alive and experiment on him, thus learning about the brainstem spot vulnerability and our sensitivity to ethanol, being so close to the metabolically-required methanol yet obviously highly toxic to us. It is clear that the feral humans, used false Caps, managed to masquerade as candidate slaves, probably from City #1 but not certain. Pretending to be slaves, the feral humans then learned about the City's environment, our metabolism and possibly other things."

Hoostai showed another image: hundreds of plastic containers filled with clear liquid. The Masters shifted uncomfortably. "Unfortunately the human we captured was a recent replacement and thus less well-informed of their plans, but we have learned that for many years, there have been multiple groups of feral humans, to the north of City #2 and to the east of City #1, who escaped Capping and have been planning resistance against us. There were 6 feral humans in total. Using knowledge obtained from those pretending to be slaves, their plan was to ferment ethanol in the City, then dump it into the City's water supply beyond the purification barriers. Given the amount of ethanol recovered, any Master who took even a single drink of water 10 minutes after the attack would have been paralyzed for at least 4 hours. During that time, the humans planned to wreck the City's fusion core. Undoubtedly this is what happened in Cities #1 and 3; within 60 minutes of the attack here, all transmissions from the other 2 Cities ceased."

There was unease from the Council, and no doubt all other Masters in the City. "How could the feral humans have learned so much about us, organize around the entire planet, without us knowing?"

"Sadly we will never know the answer, unless we capture those responsible. All our attention must be focused on the future." After that Hoostai sat down. Now Gyet, acting Defense Master, stood.

"We have sent a message to the Star Voyager informing what has happened on this planet, but of course they cannot arrive any sooner due to orbital mechanics. We must defend the City for the next 210 days until it arrives. Our defense strategy is as follows."

A new video began playing: hundreds of human slaves marching towards the Place of Happy Release. "This morning we ordered all slaves in the City to kill themselves, and without fail they did so. It is unfortunate that we exhausted the supply of Invasion Caps with their enhanced receivers – we could then have ordered all Capped humans to kill themselves. All the discharge vents in the City now have reinforced gratings attached, and they are under continuous monitoring."

Another image showed Tripods spraying burning oil as they walked across the ground. "At this very moment, our Tripods are burning the land within 45 kilometers of the City, destroying all above-ground structures. This will make it impossible for the humans to approach the City over land without being detected."

A picture of the City appeared: peaceful and tranquil. "The obvious stratagem for the humans is to attack the City from beyond. Clearly the humans have managed to recover some of their previous technological abilities. One possibility for attack is artillery." The image shifted to a historical recording of a large metal gun just before being crushed underfoot of a Tripod. "Humans have had weapons like these capable of damaging the crystal dome for almost a hundred years before we arrived, so they clearly have the ability to construct these weapons again. Fortunately for us, it is unlikely they have developed motorized vehicular transport to move these weapons on land. They would need to use horses to pull the weapons in range of the City, and with our Tripods laying waste the land and beginning continuous patrols, they could never get in range before we destroyed them."

Another image appeared: a sailing ship, firing guns. "The other, more likely possibility, is that they will mount a gun aboard a ship, and sail it within range to shell the City. Again, our Tripods will be patrolling the shallow coastal waters surrounding the City, and will be well-positioned to destroy any ships approaching the shoreline." The screen went blank.

This time the noise from the Council was more reassuring. But not completely so: "Are there any other possibilities? What of attack from the air?"

Gyet brought up a new picture: metal flying machines approaching the initial landing base, set up in the middle of the continent south of City #1. "Certainly during the initial invasion human aircraft were the least ineffective of the weapons they used against us." The picture then showed the aircraft falling from the sky. "Then as now, the City retains its electric disruptor shield, highly effective against any electrical or chemical propulsion system such as all human war machines used. In any event, the humans almost certainly do not have the capability to create sophisticated flying machines, not in the time before the Star Voyager arrives."

"What about sabotage? The humans cannot enter the City anymore, but they could damage the Wall from outside."

Gyet paused. "Unless the humans have found a cache of nuclear explosives, they certainly cannot carry on foot or even by horse-drawn carriage enough explosive material to damage the Wall. And even if they could, they could not hope to avoid the Tripod patrols." Gyet paused again. "But there is one area which concerns me. If they managed to drop a floating container of explosives in the river inlet to the City, a large enough explosive device could damage the water purification system. That would be… most unpleasant, although I think we could survive it."

"No possibility is too small to overlook; be sure to double the coverage of the river inlet. Otherwise – we are satisfied with your defense plan."

As the second period began, inside Emergency Operations Skloodzi Gyet and Hoostai watched the flood of information about the City's defenses: Tripods crisscrossing the burnt land to the eastern and western horizon, never more than a few minutes distance between them. Even more Tripods sloshing knee-deep in ocean water, north and south of the City. In the past 94 days a handful of human ships had come close enough ashore for the Tripods to destroy them, yet curiously none of them contained weapons or feral humans.

Suddenly an alarm sounded: radar contact. "We have 10 airborne objects approaching the City from the southeast, range 25 kilometers, altitude 100 meters, speed 140 kilometers per hour."

Hoostai stared. "The feral humans are even capable of flight. We should have wiped them out first."

Gyet replied: "They will be, soon enough. Clever, they managed to evade visual detection by the Tripods. No matter; these machines are far more primitive than the ones we saw during the invasion. I have studied the archives, more than 50 years before. The disruptor shield will bring them down. Activate when they are within 10 kilometers."

They watched as the human aircraft slowly approached the green circle surrounding the City on the radar plot. Once all of them passed into the circle, another Master pressed a button; nothing changed inside the Operations Center, but within seconds the tracks began disappearing from the scope. Soon it was empty.

"Tripod 145 reporting: multiple flying machines falling out of the sky. Some have landed intact."

"Destroy the machines. Capture the pilots if possible."

Hoostai turned to Gyet. "We never should have underestimated them. Complacency is the only thing that allowed them to hurt us."

"Indeed, I am surprised they managed even this. But no doubt they will have other plans. So long as we are vigilant, the humans cannot hurt us. They used their best attack first and it completely failed."

"Which means it is even less likely they can hurt us. I believe we have prevailed."

"I believe you are right."

As the third period began, inside Emergency Operations Gyet and Hoostai continued to watch the flood of information about the City's defenses: Tripods crisscrossing the burnt land to the eastern and western horizon, never more than a few minutes distance between them. Even more Tripods sloshing knee-deep in ocean water, north and south of the City. In less than 73 days Star Voyager would arrive, and the Plan to make Earth inhabitable for the Skloodzi would finally begin.

"Incoming alert: Tripod 426 reports visual contact of flying objects approaching the City."

"Unexpected outcome. Confirm radar contact."

"Radar does not show anything approaching the City."

"Impossible!" Gyet stared at the plot: Tripod 426 was barely 5 kilometers from the City! "Activate the disruptor shield. Repeat fire, maximum intensity."

"Activating." Nothing changed on the radar plot. "Contact Tripod 426, confirm status of human machines."

"Tripod 426 reporting, human machines still on approach to City. Machines are large spherical objects, no visible propulsion method detected."

"Lighter-than-air craft," Gyet said. "Even more primitive flying objects, but no internal combustion engine, no metal parts. But they can carry explosives just like aircraft. Tripod 426, destroy all balloons. All Tripods in the area, converge on the City! Activate Emergency Alert!"

Skloodzi Dlup was walking down the thoroughfare outside the Sphere Arena, as he liked to do before his duty shift started. The dome was a bright green, letting a fraction of the native light into the City. Soon we will be able to walk this planet without masks, without a dome—and without these accursed humans!

Continuing on his walk he felt more than heard the sound: a dull boom far above. Looking up, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then an alarm sounded:

"The City is under attack, everyone report to emergency shelter. The City is under attack, everyone report to emergency shelter…"

No, it can't be! Pointing a tentacle to the sky, Dlup shouted: "We're being attacked! It's the humans!"

The other Masters around him reacted with startled and fearful tones. Staring up at the dome, there was another blast, louder this time; they could even see the flash dimly.

Masters began spinning away, heading for shelter. But for some reason Dlup could not move. Instead he continued to stare at the sky, waiting. There was another blast, but yet the dome still held.

Seconds past, then minutes; there were no further explosions. Dlup's spirits rose. The humans failed. The Skloodzi survive! This was the humans' last chance; they have nothing left. Soon enough, the Star Voyager will arrive, and we will be safe. The Plan will begin—

—an earsplitting blast, much louder than the others, followed by a terrible cracking sound. Dlup stared in horror as a huge jagged hole now appeared near the center of the dome. Shards of crystals began falling on the City. And there was a gigantic sucking sound; Dlup could feel all around him air rising up, to escape out of the dome.

Masters all about him screamed and wailed; some spun around aimlessly. Dlup could begin to feel it now; an itching, rapidly becoming a burning in his throat and eyes. The light from above was blinding; he staggered and fell, tentacles twitching uncontrollably. He coughed, choking; thrashing about wildly, but the smothering only became worse.

Finally the light was dimming; everything was fading to nothingness. With his last breath Dlup screamed in horror and despair.

The End