Phantom Frost

by Alfred Wurr

  “Some people still believe that sort of thing,” I said, thinking of the men that Wilhelm had sent away with talk of Zeus.

  “They sure do,” Olivia said. “Homo sapiens are still cave dwellers in the dark places of their minds. People want to, even need to, believe; anything to give their lives purpose and assuage the fear of death.”

  “How much of the myths are true, then?” Caleb asked, wide-eyed.

  “It depends what you heard,” Olivia said, shrugging. “Even non-mythical history textbooks are ninety percent guesswork and outright fiction. Trust me, I know that from experience.”

  “But you are gods?” Caleb pressed. “Like in the myths?”

  Olivia waggled her head. “More or less. They got a lot of stuff wrong and embellished a lot. Most of us got several different names and backstories. Wilhelm alone is the inspiration for several of the god myths. Eventually they started using us to explain everything that happened, even when we had nothing to do with it. Of course, they had their own myths and fantasies from before we arrived. When we were starting our own religions, we leveraged those.”

  “Then it’s all bullshit,” Caleb said. “The fantastic creatures. The stories.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “But that doesn’t make sense. Shivurr is sitting right here. And I saw those fire things.”

  “Oh, I didn’t say that. A lot of it is real, in a general sense. We’ve got inherent abilities that allow us to do extraordinary things, and we augment that with technology. But we didn’t create the earth, and none of us drag the sun across the sky in a chariot. What we do is based in science, but so advanced and unobtrusive that people can’t see how we do it, so they call it magic. It’s not like watching a clock tick with the back cover off, where you can’t help but see the cause and effect.”

  “But aren’t you mad no one believes in you anymore?” Caleb asked, looking at Hanale. “Don’t you need followers, worshipping you? Like for power and stuff?”

  Hanale shrugged and blew air through his lips, flapping them noisily. “No, brother. Don’t matter if people believe in me or not. I am still me.”

  “Only lies are a matter of belief,” Olivia said. “Unfortunately, entire societies are built on lies, and the more fragile the lie, the more those that believe in it will fight and kill to protect it.”

  Caleb made a face. “Then why the con? If you don’t need worshippers and are so advanced…”

  “Control, mainly,” Olivia said. “Some of us thought we could help steer human civilization in better directions, maybe even to enlightenment eventually. Others wanted worshippers to use as tools for their own amusement.”

  “Doesn’t that make you liars, too?” I said.

  Olivia nodded and gave me a glum look. “We were as guilty as the priests, shamans and witch doctors that have manipulated people for their own gain since the earliest days of humanity. If you’re a lazy ass with no skills, invent a god and make yourself his gatekeeper…or be one yourself.”

  “So, how old are you?” Caleb said.

  Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. “A gentleman doesn’t ask a lady her age.”

  “Not really a gentleman, du…Olivia,” Caleb said, grinning.

  “If all that happened, and you’re still here, why isn’t everyone still worshipping you guys?” I asked.

  Olivia swirled a spaghetti noodle around her plate. “There was a schism among us. Some objected, morally, to the lies and exploitation—the sacrifices in our names. We wanted to stop our meddling and let humanity develop on its own, unmolested. Using a sentient species as slaves, willing though they were, bothered the more enlightened among us.”

  Caleb stroked his chin. “Sort of like vegetarians.”

  Olivia smiled, staring into the distance. “Sort of, yeah. Some wanted to share our knowledge selectively, to help ease the suffering we saw daily without making the help contingent on offerings and adoration.” She filled her wineglass halfway, then looked down the neck of the wine bottle, scowling. “Many of us could not be convinced.”

  “The Faction,” I said.

  Olivia touched her nose. “You got it.” She grimaced. “The problem with laying out smart ideas for others is that they filter them through the prism of their own personality, experiences and expectations and reach different conclusions.”

  Hanale bobbed his head. “Wrong depends on how you been raised.”

  “Exactly,” Olivia said, pointing a finger at him. “Humans are capable of anything, if they are raised into it.” She shook her head sadly. “Did cannibals think they were evil? What about slavers and their patrons?”

  “We’re not all like that,” Caleb said, frowning. “Some of us are just trying to be happy. Trying to figure it all out, you know?”

  “What do you mean?” Olivia asked.

  Caleb tossed his shoulders. “You know. Why am I here? What does it all mean? What’s the point?”

  She walked to the kitchen, grabbed another bottle, and worked a bottle opener into the cork. “I should think it’s obvious.” Olivia looked at him expectantly. Caleb blinked but said nothing. She shook her head impatiently. “Life is its own point. Period. End of story.”

  Caleb blinked, looking thoughtful. “So, there’s no afterlife?”

  Olivia waved a hand as if shooing a fly. “Who knows? But if you don’t remember this one in a future life, how’s that comforting to you now?”

  Caleb shrugged. “I don’t know. It just kind of is.”

  She rubbed her face. “Look, guys. Maybe we’re all just living in a giant computer simulation created by people in another universe. Without proof, anything anyone invents as an explanation for why we’re all here or what happens after death is as likely as another.”

  Caleb snickered. “Seems like Santa Claus not believing in the Easter Bunny to me.”

  “Give me a hand clearing the table, smartass,” she ordered, grabbing dishes.

  “We don’t age or die of disease,” Hanale said. “Guess we never needed an afterlife.”

  I stacked plates near the kitchen sink. “You’re immortal, then?”

  Hanale pursed his lips. “But not invincible. We can be killed, but not easily.”

  Caleb furrowed his brow. “Then who are you to judge people for being scared of death? For making stuff up to make it easier?”

  Olivia paused, looking thoughtful. “I get it. More than you know. Being afraid of death is why I’m still here. Why I chose this life.”

  Something clicked in my head—maybe another memory falling into places courtesy of the potions Scott had rescued from the Institute. “You’re not one of them, are you?”

  “She is as much one of us as any,” Hanale said, shaking his head. “More so.”

  “Thanks, Hanale,” Olivia said, eyes glistening. She looked at me. “I don’t judge people for being afraid of death. I was mortal once. But wallowing in ignorance and self delusion isn’t a solution. At least, not a good one.”

  “Yeah, well, not all of us get a chance to live forever,” Caleb said, snorting.

  “I’m sure it sounds great to you, kid, but it’s not all wonderful.” She looked haunted. “Watching everyone you know and love age and die.”

  “I get it,” Caleb said. “Growing old scares the shit out of me.”

  “But you’re just, what, fifteen?” Olivia said.

  Caleb shrugged. “Is Shivurr one of you?”

  “He was here when we came,” Hanale said. “He is the oldest of us all, probably.”

  “This is heavy,” said Caleb, blinking. “Wait, if you’re gods, why do you sound American?”

  “We all speak many languages,” Olivia said. “Adopting an accent is no more difficult, especially if you live somewhere long enough.”

  “What about the others?” I asked. Olivia looked confused. “The Faction. What did they want?”

  She tossed her shoulders. “They wanted to continue as we had in the past. They enjoyed the adulation. Being worshipped is its own kind of intoxication. Maybe some st
arted to believe their own hype. These radicals wanted us to take the planet entirely for ourselves. They despised humanity and believed they would one day rise to conquer us if we didn’t act first. Hanale, Wilhelm and I, and others, moved to stop them.”

  “Sound like a bunch of nutcases,” Caleb said, flaring his nostrils.

  “Zealots, all of them,” Hanale agreed. “The worst of us.”

  Olivia nodded. “Zealots see things in binary. To them, you either agree one hundred percent or disagree completely. Anything that challenges doctrine must be crushed without mercy. They just don’t get it.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s a fuzzy world,” Olivia said. “Few things are ever truly zero or one.” She rubbed her temples and frowned. “And once they’ve decided something is a zero or one, forget about changing their minds. Even more moderate people tend to be rigid and absolute in their thinking. Sure, they’ll listen to your arguments, but only so that they can tell you how you’re wrong.”

  “That’s pretty grim,” Caleb said, raising his brows.

  “Maybe,” Olivia said, making a face. “It’s just that I’m not sure that I’ve ever changed anyone’s mind about any subject if they’d already formed an opinion on it. People’s minds close rapidly.”

  “Is Aceso one of you?” I asked.

  “Gesundheit,” said Caleb, grinning.

  “Ak-see-so,” Olivia repeated, exaggerating the pronunciation. She smacked Caleb lightly on the back of the head before retaking her seat. He smoothed his hair, still grinning. “We call her Axe for short. And, yes, she’s one of the good guys.”

  “Is she a doctor?” Caleb asked.

  The big man wobbled his head side to side. “Kind of. Sometimes she heals those that need it.”

  “Does Aceso live on the islands too?” I asked.

  Hanale wagged his head. “No, brother.” He pointed a thick finger of his meaty hand skyward, poking holes in the air.

  “But Wilhelm took Scott to see her,” I said. “She’s got to be around here somewhere.”

  Olivia shook her head. “This was just a stop on the way. He took another trip to get to her.”

  “Will she help Scott?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him yet.” Olivia said. “He’s been unusually quiet. I’m hoping that’s a good sign.”

  “Why does Wilhelm need to convince her to heal Scott?” Caleb asked.

  “She swore she’d never heal another of your kind.”

  “My kind?” Caleb said, making a face.

  “Human,” Hanale said. “It’s a long story.”

  “We knew each other before,” I blurted at Hanale as a memory surfaced. “Didn’t we?”

  The big man nodded vigorously. “A long time, Haukea Kane.”

  “You called me that before,” I said. “What does it mean?”

  “Hanale’s nickname for you, Shivurr,” Olivia said, grinning. “It means ‘snow-white man’ in Hawaiian.”

  “Sounds better in Hawaiian,” I said with a wry smile that faded a moment later. “How many other friends did the Bodhi Group rob me of?” I growled.

  “Chill, dude,” Caleb said, flashing his teeth in a broad smile.

  “Really? Cold puns, dude?” I said, shaking my head slowly. “You’re better than that, Slim.”

  He smiled wider still. “Come on, Shivurr…be ice.”

  I snorted, spilling cracked ice out the side of my mouth and down my chest. Hanale chortled, sloshing his wine dangerously close to the rim of his wineglass. “Good one, brother,” he said, slapping the teen on the back.

  “Okay, Caleb, that’s enough wine for you,” Olivia said with mock severity. “I never should have given you that glass.”

  “She’s right, Caleb,” I said, winking. “Underage drinking is snow laughing matter.”

  Olivia smirked and took another sip of wine. “You see what I’m dealing with, Hanale?” We all chuckled at that. Olivia stopped abruptly and held up her hands for silence, staring into space.

  She drew a silver necklace from beneath her shirt, revealing an emerald pendant that glimmered in the artificial light. She pulled it over her head and laid it in the centre of the kitchen table. A moment later, Wilhelm’s disembodied head, three feet tall, appeared in the air above it and looked around the room.

  Chapter 24

  No Man’s Island

  “Hey, guys,” Wilhelm said with a tired smile. “Hanale! Glad you made it.”

  The big man waved hello and resumed chewing his second plate of pasta.

  “Whoa,” Caleb breathed, his mouth gaping. He waved a hand through the floating head. “That’s too cool.”

  “Hey, kid,” Wilhelm said with a wink.

  “Is Scott okay?” I interrupted.

  Wilhelm bobbed his head. “He’s out of the woods, in recovery. There was a lot of internal damage, but Aceso says he should recover fully; it’s just going to take time. Could have gone either way for a while. We had to synthesize a lot of blood.”

  I closed my eyes, smiling. “Thank the Underfrost.”

  “Hell, yeah,” Caleb shouted. “Thank the—whatever that is.”

  “He’ll be on bedrest for a few weeks,” Wilhelm said, beaming. His expression grew serious. “Aceso is monitoring his condition closely. I’m going to be tied up here with her—part of the deal for Aceso’s services. Which means I won’t be able to get you back to Nevada, Shivurr. You’re going to have to make the trip yourself.”

  “Sure, I’ll start swimming now.”

  He snorted. “There’s a better way. It’ll get you back fast. There’s an Allfrost Chamber on a nearby island. You can use its transporter to get back.”

  “Allfrost Chamber? Is that like the cavern in Nevada?”

  “Right, sounds like your memory is coming back. Unfortunately, of us all, only you can make the trip. The Allfrost Transporter sends you to your destination through the Underfrost. None but you can cross that threshold or make the journey through its icy void unscathed. You can use it to send yourself to the Allfrost Chamber in Nevada. You’ve been there before, so you should have no trouble finding your way from there to the Institute.”

  “How do I use it, though?” I asked. “What does it look like?”

  “Don’t worry. It’ll detect your presence and respond to your desires telepathically. Just think about what you want and where you want to go, and it will send you there. The launch point is on a platform next to the tholos,” Wilhelm said. “Understood?”

  “Sure,” I said. “That’s the temple-like thing with the pillars, right? There was one in the Nevada Chamber, but it didn’t react to me—not as far as I could tell.”

  “Right,” Wilhelm said, nodding. “That’s no surprise. That Allfrost Chamber is damaged—courtesy of the Bodhi Group scientists. It’s incapable of sending passengers, but it can still help receive them.”

  He turned his head from me, appearing to look over his shoulder at the wall, then looked back, annoyed, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. “I’ve got to get going soon, so let’s keep this brief. Once you’ve entered and confirmed your destination, the launch vessel will rise from beneath you. Submerge into it, and the launch will be initiated.”

  “Submerge into it?”

  “It’s a huge snowball. Merge with it and the transporter will launch immediately.”

  “I don’t know how to get there,” I said, looking around doubtfully.

  Hanale’s expression became serious. “Is this why I’m here, Makani?”

  “You’ve got it,” Wilhelm said. “I need you to take Shivurr there. His memory being compromised, I figured he wouldn’t remember how to find it, and getting across the water will be an issue.”

  “What are these chambers?” I asked the floating head. “How do you know about them, let alone have one?”

  “It’s tech that we collaborated on years ago; I’ll explain more when we meet again. For now, just know that the Allfrost Chambers are connected
by a network of transporters capable of guiding passengers to chosen destinations, providing for precise positioning and guidance within each cell in the system. You need to be launched from an Allfrost Chamber, but you don’t need to land in one, just within the general vicinity—a hundred miles or so. The Nevada Allfrost Chamber will assist in getting you there safely.”

  “Who were those guys?” I asked. “The ones that shot Scott, I mean. They weren’t from the Bodhi Group, were they?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Wilhelm said, looking thoughtful.

  “But you know who they are, don’t you?”

  He nodded, looking sheepish. “It’s a long story, but yeah, probably.”

  “Very likely they were human followers of the Faction,” Olivia said. Seeing Wilhelm’s eyes widen, she added, “I’ve provided our friends with some of our history.”

  Her bearded husband looked dubious. “Be sure to keep what you’ve heard to yourself, Caleb, once you get home. If the wrong people were to overhear, or to think they could use you to find us, it would be highly perilous for you and for us all.” He turned to regard his wife. “I didn’t have a chance to say so before, but when they shot Scott, I recognized one of them.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Our neighbour, Gordon.”

  Olivia’s jaw dropped. “Damn. Not just your typical nosy neighbours, then.”

  His eyes darted to the side as if distracted by something. He shook his head a moment later, muttering under his breath. “Time for me to go. You and Hanale should leave for the Allfrost Chamber soon so you arrive before the sun comes up.”

  I must have looked as doubtful as I felt.

  “You can do this, man. Like I said, Frost Walking is going to be key. Use that to get inside without being seen. You know the layout. It’ll be super risky, I know, but it’s the only way to get your memories back—and the kids, if they’re there.”