Through the Singularity
Page 15
Zaleria waits a couple minutes, then tries to make a connection. “Tanesha… Tanesha? Ms. Brown?” There is no response. “Tanesha Brown? Are you here?” This time there is a sluggish response. A flicker of thought, mostly questioning, trying to remember something that is out of reach.
“Who? Wha…?” Zaleria is relieved there are still enough mental processes left to connect with. She thinks for a moment. It is very likely Clive was only able to find a planted identity. If this organization was well financed, she could be anyone.
“That is the name we know you by. What is your real name?” There is a long silence.
“Cheryn. Cheryn… Douglass?” She is confused, but this is at least some progress, Zaleria thinks.
“What happened? Where am I? Why is it so dark? I don't want to be here. Help me, get me away from these things, they hurt me! HELP!”
Zaleria doesn't know what to make of her ranting, but she is obviously starting to panic. Her mind seems to be detached from her body, which isn't responding physically to her altered mental state. That can't be good.
“She is in a coma, disconnected, but aware and terrified. Do you remember what I told you about the first time I died? This sounds familiar. I expect she and my early self led similar lives, which may have led to her suffering a similar fate,” Achi chimes in.
Zaleria thinks back on her own recent experience with death. “Cheryn, do you remember your last mission? You were supposed to do something.”
“Help me!” is the only response.
“Cheryn, I want to help you, but you have to face what you have done. Tell me about your last mission.”
“I was supposed to go to a restaurant. There was a person I was supposed to kill. A simple job. I don't remember what happened. I remember sitting there with Kevin, my partner, but we couldn't find the mark. We were waiting, but I don't know what happened.”
“Who ordered you to kill this person?” Zaleria presses.
There is a long pause, before finally she relates, “I worked through intermediaries. I don't know who gave the order, just that the person was an enemy of SA… They had to die.” Zaleria feels her zeal. She was no hired assassin, she was a true believer.
“Tell me about SA.” Silence. After a moment, she presses, “Cheryn, tell me about SA. You must face the things you have done. Your actions have led you to this place.” More silence, but she can feel her thinking.
“Sklávoi Ashtoreth follows the teaching of celestial beings, true wisdom to dispel the lies other religions spread. They have guided civilizations since the beginning of time, helping believers overcome the lies and laws implemented by the selfish to exploit the weak. An enemy is someone who seeks power at the expense of others, who enslaves others, who exploits others. These people are enemies and must be taken down.”
Zaleria is running out of time. If she is going to do anything to help, it'll have to be soon. She knows Achi has mixed feelings about this but will support whatever she decides. Zaleria can't leave her to her fate. Won't. “Cheryn. Your mission failed. You were nearly killed in an explosion and are now in a coma. Your mind is unable to connect with your body, so you linger in a death-like state. Those creatures you see; they are just like you. Dark, confused, twisted with hate. They wait here in the dark to feast on the energies of those who come. They are afraid of the Light, because it shows them what they are, and they can't face the truth. But the Light is your only salvation. I will restore your connection with your body, so you can leave this place. You should think on what you have learned here. The people who sent you also sent the bomber to kill Mr. Andersson and everyone else in the restaurant, including you.”
“Rolle Andersson wasn't the target, he was the one we waited on to show us the target. He isn't to be killed, at least not yet. He needs to be destroyed, discredited… taken down…”
That would mean…
Achi chimes in, “Zaleria, we need to get out of here, now. You've done a great job and all you can for Ms. Douglass. We've miscalculated and are in extreme danger.”
Zaleria is already on the move, trying to think of the perfect expression. She finally pulls one from his memories, “No shit Sherlock.” She shares as she leaves the room. The ICU is still deserted, which she takes as a good sign. “We need to get out of here, but carefully.”
Achi nods. He nonchalantly gets up and heads to the restroom, while Zaleria walks further down the hallway and picks a restroom two corridors over. They change clothes, and Zaleria dons a blond wig and blinks out her contacts. She puts in a new pair, choosing dark blue. Still no signs of pursuit; perhaps they didn't think Cheryn was worth guarding?
Zaleria departs first and makes her way to the car. Achi gives her a two-minute head start then follows. They don't run into any trouble along the way and get into the car one at a time.
“Let’s head to the airport. I'll take the scenic route.” Achi wants to ensure they are not being followed by taking a wandering path, looking for anyone following them. “You were the target,” Achi shares with Zaleria, “How could they know about you?”
Zaleria has no idea. “You recognized me just from looking at my picture. But we'd met before. I don't know how they could have known about me. Unless they had a source within your organization. But you were the only person who knew my identity.”
“It could have a been a source in the security company. Could one of the galanen have been careless in setting up the arrangements?” Achi asks.
Zaleria doesn't know how those specific arrangements were made. It is very easy for the galanen to pass off as human, so the Sklávoi Ashtoreth may not know her true origins. Perhaps, they just didn't want an unknown outsider to gain access to Rolle. But the attack seems like such an extreme response. Could they have recognized her from Denver? That is the most likely explanation.
“I don't know. They may have recognized me from the mission in Denver, where we passed in the alley. My group neutralized the mercenaries they'd hired quickly, but we didn't stick around. Just long enough to verify you weren't there. They could have been using facial recognition. It doesn't feel right, although logically, it’s the best explanation.”
Achi has already considered that, but he agrees with her thought that the attack was too extreme a response for that motive. He feels certain, just as he knows Zaleria does, that they somehow knew she was galanen. But how? “Do you think this relates to what your mother was concerned about? How would she know?”
Zaleria has no idea. “I don't know. It doesn't feel right either. We'll need to explore all the possibilities after we get back to Elk's Grove.” She sinks back into the seat, exhausted. It may be time to share more with Beltare. If she's been compromised, she can't let her presence here become a danger to Rolle or the other galanen. Achi knows what she is thinking, and she knows he would not like that, at all. Neither would Zaleria, when she is honest with herself. She likes his company, he makes her feel more alive somehow, more useful. She sighs.
Achi takes a winding path to the South Valley Regional Airport on the south side of the city. They drive out to the hanger where the DIS Learjet 75 awaits. They are airborne not long after, making best possible speed back to Elk's Grove.
Achi contacts Clive to fill him in on what they've learned. “Zaleria successfully contacted our would-be assassin. Turns out her real name is Cheryn Douglass. And she is a follower of Sklávoi Ashtoreth. They wanted Zaleria dead.” He lets that sink in for a moment. “And we have no idea why.”
Clive starts at this news. “Then we've been fools!” he says. “I'll see what I can find out about Ms. Douglass, and we can work the problem from that end. Do you think they know…?”
“That she is galanen? We don't know. But I think it is the most likely explanation for the severity of the attack.”
Clive swears softly under his breath. “I'll start working this immediately. Please be careful and get back here right away. I should have gone with you two.”
Achi looks at Zaleria, “Do you r
eally want to leave Earth?” Zaleria looks away, he knows she isn't ready to have this discussion.
“Achi, I don't know what I want. You know this. But I know what I should do. Maybe it would be for the best. Mother told me a solution might present itself to our dilemma. Perhaps this is it. I haven't decided. I will not reveal what has happened between us. How I contaminated you. How you've…adapted. I don't know what I'd do if they decided to take my symbiots out of you. That wouldn't be right.” She looks at him, conflicted, saddened, guilty. “I need to think on this some more, alone. Don't take it personally, but our artificial 'bond' is still difficult to deal with. I am galan. I have responsibilities to Earth, and I have been very remiss. I've let my personal feelings get in the way of my mission, I'm afraid, and many of those feelings involve you. We've both felt it, and both suspect it's a side effect of our sharing the symbiots. I don't want to decide based on those emotions, so I need time to think it through. There is too much at stake.” She smiles at him and knows he sees the truth in what she says but still doesn't like it. He likes sharing her company, he is so lonely, but not when she is near.
Suddenly, it feels warm in the cabin. Achi feels a wave of heat wash over him and feels a dull throbbing. Memories rush over him, “Thermal Oscillator!”
Zaleria jumps out of her seat. There is no mistaking the sensation. It is probably in the cargo hold. There is nothing they can do; they're dead. She'll regenerate, devoid of the last several weeks of memories, and Achi… He'll be consumed.
She doesn't question the sudden imperative command coming from their symbiots. She grabs him, pushes him down the aisle to the cockpit, opens the door, and shoves him in. As the first rays of intense light start to bleed through the aft bulkhead, she shuts the door and blocks it with her body, hoping against hope it'll buy enough time. The light bursts though, and she feels herself being consumed by the terrible thermal radiation. It sears her flesh in an instant, burning through her skin layers and her nerves so quick, it is nearly painless. She feels herself fall to the floor, which has burst into flames. “Why hasn't the fuel exploded yet,” she wonders with her last thought, as her body—symbiots and all—disintegrates.
Achi doesn't know what to do. He wants to rush into the cabin but knows there is nothing he can do to help. The startled pilots are just beginning to be aware that there is a serious problem when the fuel finally explodes. Achi's breath is sucked out of his lungs by the violent decompression as the plane bursts apart at 41,000 feet. His last thought is of Zaleria and whether enough of her survives to be restored.
∞∞∞
Achi is surrounded by the Light. He “sees” all events in his 10,257-year life displayed before him all at once and how his every action affected those around him, like ripples from a rock thrown into a pond. There is much in there he is ashamed of and for which he will always carry immense guilt. He knows he is unworthy to be in the presence of such Perfection. But he has been here before, though it has been a while. The Light Is Perfection, including perfect Love. Facing your guilt, understanding your failings, and making no excuses; this is what it takes. It is not wisdom, but the beginning of wisdom. The Light Is willing to forgive but only those who are penitent, humble, and seek forgiveness. The Light drives away darkness, and those who cling to it, or try to hide in it.
But this time is very different, for mingled with all his life events are those of another's. Zaleria's life also is laid out before him. And he senses she is here, too. The Creator of everything that was, is, and is to be regards them. They have all met before, separately. But Achi doesn't understand why they are undergoing their life review together.
[It is a wonder that you have somehow achieved this feat.] They feel a great glow of affection and love from the Being of Light and feel His tremendous joy at such a novel event. They immediately understand there is great significance to their pairing, one that neither of them has yet recognized. [You will remember this much, cherish your bond.]
∞∞∞
An indeterminate amount of time passes. He finds he is back in Turkey, ages ago. He sees the procession with the drums, and bells, and chanting. He again sees the sedan chair but can't make out the person on it. This time they are unaware of him, just as it really happened. He doesn't know if he is dreaming or reliving the event. He watches intently, trying to understand why his mind keeps coming back to this time, this place. He decides to follow them.
He waits as they pass by and have moved beyond his field of view before leaving his cover and following them. They are easy to track. Even if they quit making all the noise, the two dozen sets of footprints would be impossible to miss. He keeps his distance to avoid detection and takes his time. No need to rush. He wants to see where they are going. He follows the trail as it heads into a valley full of striking and unique sandstone formations. He is familiar with this area. He has never discovered a similar place in all his travels. It is full of caves and other hidden places. The procession winds through this valley, first heading to the west and then back to the east. He has no idea how close they are to their destination. Suddenly, he realizes the sounds of the procession are getting louder again. They must have doubled back.
He quickly looks around for a place to hide and finds scant cover. This is no accident; they take this route to see if they are being followed, and he fell right into their trap. He runs toward the nearest rocky outcropping, laying on the ground to do his best to hide his form. It will likely not be enough. Suddenly, he hears shouting. They've discovered him. He jumps to his feet and runs, looking back to see if he is being followed. The archers raise their bows, but they aren't much of a threat at this range.
He sees the sedan chair on the ground, and the woman is standing there, looking right at him. Her eyes lock onto his, and he feels her thoughts reach out for his. Cruel and malevolent are her thoughts, a stark contrast to her beautiful, cyan eyes and angular face. She is so familiar, yet he does not know her. He takes one last look and notices for the first time an emblem on the side of her sedan—an eight-pointed star with a circle in its center.
∞∞∞
Achi awakens, bewildered. It takes a moment to recall what has happened. But this isn't the first time he's come back from the dead. He waits for his senses to clear and begins to take stock. He has been dead, and then in a coma, for 26 days; it must have been bad. His symbiots confirm, just about every bone broken, every organ ruptured. His aircraft came apart at 41,000 feet—a long way to fall. He reaches out for Zaleria, hoping. Silence.
“What do you mean?”
He lets that sink in. It raises many disturbing possibilities. Could you generate a new unitary for her?
He could have her back, but at what price? He finds it amazing that they would allow him to make this decision. He is not even galanen.
“Where did you get this from? Even Zaleria didn't know why our two races share so much DNA in common.”
“Where did you get the data to back up this assertion?”
Achi is suddenly quite suspicious. “Who told you to look?”
They had exceeded their design parameters. This must be what happens. They are/were intelligent; they acted based on their own motivations. But what does that mean for him?
Achi tries to take it all in. It is almost too much. He wants nothing more than to go back to how things were, but he can't foresee the complications that might arise if he has them create another unitary for Zaleria. He suddenly feels a powerful sense of foreboding that it would be wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.
“No, I will not second guess the wisdom of the collective in this matter.”
He tries to determine his position. His symbiots get a fix from GPS; he is in a remote part of the Salmon National Forest in Idaho—well out of cell phone range and far from any civilization. Zaleria's quick action saved his life. The plane broke up before the thermal oscillator consumed his flesh, and more importantly, their symbiots. If those were lost, he would be gone for good. Now, he alone possesses both of their memories from the time they spent together.
Though he long since ceased to care about mortality, he finds the thought of death appalling now because the Sklávoi Ashtoreth need to be dealt with. The human race will need help to overcome their malign influence, and he is the only one who now knows about their hidden hand. And it is exceedingly unlikely Rolle Andersson will come back from this incident. It would not be believable. Damn it! Now is not the best time to start over.