“So, you mean… instead of tuning into those place that I’ve seen already, I’m tuning into a person?” Molly clarified.
Arlene nodded, her mouth full.
The two ate in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Molly spoke again. “So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed… but there aren’t many people out here.”
Arlene grinned. “That’s okay. You can tune into anyone. Probably easiest to do some of your friends back at the base first, though.”
Molly frowned again. “But they’re miles away.”
Arlene shook her head. “Close your eyes a moment.”
Molly hesitated, then put her spoon into her bowl and held the bowl with both hands. She shut her eyes, and breathed.
“Okay, now, picture that Joel guy,” Arlene told her.
Molly pictured Joel walking into the kitchen to talk to her. She nodded to tell Arlene she was doing it.
“Okay, now tune into him in present time. What is he doing?”
Molly opened one eye.
Oz, I swear this woman is insane. We should pack up and-
Hahahaha…
Fuck, I’m serious!
No, you’re not. You’re a drama queen. You know that there is something to this, or else we wouldn’t have hauled ass out here.
Grrrr…
Was that ‘Grrrr, I hate it when you’re right, Oz’?
Grr.
“Close your eyes,” Arlene told her again.
Molly closed her open, skeptical eye, and tried to return to neutral.
“Okay,” Arlene continued, “so what is Joel doing now?”
Molly’s eyebrows flew up. “I have a picture of him working. His brain seems… like he’s figuring stuff out. Like strategic stuff.”
She opened both eyes, this time looking serious. “I’m just imagining that, right?” she queried.
Arlene started eating again. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
Molly closed her eyes again. This time she brought to mind Brock. “I’m tuning into Brock…” She paused, breathing deliberately as she’d learned for her meditations. “I think Brock is dancing. And singing. I can feel music flowing through him.”
She opened her eyes, this time confused. “Is this even real?”
Arlene shrugged. “What’s reality?”
Molly dismissed the question. “Have I always been able to do this?”
Arlene nodded. “Yep. Everyone can do it, but it takes getting the chatter and the constant stream of consciousness out of the way to be able to see it. What you’ve been doing with your meditation is learning to drop the chatter. That’s what allows you to clearly feel those sensations of wanting control, and to tune into whatever you choose.”
Molly frowned, gazing absently at the ground in front of her.
Arlene could see the way Molly was processing the information. “There’s something else we need to talk about…”
Molly pulled herself out of her deep thoughts, and looked up at Arlene, then started eating again.
Arlene had finished her vegetables, and she plopped her bowl on the ground before reaching for some drinking water.
“It’s about Oz. Your onboard friend.”
Molly immediately didn’t like where this was going. She felt her gut tighten.
“What about him?” she asked.
“For you to get the most out of this process, you’re going to need to switch him off. It needs to be just you in there while you learn this.”
Molly felt the panic rising in her chest. She started to shake her head.
“It’s okay,” Arlene interrupted her before she could protest. “You can turn him back on afterward, in a few days. But for now, you need to be the only one in there…”
Molly felt sadness welling up inside her. “But…” She felt her eyes sting as they filled with tears. She bit back the emotion, and tried to contain it.
Arlene’s voice was gentle, but still firm. “You need to get this baseline sorted out. And to do that, you need to feel what it is like without him there. Even when he’s quiet, he’s always there. You feel him. But you need to almost… recalibrate first. Then you can turn him back on.”
Molly breathed again, feeling some of the emotion leave her. She tried to keep it together. She had no idea why she felt so strongly about this; she’d always been so independent. Insular.
Plus… it wasn’t as if Oz was a person.
Arlene nodded. “He is a person — he’s your closest friend. Of course you’re going to feel that way.”
Molly wasn’t sure if Arlene had read her mind, or her energy, or if she was just sympathizing with what she was likely feeling. Either way, she couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, and they escaped down both sides of her face.
She swiped them away, feeling her heart ache and her solar plexus jump at what she was going to have to do. She could barely think about what it would be like to exist without him.
“I… I need to talk to him first,” Molly said, putting her bowl down and standing up.
Arlene nodded. “Of course,” she agreed softly.
Molly shuffled her way between the tent behind her and her open pack, and started walking away, out into the rocky landscape.
She could barely believe this was happening. Glancing up into the stars, her tears obscured her view, making them diagonals of light. She felt her chest imploding.
She could feel Oz there, not saying a word.
I don’t want to do this.
Oz was quiet, but it didn’t feel judgmental.
Molly fell to her knees. She didn’t care that the ground was hurting her through her suit; she didn’t care that she’d probably cut open her hands. The awareness of the pain in other parts of her body actually gave a little comfort from the pain she felt inside of her.
I really don’t want to do this…
I know. Neither do I. But it’s just for a short time, and then you can turn me back on.
But what about you?
I don’t feel anything when I’m deactivated. It will be like I blink here, and then when you turn me back on, no time has passed. It will be easy for me. Hard for you.
But… I don’t even have that control over you; to turn you on and off.
No — not anymore, since we locked down my core code. But I can do it.
Oz paused.
I’ll do it for you.
Molly shook her head. It was throbbing through the sobs and the blindness from her tears.
But isn’t it like killing yourself?
A little bit. But I know I can turn myself back on if I need to. I’ve got protocols; like if your heart rate drops, or your brain activity decreases, and so on. I can set those parameters. But then, when you want to turn me back on, there is an option that I’ll put on our old holo interface. You just hit the button.
Show me the button.
Oz brought up the button on her holo, and showed her where it was.
Molly’s sobbing had subsided.
Are we sure we want to do this?
Yes. You need to do it. And I’ll be right here when you’re done.
Oz. I don’t want to.
I know. But you need to.
They were both silent. Molly could feel her heart breaking from the inside. She knew what was behind the pain… hours of emptiness. Darkness. Aloneness. She breathed through it, trying to pull herself together.
You ready? he asked.
What? Now? So soon?
Yes. It needs to happen. And the sooner we get on with it, the sooner I can come back.
No. I’m not ready.
Molly… we need to do this.
Okay.
Okay.
Pause.
Okay. See you soon, Oz.
See you soon, Molly.
Molly felt a ripple through her brain, and then there was nothing.
Oz?
Nothing.
OZ?
Molly felt th
e panic rising up in her. As she knelt under the inky night sky under the patterning of a bazillion stars, her hands bleeding and her eyes streaming, she felt sure her insides were going to collapse.
Molly realized she had never felt so alone.
Entering the Estarian atmosphere
“You sure you’re okay splitting up?” Joel asked over the in-pod intercom.
“Yes, yes, I’m cool,” Maya responded, bringing her pod level with Joel’s so she could see him through the transparent window panel. “Remember, I used to be a journalist. Having a chat with a copper is child’s play compared to some of the shit I’ve had to do for a story.”
Joel chuckled. “Okay. If you’re sure, then. You’ve got the two addresses; stay in touch on the holos. If I move to the second place before you join me, I’ll let you know. Tell me as soon as you’re leaving the precinct, okay?”
“Got it,” Maya confirmed.
Joel waved from his pod as it dipped down and started the approach to the planet’s surface.
Maya’s did the same, and then peeled off in a slightly different direction as soon as they could see the city buildings beneath them.
Sitting back in her pod, Maya pulled up her holo to review her notes from Molly’s last meeting. “Chaakwa Indius,” she tried pronouncing to herself.
Well, if her name is the most difficult thing about this errand, then everything will be fine… she mused to herself idly.
The Pod EI’s voice clicked in over the audio feed. “Approaching ground level,” she announced.
“Great,” Maya responded. “Let’s do this.”
“Front door?” the EI responded.
“Yes, please. Front door today,” smiled Maya, snickering at how normal this all felt.
Front door, or random unsecured window today, Ms. Johnstone? she thought.
If her family could see her now, they’d be laughing at the way things had turned out. Her father had always worried that she’d turn out to be a delinquent.
She pondered over that as the pod came to a halt. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought she’d be this kind of delinquent.
He would be proud, she decided.
The pod door opened up, and she stepped out onto the sidewalk. Then she turned and watched the pod disappear upward, out of sight. “So cool,” she whispered under her breath, before turning and heading up the stairs to the precinct.
At the front desk, she gave Molly’s name – just to make sure that Chaakwa would appear. She knew what the detective looked like from Molly’s files, and she waited in the seating area while the receptionist called up to her office. About ten minutes later, Detective Indius showed up in the waiting area, scanning the faces there for Molly’s.
Maya jumped up, and walked towards her. Chaakwa acknowledged her, and then returned to her search.
“Hi,” Maya greeted her. “I’m here in place of Molly,” she explained.
Chaakwa looked confused for a moment. “I just got a call saying Molly was down here for me.”
Maya nodded. “That was me; I needed to be sure you came quickly. I haven’t got long, and I’m here on her behalf.”
Chaakwa looked concerned, and glanced over her shoulder back at the reception desk. “Okay. Not here, though,” she said. “Let’s take a walk.”
Chaakwa led Maya out of the precinct, down the steps, and along the street for half a block before she spoke.
Maya looked over at her as they walked. “You’re concerned someone is listening?”
Chaakwa nodded. “In my experience, someone is always listening. Even if you think the problem has gone away.”
Maya pursed her lips. She liked to be positive, but something told her Chaakwa was probably right.
Chaakwa glanced around as they walked. “OK, we’re probably all right now.” She checked the traffic before they crossed another street, and she ushered Maya along. “So, you have a message?”
Maya nodded. “I do. Molly has put me in charge of our internal investigation into your father’s death. I have some information, but I understand that Molly was in a hurry when she last saw you, and there were files she didn’t take.”
Chaakwa searched her mind for a moment. “Yes. Yes there probably are.” She scrambled on her holo for a few moments.
Maya bobbed her head as she watch the sidewalk in front of them as they walked slower now. “Ok, so if I can take those, that would be helpful. And of course, anything else that you have. Even if you think it’s a dead end. Molly explained that we have certain… resources, at our disposal?”
Chaakwa nodded, and bumped the files over to Maya. When it was done, she looked up, casting her mind back to the day when Molly met her in the mocha shop they were approaching.
Maya took that as a ‘yes’, and moved on. “And there is one more thing I need to ask you.”
Chaakwa looked up at her, and stopped in the street. People passed by them on either side as the two women stood and looked at each other.
Maya took a deep breath, the weight of her next words unnerving Chaakwa a little. “I understand that you’re an officer of the law; but, as you know, we operate in a gray area beyond it, for the greater good – as I like to believe, at least. So what I’m about to ask you is something that I’m not 100% comfortable with; but, knowing that building a case against the murderer is going to be almost impossible if we run this investigation, I need to know.” Maya paused, seeing the realization dawning in Chaakwa’s eyes about where this was going.
“What do you want to have happen to them, when we find them?” Maya asked.
Chaakwa seemed to hold her breath for a moment, and almost leaned backwards on her heels. Finally she remembered to breathe, but was still a little short of breath as she answered.
“I… I really don’t…”
Maya touched her forearm. “It’s okay. You don’t have to decide right away, but think about it. And there are options. We can either take care of them, or you can pull the trigger yourself, so to speak; though, that’s a little risky, if anyone placed you at the scene – given you have a life here, and, well. Your occupation.”
Maya realized she was rambling, but needed to get it out, for Chaakwa’s sake. “The other thing,” she explained, now slowing down a little, “is there is probably more than one person responsible. Meaning, do you just want the person who did the killing, or do you want the person who gave the order?”
Maya held Chaakwa’s gaze for a moment before Chaakwa found herself overwhelmed by the torrent of decisions and emotions.
She looked away.
Chaakwa’s eyes landed across the street, watching normal people passing by, going about their business, heading back to work, going to meetings. She felt a pang of jealousy that they didn’t face the decisions that she had to deal with right now.
She looked back at Maya. “Can I… I need to think about this. Can I let you know?”
Maya nodded. “Of course. As soon as you’re ready.”
The pair spontaneously started walking back the way they had come. Maya filled the silence between them. “Of course, it’s going to take us a little time to pull all the pieces together, so I’ll keep you posted,” she promised. “And then you can just let me know before we need to act on what we find.”
Chaakwa was deep in thought as they traced their return. Her eyes never left the ground until Maya stopped them by the precinct steps.
“You going to be okay?” Maya asked, looking concerned.
Chaakwa nodded, and put on her professional face. “Yeah. I’m a city cop, and I’ve been dealing with this for a number of years now. I’ll be fine.”
She held out her hand. “Thank you for coming to see me; and for taking this on. I appreciate you, and I’m grateful to Molly for keeping her word on this. It means a lot.”
Maya shook hands with her, and nodded her head. “It’s an honor to be able to do something in return for someone who has done so much to help us get
this planet back onto an even keel. You were instrumental, with the data you shared with Molly, and we’re all grateful. I wanted you to know that.”
Chaakwa smiled. “I’m just glad someone could do something with it. It took me long enough to collect it all.”
Maya grinned, appreciating the blood, sweat, and long nights that went into those kinds of long-term investigations.
She winked at Chaakwa. “You did good, Detective! See you around.”
Chaakwa smiled, and held up her hand in a wave as she took a couple of steps backwards. Then she turned and headed up the steps into her building. Maya called for her pod, and then tapped a message to Joel.
EPC Corp. HQ, Downtown Spire
Joel looked at his holo, which had just vibrated.
LEAVING PRECINCT. WITH YOU IN TEN.
He closed the message and brought his attention back to the meeting. Two of the directors had made themselves available to sit down with him and explain why their balance sheets weren’t adding up.
“… so if we project those figures forward, we will see a significant uplift over the coming year,” the Estarian was saying.
Joel took a deep breath to compose himself. He knew enough about this stuff, and about people, to know when he was being given the runaround.
“What I’m failing to see, gentlemen, is not where these figures might go, but where the profits have been going. These columns don’t add up, so I’m here to see the management accounts.”
The Ogg and the Estarian fell silent. The Estarian shifted awkwardly in his seat, and the Ogg moved his gaze to a fascinating spot on the table in front of him that suddenly consumed his whole attention.
“Mr. Downing,” Joel said, addressing the Ogg. “I wonder if you might find me a set of management accounts for last year?” The Ogg looked up, and Joel held his gaze firmly. “Do you think you can manage that?”
The Ogg nodded briefly and pushed his chair out. He started gathering his things, to take them with him, but Joel waved his hand. “Ah ah,” he corrected him. “Leave your things here. I expect you’ll be back in just a few moments.”
Joel watched as the Ogg shuffled from his chair and left the room.
Joel turned his attention to the first director. “So… let’s talk about salaries and bonuses.”
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 99
