“For what?” Syn yelled.
“I kept you safe. You are alive because of me. I shut a door, and you went down the other Jacob. Everything since then has been because of me. I kept you safe.”
“But you killed them!” Syn shook her head. Her dark hair floated around her, whipping back and forth. “It doesn’t matter. I want to go back to the others. Blip was right—you’re nuts!”
The red globe disappeared. The room went stark white again.
Olorun’s voice, when it started speaking again, was neutral—all emotion completely drained. “We will now make it to Àpáàdì. We’ll arrive in approximately twenty years.”
Syn went cold. “We’re on our way to Àpáàdì? I thought something was off?”
“With the second Disc gone, our limited fuel will be enough. Less mass to move. You should prepare yourself. You still have a job to do.”
Everything connected in Syn’s mind. “Wait! Did you plan all this? You said you couldn’t release the Disc unless I told you? Did you make me come up here just so you could do that? You needed me to order you to do that? This was some big scheme? Did you make all this happen?”
The white room disappeared. Syn was floating in the bridge with Blip in front of her and the Barlgharel behind.
Syn yelled, “Answer me you, stupid witch!”
Blip spun, “What?”
“Olorun! Get back here! You answer me right now!”
“You’re awake?” Blip hovered in front of here. “What happened?”
Syn shook her fists at the ceiling, “Answer me! Did you make all this happen? Did you do this? Was this your plan all along?”
There was no answer from Olorun.
Behind her, near the hatch, the Barlgharel spoke. “She is who she is.”
Syn spun around and jabbed a finger at the Barlgharel, “She’s insane. She did all this. Splitting me from the Sisters. The Disc. All of it. The Madness. That horrible, crazy bitch did all of it.”
Blip zipped around to put himself between Syn and the Barlgharel, “What are you talking about? Where did you get all that?”
“She told me! She said all of that!”
“When?” Blip said.
The Barlgharel responded, “She is known to meddle. But she can’t do everything. We still choose. She just nudges.”
To the Barlgharel, Syn blurted, “She’s evil.” Then she looked at Blip and in the same breath, said, “Just now. We were talking just now. I was in a white room, and Olorun was there, and she told me everything.”
“When?” Blip asked.
“Now! Now! What don’t you understand about ‘now’? Now! I was just talking to her.”
Blip’s eyes went wide, “We were just standing here talking, and we heard the Disc separate. I turned to ask you about it but you were staring off at the stars. Then you just started yelling.”
“I’ve been talking to her for a long time.”
Blip said, “We’ve only been on the bridge for a few minutes.”
The Barlgharel spoke, “She nudges. She twists. She can twist time. At least in your head.”
Syn stopped yelling. She gazed at the Barlgharel. Her arms hung at her sides, and a spray of spittle floated in the dark of the room, illuminated by the blue of the screens around them.
Moments passed and Blip said, “Let’s go back to the others.” He led the way, his glowing internal tubes now bare and lighting the world around them.
43
Descent
"Stillness is to be secured in the tradition of naming.
The sound that calls you must first echo inside, from the filament burning in the soul."
—Rites of the Secured, Archives of the Ecology
Pigeon grabbed ahold of Syn’s hand, interlaced their fingers, and squeezed tight. The Jacob doors opened, and the two floated into the Jacob lift, followed by Blip. Huck floated around near Arquella and Bear, trailing after.
Pigeon turned around. Behind them, outside the door, stood the Barlgharel. He would have to descend in the larger cargo lift—one large enough for his bulk.
Both sets of doors shut, and the Jacob started its descent. The two gazed out the window. The sunstrips glowed brightly, without flaw. There were no broken panes. No damaged segments. Already the world’s differences glared distinctly.
Below them, the white clouds drifted lazily. In the unobscured patches, green hills and trees broke up the blue of the great river Lokun.
Pigeon gasped. Syn squeezed her hand and felt her own heart race.
Home.
She was home. Syn closed her eyes and allowed the tension of the last days to wash out of her.
“Where do you sleep?” Pigeon asked.
It was an odd question. Of all she could’ve asked, but perhaps it made sense. To Pigeon, she would sleep where she felt the safest. So where did Syn feel the safest in this new world?
“In my tree.”
Pigeon looked at her.
“You’ll see it soon. This Jacob drops off near its base. It’s a short walk to it.”
Minutes passed, and Syn was proven right as they descended below the clouds. Green foliage erupted amongst the tops of the white tendrils of cloud, massive branches split into hundreds of smaller ones, a jungle base that seemed to spread on into the infinite bending horizon, and in the midst of it all, the great tree of Syn’s Disc rose up, and it was marvelous. Syn sighed at the spectacle.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Pigeon said.
Syn nodded. It was all she could do.
The Jacob slowed, and the doors opened. From the green jungles ahead, Eku walked out, her form dark against the bright grass.
Pigeon gasped again. “Is that a…”
Syn’s habit to race out was halted by the recent memory of the other tiger. She shook her head. No, this is my world. She reached down and wrapped her arms around Eku’s neck before nuzzling her head in the soft fur.
She stood back and grasped Pigeon’s hand once more, staring into the girl’s wide, dark eyes. “Welcome home,” Syn announced. Then Syn leaned her head on Pigeon’s shoulder, “Welcome home, Avia.”
Avia hugged Syn, holding her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”
Streaming from the arriving Jacobs, the Ecology entered the new Disc and their new world.
Arquella approached Syn. “Is this Paradise? Is it safe?”
Syn paused to consider. There were threats over here, but none that could damage a bot. There were no wild bots, no hazards, and no burlys waiting to surprise them.
Syn shook her head, “It’s safe. Just don’t kill anything.”
“Is it Eden? It looks like the promised Garden,” Arquella insisted.
Bear’s high voice added, “Just like the Book said. Is this the end of the Great Mystery?”
Syn struggled to answer and Avia, who had been Pigeon, looked at her with large, confused eyes. Syn finally said, “This is my paradise.”
The words were enough for the bots. Arquella bobbed in understanding and returned to the others. She, Bear, and Huck joined the amassing multitude and led them out to explore.
Rather than racing back on a bike, Syn and Avia, with Eku and Blip at their sides, took the time to walk the distance back to the great tree. Each living thing startled Avia. For a long time, she huddled close to Syn, uneasy about the strangeness of this world. With each step, the sense of delight took over, and she ventured out—first to look at flowers and then to stare at squirrels and admire the myriad bots moving to and fro. Above, the giant jellyfish sky cleaners bobbed. Over the treetops, lumbering and docile tree movers stepped. Amidst them all, monkeys swung and dogs bolted through. The world burst at the edges with life and activity.
The last of the walk ended with Avia running through the trees, her smile large, laughing at the wonder of it all.
44
A Glass Darkly
“Science fiction plucks from within us our deepest fears and hopes,
then shows the
m to us in rough disguise: the monster and the rocket.”
—W.H. Auden
That night, the Ecology swarmed into the empty spaces of the Zoo to sleep throughout the night. Several brave parties ventured out to the settlements on the Rise that they were so familiar with. Within days, the Disc would be filled with all of the various life of the Ecology.
Avia and Blip followed Syn to the tree, to climb the stairs and sleep in her treehouse. Bear was unable to make the ascent, so Arquella stayed with him at the bottom. Huck joined them up above. Soon, they were all fast asleep—except Blip, who stood sentry at the entrance, his internals glowing brightly through his broken shell.
Syn laid her head down on an old pillow and closed her eyes, with the image of Blip guarding the door as the last she saw that day.
Avia curled close behind her, and she felt the girl’s warmth through the blankets. “She’s still out there.”
Syn replied, “Ya. Somewhere.”
Avia said, “I’m scared of her.”
“Me too.” Behind them, Eku purred. Syn added, “But we are safe here.”
“Okay,” Avia sighed, her words a thin whisper.
The darkness of fatigue soaked through, and Syn drifted into its embrace. Sleep filled with the fangs of recent dark moments, panic unattended, fears left to fester. Sleep without rest.
Her throat blazed. She coughed and opened her eyes wide, frantic, searching for the source of her torture. She couldn’t breathe—something was pressing across her mouth; a dark form hung out of reach, its arms pressed to her head. She was being smothered.
No. There was the sharp, acerbic taste of something on the cloth. She was being tranquilized. Before her vision faded, she saw the dancing orange of firelight—all around her. But why?
She searched frantically for Blip, clawing around. From the corner of her eye, she saw the white of his shell, but he was against the ground, unmoving. She saw, a meter away, another glint of white shell. Blip? What’s happening? What happened to you?
Above her, she saw Avia staring down. Manic fury in her eyes, the girl’s grip was impossible to break.
She wanted to scream, and then the image shifted. It wasn’t Avia. It was herself. Her own halo of dark hair, the orange dots across her forehead. It was herself.
As whatever the chemical was finished its work, she stopped struggling, and her last, brief conscious thought that night was the word “Why?”
Then her body fell into stinging cold. She scrambled to grab ahold of anything solid and her fingers dug into mud. She opened her eyes to see the same image of herself, twisted as if under water. That mirror image reached through from beneath the waves to kill her.
No! That wasn’t right. It wasn’t the other girl under the water. It was Syn. Syn was under the water and couldn’t breathe, and the hands of the mirror girl were clamped around her throat holding her down.
Neci!
Syn kicked out, trying to push the girl off. She had no leverage and missed with each attempt.
Desperately, she clawed at the girl’s arms; long, brightly colored fingernails tore into flesh, pulling skin away in crimson lines. Syn’s next breath came easier. The pressure at her throat relaxed as Neci’s fingers loosened. She had hurt Neci.
Syn raked again, aiming at Neci’s face. The girl pulled back, but Syn’s nails clawed across her cheek. Neci howled and wretched away. Syn kicked again, targeting the girl’s torso and landed the kick perfectly. Neci fell back, splashing down in the water.
Syn scrambled to sit up. She pulled herself from the water with a massive gasp, her heart racing, her lungs desperate for air.
She came up on her shaky legs and stepped back as Neci did the same, standing up out of the water. They stood at the edge of the coursing river as it moved past the great tree. Syn had bathed in this very portion so many times, resting on its shores with Blip and Eku. Now, knee-deep in cold waters, she struggled for her life.
Everything glowed orange. Neci’s fierce face was bathed in red light. But Neci looked different. She had pulled out her braids and was wearing a pair of pants and a shirt from Syn’s own collection. A dozen necklaces draped around the girl’s neck and there were seven dabs of orange paint on the girl’s forehead. She was holding her side, and Syn saw blood staining the girl’s new shirt. Around her, the water rippled and orange flames reflected in the dancing surface.
Syn spun to discover the source of the fire. The great tree was engulfed in flames, burning like a massive torch. Dozens of response bots had scrambled to put out the flames, but they were struggling to keep it contained as the fire crackled and spread through the reaching limbs.
Something hit Syn in the shoulder, and she stumbled forward. Pain radiated from the impact, and she splashed aimlessly, working to keep from falling forward. She gained her balance and turned to see Neci swinging a branch at her. She was unable to dodge the blow, and it hit her hard in the face. Syn tasted blood and spat large clumps as the world turned to a thick ringing in her ears. She could no longer hear the splashing of her steps in the water. All was a din.
She staggered in her steps and took in the scene around her. The tree was blazing and, in her memory, she saw Blip’s demolished shell. Syn turned toward Neci. “Why? Why did you kill him?”
Neci’s own steps were faltering. Her hand was pressed hard to her side and blood pumped with each limping step. She dragged the branch in the water as she moved to strike Syn again. “You killed my child! You killed Admiral! You killed my Sisters!”
Syn heard the words as if through water, and their understanding was lost, but Neci’s rage was not. Syn shouted back, “Why did you kill Blip?” Her hearing had returned enough that she could hear her own muffled voice.
Neci bleated back, “He’s a liar! Liar! They were all liars and traitors!” She staggered ahead, swung, and the branch missed Syn easily. Neci stumbled forward as the momentum of the swing pulled her off balance.
“Just leave us alone!”
Neci swung again, missing, spitting with each word, “You killed everyone! You came to my world!”
“You tried to come here first!”
“This should’ve been my world! I should’ve been given Eden, not you, you pale echo. And when I’m done with you, this world will be mine.”
“They’ll never accept you. The Ecology is scared of you! Avia knows you’re twisted.”
With a growl, Neci said, “Stop calling her that.” She spat blood and pointed her free hand, blood dripping from the fingers, “No.” she waved her hand in front of her face, motioning to her own features, “I look just like you! They love you. They’ll never know the difference.” Pain tore through her side, and she doubled over and screamed. As the pain ebbed back, Neci took another step toward Syn, raising her branch.
Syn stepped back, tangling her feet in a few roots deep in the water. “I’m not you! You’re not me! We’re nothing alike.” She took a step back and fell hard on her back.
Neci leapt and swung down at Syn, smashing the side of her body. The swing was weak, and the blow stung less than expected. But she couldn’t handle many more. Neci swung again, missing as the pain in her side flared again. “You killed my child!”
Syn held her hands up to block the blows while pushing with her legs, trying scurry up the bank and out of the water. “I didn’t kill anyone! You killed Blip. You killed my best friend!”
Neci laughed. “That stupid machine is your best friend? You are pitiful, a nothing. Why did I every worry about you?” She swung once more, and the blow landed on Syn’s jaw, breaking a tooth loose. “I was wrong,” Neci jeered, “You aren’t like me. You’re weak! You’re worthless. You’re just like all of the others. Each of them thought they were a copy of me, but they were imitations. They tried and tried, and they were nothing. Olorun’s great big joke at my expense. She put them around me to mock me. But I knew they were worthless.”
Syn scrambled back, attempting to get out of the way of Neci’s blows. “What did you d
o with the others?”
“What others?” croaked Neci, tightening her quivering grip on the branch.
Syn demanded, “Where’s Avia? Where’s Blip? What did you do to Eku?”
Neci slammed the branch against Syn’s leg, cracking the bone. Syn howled as Neci answered, “What the hell is an Eku?” She swung again, hitting Syn’s side squarely, and the branch shattered from the impact.
From behind the both of them, something rumbled. Syn pushed herself up; her vision had grown dark, and everything around blurred. Neci spun, still holding her bleeding side. There, prowling out of the bushes beyond the water, strode Eku, her great form gliding as if gravity had no hold on her. Her mouth was pulled back, and her white fangs glistened in the firelight as she growled, head low to the ground. Behind her, the thin silhouette of a girl stood.
Neci screamed and ran in Syn’s direction.
But it was a useless effort. Eku pounced in an orange blur, slamming her full weight into Neci, rocketing her to the ground. Bones cracked as she landed against a large rock on the shore. In the next instant, Eku went for the Crimson Queen’s throat, silencing her scream with a sharp snap.
Neci, the Crimson Queen of Zondon Almighty was dead.
As Eku and Avia rushed to her, their faces lit by the fire consuming her great tree, Syn’s final thought before succumbing to unconsciousness was, my friend.
45
Resurrection
“Here, mankind's root was innocent; and here
were every fruit and never-ending spring;
these streams—the nectar of which poets sing.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
The darkness faded, and Syn opened her eyes to stare up at Avia, a sight that was becoming familiar.
“Shhh,” the girl said, “You’re okay.”
“Neci?” Syn coughed.
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