“Is this what you’re looking for?”
Another voice spoke.
“Good morning and welcome again. I am Cyrus. We are here to invite you to the orientation program on the daily life of the Heavenly Homeland. Take a little refreshment now and join us outside when you are ready.”
The circle melted away, leaving two attendants carrying white alabaster bowls of fresh water with soft towels draped on their arms. Standing slightly behind them were two more attendants with crystal trays of pomegranate, honeyed grain cakes and slender glasses of mango juice. Charlize leaned over to the other side of the couch and picked her gown off the floor where it had fallen. She shrugged it on and stepped over to the attendant with the bowl to bathe her hands and face. Danny just stood staring around him.
“I didn’t just dream this, did I? It’s all for real! I, you… last night, it happened didn’t it?'
“Yes, of course.”
“And now we’re in a totally crazy world with everyone running around half naked.”
“Calm yourself, Danny, and get freshened up. These people are cool. We had fun yesterday, or whenever it was. I’m definitely not complaining.”
Danny skipped washing and went to the attendant with the breakfast. He took a honey cake and glass of juice. The attendant smiled at him. Danny looked at him closely.
“You’re real, aren’t you? How long have you been here?”
“Friend, please wait for the orientation. Everything will become clear. In the meantime relax. We are all here at your pleasure.”
Charlize dried her face and moved to the breakfast attendant. She took a bowl of pomegranate with its tiny fork. “I’ve never had these before. And what’s this juice? It smells so fresh and different.”
“It’s mango with a touch of orange,” the attendant said. “They both grow plentifully here.”
“What a place,” said Charlize. “It’s paradise!”
Danny looked at her frowning. “What did you just say?”
Charlize laughed, “What’s up with you, I said this was paradise?”
“You said this place was paradise, this place. It was like you agree with these people, that heaven, paradise, is this world, here. It’s not up in the sky, a world of spirits or whatnot.”
“Of course, that’s what I meant. What’s the problem, preacher’s kid?” She laughed again, hearing the sound of her own words.
One of the attendants broke in smiling: “Will that be all? If so, it seems you’re ready for orientation.”
Charlize nodded and the attendants bowed gracefully and filed out. Danny was still pursuing his thought. “You know what the kids used to say, that people could be captured by Immortals and brought to heaven. Well, what they’re saying—what you’re saying—is it’s real, completely real. The only difference, it’s not up in the sky.” He paused and then added, “Wow!”
“Sure it’s real,” said Charlize, and kissed him passionately. After a while Charlize broke away and bent down under the couch. “We gotta go. Look, our shoes!” She retrieved two pairs of thong sandals, one of which she slid toward him. They slipped them on and, laughing, tried out the new footwear. Then she grabbed him by the hand and ran with him from the room.
In the hallway a door stood ajar, a wedge of golden light. Instinctively they stepped through and found a sandy courtyard outside surrounded by a stone wall with an open gate. In the middle was a tamarix tree and beside it stood a vehicle, sky blue in color and garlanded with flowers along the pillars of its open sides. Cyrus was seated in front, and standing beside an open door a single attendant. Cyrus beckoned, inviting them to get in the vehicle. The attendant shut the door behind them and took the wheel, backing the vehicle out of the courtyard and onto a broad paved road. Beyond the road was scrubland dotted with small trees and bushes. Cyrus leaning round introduced the driver.
“This is Jonas, my personal assistant. If you have any problems in your period of orientation please let him know. We are going now on a small tour of the Homeland so that you can get a sense of its space and meaning here. As we go the larger picture will unfold progressively, so I would suggest you sit back, enjoy the ride and save any questions until the end. Is that OK?”
Charlize and Danny nodded in agreement and Cyrus turned and settled into his seat. Well-toned and about fifty years old, he had refined, proportioned features and dusky blond hair. His manner was lofty and imposing: he was the first person they had met since their arrival who did not seem to smile at the end of every statement. He spoke in sculpted phrases across his shoulder as the car motored smoothly along the paved surface.
“The road we are on turns north and will presently join our great Appian Way, or Sacred Way as we call it. The Way runs basically west-to-east and takes us to the heart of our city. The Homeland of Heaven is laid out on this axis because it’s along that line and in this place that our founding scientists were able to create the greatest climatic stabilization. Which brings us, in short order, to the matter of history.”
“The Homelands, both north and south are four hundred and twenty eight years old. Their establishment came after the years of storm and death which brought humanity to the edge of extinction, forcing the world’s leaders to adopt an extreme solution. Millions, billions in fact, had died and continued to die because the earth’s climate suffered catastrophic disruption. You are already familiar with much of this through the lessons you received on the Global Weather Shield. However, you were not given the full picture.”
Cyrus paused for effect, then continued.
“You were not told that the stabilization took place through two artificial meteorological constructs working together, one in the Northern Homeland where you come from, and one here in the Southern Homeland. They both provide areas of constant high pressure but in synergy with each other. If you think about it, the Northern Homeland produces a lot of heat generating a lot of cold, and that heat has to go somewhere. You have become used to seeing the cold as the main point, essential for your survival in a world of storms. In fact it’s a trade-off, the by-product of another, more primary effect. The technical details of this do not matter. The main point is that to save human civilization it was essential to construct one place of stable and pleasant climate, free of storm, where all the best things from the history of our species could be preserved. In order to do this, in order to stabilize the chaos, there had to be a constant, high-altitude stream of warm air flowing toward it from another space on earth purpose-built to exchange cold air for warm.”
Danny and Charlize were gazing at him blankly.
“I realize how difficult this may be to take in, given what you have experienced and been taught up to now. You are being invited to see things from a kind of upside-down perspective which, in reality is right-side-up. It is important that you do so because without this you will not appreciate the full drama of this wonderful world you have been brought to share. But wait, I’ve been chattering on with all this boring history and haven’t pointed out any of the sights we’ve been passing. Jonas, my friend, why don’t you describe what we are seeing?”
Cyrus’ assistant launched smoothly into the role of commentator. He was a good bit younger than Cyrus, probably in his late twenties, brown-haired, well built like everyone in the Heavenly Homeland, his face pleasant and intelligent, his eyes dark-tinged and sometimes slightly preoccupied. The road had been steadily mounting, threading its way upward through dusty rolling hills with bright stretches of trees and vegetation. At a final sharp incline it made a right hand turn onto a broad road paved in flagstones and fringed by elegant tall trees. As they drove, Jonas pointed out the occasional shape of a building between the stands of acacia and pine lining the route. He explained that these walls signaled dwellings called colonies where groups of residents of the Homeland chose to live, in numbers anywhere from a dozen to sixty or more individuals. They had already passed several of these along the hills. Particular to every villa was a different kind of activity or craft
, like flower or fruit growing, viniculture, animal husbandry, also technical specializations, plus of course the humanities—painting, poetry, philosophy. Nobody was obligated to participate in these activities but almost everybody did. Usually people lived in a community together with a long-term partner. But if one of them fell in love with someone else, from another colony, then one or other of the new couple would move. Everyone was always very open and flexible.
Danny and Charlize were having serious difficulty processing all this information. First it was the weird meteorology connecting their old Homeland and this one. Then the dwellings and day-to-day living arrangements which didn’t seem to involve any real work. As for falling in love and moving in with someone new, they simply did not follow what was being said.
“Is there any actual work people do, you know, like maintenance, production, that kind of thing?” ventured Danny.
Jonas responded. “Well actually Danny, the Homeland of Heaven is pretty lo-tech and very low-maintenance. This car that we’re driving is electric and bits and pieces of it very likely go back to the first establishment of the Homeland Cyrus was describing. And there are not many cars. People don’t move around much during the day and when they come out in the evening they ride ponies or take the trams which are always plentiful. As for food and crops, because the climate is so stable and benign, and given the water-supply we've organized, it’s very easy to grow things. So the short answer to your question is, yes, people have work, but they will spend only one or two days at it every so often. It doesn’t dictate our lives.”
Danny couldn’t help asking, “What happens if someone doesn’t do their job?”
Cyrus interjected. “My dear friend, you have to understand, that kind of thing is simply not going to happen. Everyone in the Homeland of Heaven is far too well-adjusted and contented for anything like that. You will find that for yourself too, as you let this place have its effect. Immortal life begins to flow through you and you flow through immortal life, like a bird in the air! Everything becomes easy.”
Right then a tram glided by on its rails in the median. It was a large open-sided vehicle, golden and white, shaped and painted with waves on its sides to resemble a boat. It was moving at little more than a human running pace with five or six people inside. All of them were robed in the diaphanous material that seemed to be the dress of choice. Some were conversing, the others gazing ahead with eloquent faces. At that moment they appeared to Danny and Charlize truly to be divine. Cyrus saw the young people’s’ upturned glances and smiled
“Ah, yes, you see what I mean, don’t you? The word I used, “Immortal,” seems entirely fitting, doesn’t it? Well, let me explain it to you exactly. It holds the second great mystery to which I must introduce you. Really, the greatest achievement of our scientists in the time of storm and death was something which outstripped even the Global Weather Shield. In fact they had come upon this possibility before the theory of the Shield was developed. But the consequences were so extreme—on top of environmental chaos—that governments waged a war of disinformation against it.”
“They denied the discovery absolutely, saying the science was flawed. But scientists had discovered a way of stopping the breakdown of cell replication at the root of the aging process: you know, the way your body over time looks and feels older, and becomes vulnerable to illness. Instead, our scientists were actually able to stop people growing older, finally achieving what humanity has always yearned for—a life of immortality. So, yes, because of this discovery no one here is getting older. Including you. The function of never-ending cell replication has already begun in your bodies. You have become gods like us.”
Charlize and Danny’s mouths were open. Pandit had said more or less the same thing to them in their Initiation but that was all just a blur. Afterward they had in fact decided they were in some kind of heaven, but had not seen themselves as fully part of it. They felt more like visitors on some amazing vacation. Now they were being told they themselves were actually immortal. They were now gods among the gods.
Cyrus had a look of benign triumph, and he was not about to let his moment go.
“Let me explain a bit more, to help get your minds around this. In the old science, before the end of the 20th century, people thought in terms of reactions. The word says it all, one thing acts, another reacts, like millions of tiny solid objects knocking into each other in a line, click, click, click. But then people began to think more in terms of information and signaling, especially in biology. An organism will get a chemical signal from its environment or from itself and that won’t simply cause a reaction but a whole complex of events adjusting the total organism to a new situation. That’s why it’s much better to see everything in the body as signals within a system.”
Cyrus was now in full flow, relishing the beautiful details of his story.
“One of the key elements in producing signals in the body is something called an enzyme, which is a tiny, complex structure in the body. Enzymes have a fantastic ability to speed up processes like digestion or locomotion, that kind of thing. Some enzymes have the specific job of ensuring the accurate copy of genes at the heart of the cell. They actually check and proof-read DNA as it's reproduced in the body, rejecting bad copies. Biologists working on the treatment of cancer discovered that you could get an artificially produced strand of enzymes to check cells for cancer and then eliminate the cancerous ones. Cancer, the longtime nemesis of human health, was cured at a stroke. It did not take long then to apply that same function to other processes, including aging. This time rather than eliminate the cell itself they were able to provide a fresh set of signals that it should repair itself. Lo and behold, immortality! It was a miracle of biological engineering: a bunch of tiny workshops circulating through the body continually ensuring its perfection. What's more, they were resilient enough to be administered with the water supply. You two have already begun the treatment. From today on you will be forever the beautiful age you now enjoy!”
“Oh my God!”
“Yes, that was basically the reaction of everybody who knew about the discovery. They all wanted it, and why wouldn’t they? But, as I said, it was just one more chaotic factor in the end-game of humanity at that time. How could anybody be immortal when the earth was pouring down its own flood drain? But, as the idea of the Global Shield began to emerge, authorities in the know added the enzyme repair-kit into the equation. Suddenly everything fell into place. We could create a place on earth where the best things of humanity would be preserved but without the problems of death, or having children, and all the conflict that flows from them. Immortals in an earthly paradise: it was and is the perfect solution.”
He continued on and on, filling in details of the original plan, the construction of the Northern Homeland, the testing of the meteorology, the selection of the territory for Heaven, the arrival of the first immigrants, the joy and glory of their first experiences. Finally he became quiet, totally caught up in the splendor of his own story. The inductees sat in stunned silence, unable fully to process what they had been told. The only thing that could be heard was the hum of the electric motor and the steady lick of the tires on the Sacred Way. After a moment Jonas broke in, looking at Cyrus. “We’re getting near the Forum. Perhaps we should say a little about it before we get there?”
Cyrus nodded abstractedly, and his assistant picked up the narrative. “I am sure you have questions about everything Cyrus has told you and you will have the chance to ask them when we take refreshment at one of the restaurants. But first I should tell you that the whole of the Homeland's life is focused on the Forum. It is surrounded on every side by libraries, museums, galleries and exhibitions. All the accumulated treasures of human culture are gathered there, from Qin’s Terracotta Warriors to Hirst’s skull, from Oedipus Rex to Catcher in the Rye, it’s all there. There are people who have been present from the very beginning of the Homeland but they haven’t seen everything in the exhibitions, or read a fraction of
the books. Look, you can already see the grid system where the collections are housed.”
And as they looked Charlize and Danny could see, at right angles to their road, spacious tree-lined boulevards flanked by imposing stone buildings stretching out in a motionless glow. Jonas’ voice pressed on relentlessly.
“This is just the outer shell, the beautiful husk which holds within an exquisite life, the nectar of the city. It must be experienced to be understood. Every night thousands of people gather in the Forum, and every so often at a chosen time tens and tens of thousands come in. We call it Doblepoble, I’m not sure why but somehow the name has stuck. The place is alive with music and light, with sights and sounds and intoxicating scents. On Doblepoble people exchange partners at will but always return to the one they came with, as much in love as when they started. There are chemicals too, that keep us going, giving us energy to dance until the dawn. There’s Tremo that allows us to see other dimensions and Soffo that makes us totally relaxed, and we watch everything in an unbelievable state of bliss. And, Danny and Charlize, you know what? It’s not long to the next Doblepoble!”
Jonas stopped and looked back at Cyrus. After a moment their chief guide spoke. “We could head straight to the parking plaza, but first I want to show you a breath-taking panorama, probably the greatest in human history, greater than Machu Pichu or the Hollywood Hills, or the Janiculum in Rome. There you will see it all and understand everything.”
The car made a left hand turn and began to climb. It navigated a number of hairpin bends and at each one there was a monument with an inscription and above it a heroic sculpture of laboring groups and individuals pointing in a visionary manner toward the east. The car groaned but finally crested the hill, coming out on a graveled esplanade with a low stone wall forming a balcony and belvedere above the city. Cyrus led the way to the edge. There in the late morning sun spread out below like an extraordinary jewel was the heart of the Heavenly Homeland.
Pascale's Wager: Homelands of Heaven Page 12
