The Traveler's Companion

by Chater, Christopher John

  “She calls me Beth, but I’m technically not her mother.”

  “I never knew my mother,” Angela said. “As far as I know, you’re exactly like her. If you like, I can call you Mother.”

  “I’d like that, but I think that honor belongs to your real mother. Ryan and I have discussed it and he believes that people here in the Zone are only copies of real people. That would mean I’m not really your mother.”

  Iverson sipped his manifested coffee and said, “They’re sentient beings.”

  “Are they? Have you some proof my scientific team of over three hundred has neglected to find?” Go asked.

  “Should have been here earlier,” Iverson said.

  “Have you considered it may be time for you to take a break from the Zone, Doctor? Maybe you’re getting too involved.”

  “Have you considered not turning this place into an amusement park for an unsuspecting public? What I went through today is only the tip of the iceberg. People will not be able to emotionally cope with this place.”

  “I tried to warn you, Doctor. It feels real, but it’s not. No offense, Beth.”

  She shrugged, but was clearly insulted.

  Iverson took a drink of coffee, stood, and went over to Mr. Go. Go tried to keep from flinching as Iverson came at him like a linebacker.

  Iverson grabbed Go’s arm and said, “I want to show you something.”

  Iverson teleported them to Union Square plaza. He directed Go over to the Dewey Monument, an 83-foot column with a bronze figurine on top. The square base was covered with photos. Ephemera were using it as a memorial.

  Mr. Go marveled at it. There were pictures of sons and daughters, spouses and parents, even entire families. He circled the base of the monument slowly, looking over each of the pictures as if he were looking at museum art.

  “They’re doing this on their own?” Go asked.

  “Of course,” Iverson said.

  “Amazing.”

  “In your mind, Mister Go, could ephemera show this type of sentiment if they weren’t real?”

  “If you wanted them to they would,” Go said. “The Zone knows everything you know, Doctor. When you create something here, everything comes out. There’s no filter. Anything and everything you know about the human drama becomes part of your creation.”

  Iverson took Go’s arm, grasping it tighter than was necessary, and teleported them to Ocean Beach. Thousands of makeshift tents lined the shore. This was a refugee camp.

  “All of these fake people are afraid to go home. You ever heard of fake people being afraid?”

  The sea was choppy and the ocean water was a brown color. A cold misty wind was chilling their faces. Ash was in the air along with the smell of burning wood.

  “Doctor Iverson, you’ve created a tremendous fantasy here. But that’s all it is,” Go said, his body shivering from the cold. He fastened the middle button of his blazer and put the collar up. He rubbed his hands together, then formed them into a fist with a blow hole, and blew into them. “Mind if I warm it up around here?”

  “Yes, I do. I made it cold so they would go back to their homes. They were told it was okay to go home, but they won’t leave,” he lied. He had made it cold for Go’s detriment.

  “They’re going to freeze out here like this,” Go said.

  “The cold is also taking their minds off the reality of their circumstances. I think they know their days are numbered. They know they’re going to dissolve.”

  Go manifested a long winter coat with a fur-lined hood and matching gloves. When he pulled the hood over his head, he looked like he belonged in the Klondike. Iverson was more than a little annoyed Go was now warm. The man was impervious to justice.

  “I’ve seen all this before, Doctor. You forget; I’ve been researching the Zone for several months. I’ve seen it all.”

  “Then how do you know they’re not real?”

  Go began to bounce on the balls of his feet, trying to get the blood flowing, to warm up. “Because they can’t create.”

  “What does that matter?”

  “I don’t know, Doctor. It just does. It’s part of what makes us human. The fact of the matter is that ephemera only last a matter of hours, days at the most.”

  “A mayfly lasts about thirty minutes. Are they not real either?” Iverson asked.

  “Even if they were real, their lives are fleeting. What kind of a life could they possibly have in the time they’re given?”

  “So now you’re saying that the length of man’s life is what determines its value?”

  Iverson now recognized Go with that hood pulled over his head. He was the fucking Grim Reaper.

  “I don’t know, Doctor. I’m cold. What is it that you want? What would you like me to do?” Go asked.

  “I want a formal invitation to your laboratory before the Zone is released to the public. I’d also like there to be an open investigation of your scientific methods and of your staff. That should take about one year. Keep in mind, the FDA takes longer to approve a drug. After that year, as far as I’m concerned, you can make the Zone a sovereign nation and make yourself ambassador.”

  “Ambassador? Why not king?”

  Iverson performed a sarcastic bow replete with a royal hand gesture.

  “I understand what you’re saying, Doctor Iverson, and I respect it. I’m afraid there are extenuating circumstances.”

  “What extenuating circumstances?”

  Iverson could no longer stand the cold and was forced to manifest a jacket for himself. It was without a fur-lined hood.

  “Imagine we took our time releasing the Zone, like you’re suggesting, and the Chinese government gets a hold of the technology. By the time the FDA says it’s okay to manifest a cheeseburger here, the Chinese will have already mastered the Zone, maybe even found a way to control it so that it’s theirs and only theirs. Do you really think we can keep this place a secret? I’m afraid the cat has already been let out of the bag. It’s like the discovery of the atomic bomb. The scariest thing at this point is that only one government has it. Why do you think I brought you here? I’ve given you a head start. You should use this time to understand this place. Worry more about adapting to it than guarding it.”

  “That’s just great,” Iverson said. “Just great.”

  “That’s the reality, Doctor Iverson. For better or for worse, the Zone is here to stay. Let’s hope everyone can live here peacefully.”

  “There’s no peace here. It’s completely unstable!”

  “I’m going to be honest with you, Doctor. I know what you think. I can see it on your face and I can sense it from you every time we’re together. You think this place is a nightmare. And you think that reality is going to suffer because of the Zone.” Go pointed a finger at him and said, “Guess what? You’re right. My scientists expect that the Zone is not only going to adversely affect reality, it’s going to annihilate it. Welcome to the apocalypse. The world as we know it is on the chopping block and there’s nothing we can do about it. Keep in mind that with every end there’s a new beginning. Mankind will survive, but in the Zone, not in reality. Yes, we could delay the release of the Zone, but not forever. The technology already exists; it’s only a matter of time before someone else discovers it. Our only hope is that we find a way to exist here, that we create a sustainable environment in the Zone. Think of us as pioneers. One day they’ll write about our difficulties in the new reality. I can tell you’re having a tough time here and I’m sorry for that. I should have insisted that you leave the Zone a long time ago, because the fact of the matter is that you’re emotionally compromised.”

  “Oh, I’m emotionally compromised?”

  “We’re in a place where we could live out our most extravagant fantasies and you have us standing on a beach in what feels like the dead of winter, in a refugee camp. Yes, you’re emotionally compromised. The positive side of your being here is that you’ve made your wife last for so long. It’s a revelation. You’re the talk of ou
r community. You’ve given us hope. Mankind has a chance. Because of you, Doctor Iverson, mankind has a chance.”

  Iverson turned and walked away from him. He began walking down the beach alone.

  Shock was fueling his stride along the sand, keeping him moving. If he stayed in one place, it would overwhelm him. Was this really the end of reality? It seemed preposterous and horrifyingly plausible at the same time. Since he had first stepped into the Zone, he knew its overwhelming power would have a devastating effect on reality, but he naively thought he could stop it, shut it down. What Mr. Go had said made sense. They couldn’t keep it a secret. And sooner or later, someone else would stumble on to the technology. It was inevitable.

  The Zone would so completely trump reality that it would render it obsolete. For a while some would try to hold on to the old ways. Maybe one generation would pass. But by then society would be so completely altered that trying to exist without the Zone would be dangerous.

  Iverson suspected he had reached the threshold of what he could handle mentally. As he came to a jetty, he climbed up the rocks and found partial shelter in between them. The sounds of the waves crashing and washing over the rocks gave him the feeling of being insulated, of privacy. He made sure no one was around, and, for the first time since his wife had died, he wept.

  CHAPTER 17

  When Iverson got back to the house on Lombard Street, Angela was waiting for him, but Beth was gone.

  “Where is she?” Iverson asked.

  “She and Mister Go went somewhere together.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know, Doctor Iverson. They said something about coffee. His brain was flooded with dopamine.”

  “What about hers?”

  “Homeostatic,” Angela said.

  “What does he want from her?”

  “He seemed preoccupied with a conversation they had earlier. He asked if she could remember the details of a story he had told her about his trip to Papua New Guinea and the cannibals he met there.”

  “He’s a fucking cannibal. He wanted to see if she remembered his story to prove she was the same person he had talked to earlier,” Iverson said.

  Angela appeared to be considering the idea.

  “What does that bastard want with her?” Iverson asked.

  “I was under the impression they wanted to speak privately. About what, I don’t know.”

  “I guess I’ll have to just go see,” Iverson said. He imagined Beth in his mind and found himself materializing on the sidewalk outside a coffee shop in the Haight-Ashbury district.

  He peered through the window and searched for them among the other patrons. He finally saw them up the stairs in a loft space.

  He made his reflection in the glass change, from a fifty-five year old scientist to a young black hipster looking for his daily caffeine fix. He wore an army green jacket with a Rastafarian patch on the shoulder and brown corduroy pants.

  He went to the counter and ordered coffee. He added some cream, grabbed a local paper from the stand, and went up the stairs.

  Iverson walked past Beth and Mr. Go sitting at a table, and went to sit on a couch against the wall. He put his feet up on the coffee table and opened up the newspaper.

  “What can I do?” Beth asked.

  “Be patient,” Go said. “He’ll come around.”

  “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Yes, for now. But you’re the key, Beth. The only thing that will get him to stay is you. For some reason, he can make you last. We have to understand how he does that. Has he said anything to you?”

  “He said that the Zone is converting energy into matter. That’s all I know.”

  “We know that. But how has he made you last so long?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m afraid. What if I dissolve and he won’t re-manifest me? I feel like he’s angry at me . . . that I disrespect his wife’s memory or something.”

  “In time, he’ll come around,” Go said.

  “I hope you’re right. I can’t stand the way he treats me. It’s torturing me.”

  “Unfortunately, Beth, what you need is time, time for you to convince him that you two belong together. But I’m not sure you’ll get that time unless you let us help you.”

  “How can you help me?”

  “You’d have to undergo a few tests,” Go said.

  “More tests? What kind of tests?”

  “Doctor Riley has discovered some interesting things from your blood sample, but with more tests we may be able to find out more. An MRI, a spinal tap, and a bone marrow biopsy could give us the information we need to find out why you have lasted longer than other ephemera.”

  “Bone marrow biopsy? Isn’t that painful?”

  “We can give you something for the pain.”

  Iverson resisted the desire to cough out “Bullshit.” There was no anesthetic for a bone marrow biopsy and it was incredibly painful. At least in reality. Maybe Go was making promises he could keep in the Zone.

  “A lot of information can be found in the blood, but bone marrow is the source of the cells in our bodies. There are self-renewing stem cells in the marrow that might hold the key to making ephemera last in the Zone.”

  She sipped at her coffee. Iverson knew her well enough to know that she was looking for a way to turn him down lightly. She was too nice to tell him no to his face.

  “Do you think I’m a real person, Mister Go?” Beth asked.

  “I’m sorry? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you said earlier that I wasn’t real. How do you know that?”

  “The only way I know how to create life is through making love. I could be wrong.”

  “Before you came here, you thought you had to use bricks and mortar to build a building, but now all it takes is a thought.”

  “My scientists made a convincing argument about man’s ability to comprehend life in all its complexity. If he cannot comprehend it, he cannot mentally duplicate it.”

  “You don’t think that knowledge could be contained in the subconscious?”

  “Actually, I do. But my scientists don’t. I was hopeful that you were going to prove me right, but Doctor Riley said. . . .”

  “Doctor Riley said I wasn’t going to last more than a week. That’s what his test concluded. I don’t think I want to undergo any more tests, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind. I hope I didn’t offend you. Our race is on the verge of extinction, as well. If we don’t find a way to exist here, we’re not going to survive.”

  “We better get back. I don’t want to be gone when he gets home,” Beth said.

  “Of course,” Go said. “I’ll take you home.”

  Go reached over and lightly touched her hand and then they were gone.

  * * * * *

  Iverson waited a few minutes and then teleported back home. When he got there Beth and Angela were waiting for him in the living room. He sat down in the club chair and made sure he had their attention.

  “Where’s Go?” he asked Angela.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  “Any idea when you’re going to see him again?” he asked.

  “We didn’t make plans,” Angela said.

  Iverson sighed. “That’s not good. We have about forty-eight hours left to complete our objectives. We don’t have much time.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor Iverson, but I don’t think it’s working. He’s resistant to Level Five,” Angela said.

  “Don’t tell me that!” he yelled. “We can’t give up. We have to keep trying. We cannot give up, no matter how bleak it looks. I don’t plan on spending the rest of my life watching reality fall apart. We have to stop him. We have to find the location of that lab.”

  “I might be able to help,” Beth said.

  “How?” Iverson said.

  “He wants to conduct some more tests on me.”

  “He’ll have to conduct them in the Zone. You can’t exist in our reality.�
�

  “I understand that, but maybe I can get some information while they’re conducting the tests,” Beth said.

  “Doubtful. There’s a better chance you would give up information that could help them. I’d prefer you stay out of contact with Go and his scientists.”

  “He asked me how you did it, how you made me last so long, but I told him I didn’t know,” Beth said.

  “Good,” Iverson said. He suspected Beth believed she deserved more gratitude for her loyalty, but he was not prepared to give it to her.

  “How can we achieve our objectives?” Angela asked.

  “I know how,” a voice said.

  Iverson recognized the voice, but couldn’t find its source in the room.

  “Mark, is that you?” Iverson asked.

  “Yes, it’s me, Ryan.”

  “Where are you?” Iverson asked into the room.

  “I’m everywhere. A little here, a little there. Who needs physical form in the Zone?”

  Gibbons then materialized on Iverson’s lap. Feeling his weight, Iverson struggled to push him off, but Gibbons had hooked his arms around his neck.

  “Mark, please,” Iverson said.

  “Come on, Ryan. I want to tell you what I want for Christmas.”

  “Santa doesn’t have thermonuclear weapons.”

  “That’s not what our intelligence says,” Gibbons said, laughing. “Let’s attack the North fucking Pole!”

  Gibbons got off his lap and went over to sit next to Angela on the couch. He put his arm around her.

  Because Gibbons was still wearing the youthful appearance, Iverson had to resist speaking to him as if he were the age he looked. “You’ve been monitoring us?”

  “I’ve been keeping my eye on you and Mister Go,” Gibbons said.

  Iverson was angry and humiliated that Gibbons had infringed on his privacy. With his jaw clinched, he said, “What have you found out? Do you know where Go exits the Zone?”

  “No. I haven’t been able to catch him leaving,” Gibbons said.

  “Where has he been spending his time?” Angela asked.

  “Right now he’s here in San Francisco. He’s staying at the Four Seasons,” Gibbons said.

  “What’s he doing here?” Beth asked.