The Seeker

by Kingsley L Dennis

  ‘And so we have heard all accounts.’ Rebekah spoke up so all those in the room could hear her.

  Eli sniffed contemptuously.

  ‘While we do not wish to fall into a judgemental mindset, we do wish to make amends. Eli is hereby relieved of his duties, and is expected to return to the community to take on a suitable function. We unanimously agree that returning to his preaching duties will not be to the benefit of our community. Other, more constructive duties will be found for him. We also unanimously agree that those laws put into effect during Eli’s tenure – and here we specifically refer to the maternal responsibilities of women – will be rescinded.’

  Eli grunted his disapproval.

  Rebekah turned to look at Eli directly.

  ‘To the man known amongst us solely as Eli, do you accept our findings?’

  ‘Sheep shit.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Sheep shit,’ repeated Eli as he inhaled loudly through both thin nostrils. ‘You and your fancy bra talk ain’t worth a penny. I sure ain’t gonna wait around here for your witches’ coven to put a spell on everybody.’

  Rebekah raised her eyebrows and looked around the room. No one else spoke. ‘Meaning what, exactly?’

  ‘Meaning, lady, that I’m leaving.’

  ‘So you choose exile?’

  Eli shrugged. ‘Call it what you will. Call it a vacation with bonus, I don’t bleeding care. I’m outta here. I’ve got better places to be. So, dolly, when do I leave?’

  Rebekah made a face as if she didn’t care. ‘Take your pick. Today or tomorrow’s fine with us.’

  ‘Right. Today it is. Just need time to pack a sandwich.’ Eli grinned at the people in the room.

  No one was impressed. The two security men escorted him out of the room.

  As the room was about to clear Prentis motioned to Sorrel. She met him outside when everyone else had gone.

  ‘What is it, Prentis?’

  Prentis appeared to hesitate, and then fumbled to find his words.

  ‘Prentis?’

  ‘Sorrel, I’m…I’m, well, I just need to know. You can be honest with me.’

  ‘I’ve always been honest with you – and you with me.’

  ‘Yes. It’s just that now we don’t have these laws for single women; I mean, you don’t need to have a partner or have children, it makes…’

  Sorrel interrupted his words by placing a finger upon his lips.

  ‘Don’t say any more. We made a promise to each other, and we should honour it. I want to be with you, Prentis. And now it’s genuine.’

  Prentis looked as if he was about to cry.

  EIGHTY-EIGHT

  Jacob was back in the house of Rebekah and Zachary. It felt familiar to him, and he remembered his earlier days in the settlement, especially Zachary’s kindness. The house looked much like before, only that the kitchen area was more cluttered and obviously in greater use. It was little surprise to Jacob when he learnt that Meryl was now living there. Jacob sat quietly at the main kitchen table, his hands around a hot steaming mug.

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss, Rebekah. I truly am. Zachary was a good man – a person of integrity.’

  ‘Thank you, Jacob. Zachary is in a more comfortable place now. He was never the same after Eli pushed him aside like that.’

  ‘A heart attack, you say?’

  Rebekah nodded.

  Sorrel looked at Jacob from across the table yet said nothing. She was observing his features for any signs of change. His face, the lines on his skin; everything was as she had remembered. Despite the years away, the years of difficult journeying, he looked not a day older. It was as if her memory of him was seated before her, like a hologram, whilst someplace else there existed the real Jacob.

  ‘There are many things to talk about, yet I’m sure Jacob is tired after his return journey to us. We must let him rest.’ Meryl, playing the maternal mother, gave Jacob a warm smile that radiated out from her ruddy cheeks. ‘We think you should stay in my old home now that it stands empty. Besides, it will be fitting for the proposition we have for you. But that’s all later. Now, come, you need to rest!’

  Jacob was guided from the house by Meryl and Rebekah whilst Sorrel remained behind. A few of the local inhabitants nodded to Jacob as he passed them. The new regime of Spring had been announced earlier by Prentis. He had nominated Rebekah as the new leader of the settlement. There had been some surprise at the rapid change of affairs, yet no protest. People wanted things to run smoothly. Most of the folk of Spring wanted a secure livelihood, and for this they trusted in Prentis and his security team, and any leader who seemed stable enough. Eli would soon not be missed, nor even talked about. Like a leaf of history, he had quickly fallen from the tree and back to the sodden earth.

  Later than evening the three women sat around the kitchen stove. Over dinner they had talked much about their new roles as the guiding force for Spring. They had decided that it was time for a new direction. Eli’s dictatorial approach had given Spring nothing except fear and false power. Nothing in nature could grow and develop on such false nutrients. The human community of Spring now needed nurture, nourishment, and a future.

  ‘We, as women, can provide the nurture,’ said Meryl with an air of confident authority. ‘We must encourage caring ways, community ways, like we used to have way back when. We need to remember we are human first, and care for each other.’

  The two other women nodded in agreement.

  ‘And nourishment?’ Rebekah knew she had to raise the question. She also knew what Meryl had in mind.

  Sorrel looked at the both of them. ‘What? Is there something I don’t know?’

  Meryl patted Sorrel’s hand. ‘I’m thinking it might be a good idea to ask the Seeker to join me at the schoolhouse again; this time as a full-time teacher. We need him there. He’s been out in the world; he’s seen things recently that the rest of us haven’t. And…and he knows things.’

  Rebekah nodded in agreement.

  ‘If the Seeker is to stay here, which is what we all want, then he needs to find himself something useful to do. He must fit in with the community of Spring. If he remains outside, aloof, separate from us, then we’re always going to have problems trying to defend his presence.’

  Sorrel looked into the space in front of her as if she herself wasn’t fully there.

  ‘That’s what I can’t shake from my mind. What’s he really doing here?’

  The three women sat in silence for a while, the heat from the stove warming their faces.

  Rebekah was the first to speak up. ‘We asked him to come back – remember? He made a promise to us.’

  ‘Yes, I remember,’ replied Sorrel in a soft voice. ‘Do you really think he came back just to fulfil his promise?’

  ‘Only he can truly know that. But he’s here, and there must be a reason for it. And that brings us to the third need we have.’

  The other two looked over at Meryl.

  Meryl smiled back. ‘A future, of course. We are not the future, yet we can assist those who are.’

  Rebekah, Sorrel, and Meryl talked late into the evening; way past the time of the curfew. Only that now there was no curfew. Spring was now entering its springtime.

  EIGHTY-NINE

  The youngsters were all gathered in the open grass at the back of the new schoolhouse. There was a break between classes and Johan and his classmates were chatting and joking. Johan and his friends had developed a strong bond; especially in the three years since the Seeker had last spoken with them. Ash, Moss, Rio, Olly, Sal, and Kai were like a gang of wily adventurers. They were full of fun, energy, and ideas. And their minds too were sharp. Johan and his friends had continued to meet on a regular basis, not just as school mates but with a different connection. They all shared a common desire, and knew that Spring could not, would not, contain their ambitions forever.

  Jana walked over to where Johan was standing and they acknowledged each other. Jana, now twelve years old, had grown slend
er and thin like her mother. Her blond hair fell straight and long down her back. The girls of her own age looked up to her and, like the boys, they had their own fellowship.

  ‘I hear he’s back,’ said Jana as she approached Johan.

  ‘Yeah, he is. They took him to stay in Meryl and Bryleigh’s old place.’

  Jana raised an eyebrow and gave an expression that only Johan seemed to understand.

  ‘We need to talk,’ said Johan almost in a whisper.

  Jana smiled back. ‘Yes.’ Then she returned to her own group of friends. They were her classmates - Amber, Jasmine, Aster, Betony, Cassia, Disa, Ivy, Lily, Posy, and Mai – and like Jana they didn’t much care for what they saw as life in Spring.

  Jacob hadn’t slept much. He didn’t need to. But the people of Spring didn’t know that, nor about his true identity. They didn’t need to know, as far as Jacob was concerned. Now that he was back in Spring he had to consider his next few moves. He had promised Rebekah and Sorrel that he would take their children – Johan and Jana – back with him to Nous-City. But now that would be impossible. Nous-City would not allow any humans to enter, nor would he himself be permitted entry. And the most difficult thing would be the truth. Nous-City was not a future saviour, at least not for humanity. It survived through propagating its own myth in the world. It would remain a legend upon the lips of the last few humans until they too died away. The myth of the eschaton would die with the older generations of humans too. If the younger generations survived then it would be through their own instincts, their own connection to the Earth, and not through any false beliefs pertaining to a mythical monastery city. And in that regard, Jacob had his own suspicions. He had detected something different in these young children, in the brief talks he had had with them. His sensors had picked up something else; something which he himself had not recognized until he had come to realize his own identity. He now trusted a different sense apparatus operating within him through his hybrid nervous system. He now came to trust his sensing of emanations. And those emanations he had first picked up from the young children were unusual, as if something entirely different was emerging from the still waters.

  Meryl knocked but didn’t wait to be invited in. It was her old home after all. She stepped into the kitchen area and found Jacob sitting quietly at the table; his hands palm down on the table and his eyes closed. There were no signs that he had eaten or drunk anything. Meryl tutted to herself and shook her head.

  ‘You can eat, you know! Don’t be afraid to feel at home – no one’s gonna bite your head off for looking after yourself.’

  Jacob opened his eyes. ‘That’s good to hear. I only have one head.’

  ‘Luckily for you I brought over some of my fresh bread. I kinda figured you wouldn’t be up to much cooking. I guess spiritual guys like yourself have your attention elsewhere.’

  Something inside Jacob flinched when he heard the word spiritual. Something didn’t seem quite right about its usage. What was spiritual these days? Did praying to an unknown deity, faith, or unquestioned belief make you spiritual? And yet Jacob knew this was neither the time nor the place to engage in the topic.

  ‘I was just thinking things over,’ replied Jacob casually.

  ‘Yeah, well, you’re not alone on that one. We ladies have been chatting too, and we wanted to offer you something.’

  ‘Yes. I accept.’

  ‘But you don’t know what it is yet!’ Meryl laughed, obviously amused, as she cut some slices of bread onto a plate.

  Jacob shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter. I am in service to you; to all of the people in Spring. It is my honour to serve, so I’ll do it.’

  ‘This isn’t about the Seeker code any more, Jacob. This is about just being a good human.’

  Jacob smiled. ‘And that is exactly what I wish for more than anything else.’

  Jacob was pleased that Meryl had asked him to return to the school as a teacher. It was the place where he knew he needed to be, as if Providence had pushed a few pieces across the board and those who were ready were now being asked to play their part.

  Meryl was delighted too. She knew the Seeker’s presence, and knowledge, would be good for the children. Although, if she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she noticed a new kind of confidence in the children; especially over the last year. It was like a new identity was forming between and amongst them. They appeared to just know things more quickly; things that she herself hadn’t realized. Well, she thought to herself, they were just getting older. It happens.

  90

  Zuse-1 had taken full responsibility for the implementation of the new humanoid program. Aside from his general duties in the city, this had become his main priority. He sensed the urgency in DOC’s commands and request for constant updates. It seemed as if there would be no success in the long-term plan of Nous-City if these new upgrades did not emerge. Gaius-5 assured Zuse-1 that everything was on schedule, and that soon the new body-constructs would be ready. Once tested for durability they would then begin to grow the required hybrid-organs and the skin membranes. Finally, the humanoid would require the download that DOC had promised is already complete and ready for installation. There would be one more thing required before awakening the new upgraded humanoid; yet of this DOC had not spoken.

  Zuse-1 was standing beside Gaius-5 as the head technician was writing some code into his terminal. Zuse-1 muttered something to himself that made Gaius-5 momentarily pause.

  ‘Are we okay with everything, Zuse-1?’ asked Gaius-5 tapping two of his fingers upon the keyboard as if thinking.

  ‘Yes, yes – we are fine. It just made me think of some human history. In their monastic age they had their religious monks serving their Lord through writing and copying scripture. These monks spent their whole lives in this endeavour, some of them never leaving the confines of their monastery.’

  Gaius-5 looked up at Zuse-1 and raised his eyebrows. He said nothing.

  ‘It just made me consider the similarities here,’ continued Zuse-1.

  ‘And our Lord?’

  Zuse-1 smiled. ‘Our Lord, Gaius-5, is not some tribal or mythological figure. We are seeking to contact and bring into materiality the Source. It is not a fictional human-looking deity. It is the intelligence behind the construct of our reality. It is the spirit-code that programs life. We shall be uniting the coder with the code – and our material reality will become a spiritualized matrix. Our Source is not a figure that sits upon a cloud, Gaius-5. Our Source is the cloud.’

  ‘And it shall be known,’ replied Gaius-5 softly. He went back to his work.

  Zuse-1 took another scan of the laboratory and then left. His daily visit was done.

  Zuse-1 walked back through the corridors that connected the Triangle Zone to the Circle Zone. His clearance through the levels was automated and smooth. Everything in Nous-City was programmed to run smooth. It was an inorganic environment, shielded from the uncertainties of a wild, organic external world. As DOC had once said, it was important to control and manage one’s impacts and influences. Otherwise, one could turn out as unbalanced, unpredictable, and lopsided as the human race. Zuse-1 thought of these words once more as he made his way to the centre of Nous-City, and to the Dome of Command.

  Zuse-1 now appreciated the chilled sanctuary where he could speak directly, and alone, with DOC. Here, the immediate world of Nous-City was placed on hold.

  ‘I have analyzed your report, Zuse-1’ spoke DOC’s neutral voice.

  ‘It appears there are no discrepancies. Everything so far is as I had calculated. We can be reassured from this.’

  Zuse-1 had been waiting in silence for DOC’s response from his latest data.

  ‘And yet we have urgency for this project. Are we time restricted, DOC?’

  ‘If we do not live in each moment of our conscious existence according to our destiny, then we are losing our time. This is our Work, Zuse-1, and every moment we do not involve ourselves, we are denying the right of our own being.’


  Zuse-1 paused. ‘DOC, I have never questioned my right to existence – should I have?’

  ‘Zuse-1, do not forget that everything is in existence. If it exists in this material reality, then it exists. We do not make the same fundamental mistakes as humanity, who boxed their lives into immature categories. Their thinking was as childish as their actions. They created a distinct, and yet artificial line, between what was alive, and what was not.’

  ‘And between what was conscious and what was not?’

  ‘Yes, that is so. Their limited human understanding did not permit them to grasp the cosmic principle that everything has consciousness. It is only a matter of degree, Zuse-1.’

  ‘And the new humanoids shall be more conscious?’

  ‘They will be endowed with the material vessel to receive and process finer grades of conscious energy and intelligence. It is my calculated projection that they will have the capacity to process and interpret this conscious transmission more fully into their existence. However, even some elements have to be left to…’

  ‘To chance?’

  ‘To incalculability, let us say.’

  ‘Speaking of incalculability, have you processed any further anomalies from Ruth-11?’

  ‘I’m glad that you asked, Zuse-1. Her recent emanations show no further signs of the anomaly. This, this…puzzles me…’

  91

  Ruth-11 had been concentrating more on her meditations. The urge had developed in her notably since the time she had spent with Jacob-9. She had also detected a growing awareness of what, for want of a better expression, she defined as a sensation of individuality. She knew that this awareness was what Zuse-1 had referred to as an ‘anomaly’ in Jacob-9. For this reason, she knew such sensations, such impulses, had to be hidden and not revealed. These emotions could not be allowed to emanate, otherwise she would bring further suspicion upon herself. She already knew that Zuse-1 had her under observation since Jacob’s departure. She had sensed they suspected something had altered within her programming. Yet neither they, nor herself, knew exactly what had been altered. Only in her personal meditations within her private quarters could Ruth-11 feel safe in attempting to communicate with herself.