Iris turned around and looked at the beautiful stars, wondering why such a beautiful world would be owned by such ugly Beasts. At the end of her stare she saw a memory. It was of her learning about Pentimento in her father’s basement as a kid. A wonderful memory, one that had only shaped her mind. Only this time, she remembered one day when she had woken up late at night and decided to sneak one last peak at the Beast in Fragonard’s painting. That night something strange happened. When she inspected the painting underneath, the boy wasn’t a Beast. He was unearthly beautiful. Iris rubbed her eyes, and then the image was gone. The boy was a Beast again. Her eyes must have been playing games on her. She must have wished the boy to be beautiful so bad, her mind had granted her that illusion for a fraction of a second.
Yes. It was an illusion, she told herself now, because the ugly Beast in Fragonard’s painting was Andre.
51
Zoe had been pleading to meet Prince Andre in private for some time. Since Iris had arrived, he’d been busy with her. It was no secret that he’d been deeply in love with Iris since the first time he’d laid eyes on her. It was a critical situation for the prince, since the king and queen of their world would have never allowed a beautiful man like him to couple with an “ugly” from The Second.
Andre had promised Zoe answers when she first came, but he’d said he’d do that after Iris knew who, and what, she was. Now that Iris wasn’t capable of seeing what the stars really were, Zoe thought the Prince owed her explanations. Finally, she was led to the prince’s chamber, where he awaited her with hands laced behind his back.
“Zoe.” He bowed his head with respect. “What can I do for you?”
“You promised me answers, My Prince,” she said, secretly envying his unearthly beauty. She’d learned it was better for him never to descend to The Second, or the girls would go crazy.
“I did, indeed,” he said. “Please, sit down. I’ll have to make it brief, though. You know I need to watch Iris most of the day.”
“How is she now?” Zoe sat opposite to him.
“Still not seeing the stars,” Andre sighed, and sat down. “She’s a stubborn girl.”
“But you like her stubbornness,” Zoe nodded her head slightly.
“You’re right. One should accept the person they love for who they are,” he tapped his hands on his lap. “It’s just that the king and queen are on the verge of wanting to get rid of her.”
“But you will not let that happen, right?” Zoe was worried. She loved Iris more than anything, and although she knew the truth would be shocking to her, she hoped she’d find it out sooner, rather than later.
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt her, Zoe. You know that. I’ll fight the world for her,” Andre’s seriousness almost intimidated Zoe, but it was one of his best traits. He was such a strong young man. “Now, ask me and I shall answer you,” he said.
“First of all, is The Second totally destroyed in reality?” she asked.
“The Second is just what’s left from the horrible war from the days of The First United States of America,” Andre said. “It’s no different from the Ruins. All people inhabiting it are suffering from deformations from that war.”
“Then how is it we don’t see it, or the world around us, for what it really is?” Zoe wondered. “I know you have explained this before, but I need to know more. I can’t register it in my mind.”
“It’s not easy for you to imagine it. I mean humans have been living a lie for so long. It will take some time to sink in, just like the idea of the red Indians not seeing Columbus’s ships at first,” Andre said. “When the war in The First destroyed everything, humans had to live with their deformed looks for ages. It was devastating. There was no hope in the world, and no reasons motivated them to build The Second. A number of humans, who were scientists and politicians before, needed to solve the problem with human looks after the radiation. They realized that the people needed to believe they were beautiful, even if it was a lie.”
“So they invented the…”
“The Pentimento, yes,” Andre said. “Not the Pentimento as an artistic term, but the Pentimento as in an illusion of technology that changed harsh realities into sweeter ones in the eyes of humans. The Pentimento is a small wiring installed in the human brain, right behind the eyes. It makes a human see everything the way they’d want to see it. The technology had been invented in the last days of the First, before the world was destroyed.”
“But the technology survived?”
“The transcripts and how to use it did,” Andre nodded. “Only no one had ever used it, until the Council showed up. They were Americans, wanting to rebuild the world their ancestors destroyed. They designed the Pentimento so no one would see how deformed they looked. Or how the world looked. Thus, giving them motivation to live. In the end, they discovered that ‘humans only see what they want to see, where they are in their minds, who they want to be.’”
“So we live in some sort of a virtual reality in The Second,” Zoe said absently. “Only we’re not sleeping in cells, or imagining it. We’re actually seeing it through our fake eyes.”
“It’s an unimaginable technology to you, I know,” Andre said. “But we’ve seen it for a long time. When you walk into a building, it’s damaged, but you don’t see it. You look at someone, they are ugly, but you also don’t see it. At some point the program took on a life of its own, and realities became consistent in every human brain in The Second. The way you saw Iris’s looks was the same way Cody saw her. And the world moved on. Call it evolution of the imagination, if you like.”
“So, we’re all brainwashed to believe the same lie?” Zoe said absently.
“However,” Andre leaned forward in his chair. “Sometimes glitches occur, like when you thought Colton was the Beast.”
“I don’t actually remember it, but everyone says I did.” Zoe said. “Are you saying my eyes suddenly saw him for who he really was, an ugly human like all of us?” Zoe wasn’t comfortable with calling humans ugly. She just didn’t know any other way to describe it.
“Exactly. You had a terrible accident and trauma at Vera’s birthday party. Sometimes, accidents mess with the system, and you were able to see how the world around you really looks for a brief moment. In your case, everyone thought you were hallucinating because of the medicine, and you ended up not remembering it.”
“That’s why you have Fragonard’s painting here in your chamber—and Picasso’s? It’s never been actually in Iris’s father’s possession, was it?” Zoe said, connecting the dots.
“True.” Andre nodded. “It’s hard to explain, but the Pentimento technology stems its memories from your ancestors, then evolves when you grow up. Iris’s father comes from a family that was obsessed with the idea of Pentimentos in paintings. He inherited the idea in his mind about a painting with an earlier version buried underneath. His mind cherished the idea, and his eyes, through the crazy technology of illusion, granted him things that weren’t there. Of course, Iris was capable of seeing the Fragonard painting too, because of the collective conscience the technology created. If you’re a child and your parents tell you a lion doesn’t bite, you’re likely to believe them at first. Like I said, the program took a life of its own, and everyone was living the same unreal life in The Second.”
“And the Ruins?”
“The Ruins act as our qualifier, of sorts.” Andre said. “My race is as old as the sun. We travel the galaxy in our ships, and don’t have a home. We look like humans, but we aren’t. As you see, we’re actually much better looking.”
“Then why did the Earth interest you?”
“Frankly, it doesn’t interest everyone. The king and queen think the human race is horrible. Unredeemable in every way.” Andre sighed. “Some of us thought otherwise. Next to the stupidity that drove a man to destroy his own world, small traits like passion and love seemed to be interesting, and different from other species. But what really caught our eyes was the denial humans live in.
Denial seems like a favorite trait. The way you invented the Pentimento technology so you could not look at your own ugliness, that’s something I have never seen in any other race.”
“What do other races do?”
“They face the reality of who they are, and work on it from there,” Andre said. “But like I said, humans…”
“…only see what they want to see.” Zoe nodded. She wasn’t proud of it in any way. The deformed face she had to live with was nothing compared to the shame she felt as a human now. “I still don’t get why you designed the Ruins,” she wondered.
“The Ruins are how the world outside of the program really was. We arrested your Council and created the Ruins in the virtual reality, so we could spot people who’d be curious about it.”
“Like Iris?”
“And like almost every Bride we took,” Andre said. “We created loopholes in The Second so the few humans who were ready to face their reality, those who liked to question, those who were willing to change, would surface, and then we could spot them.”
“And pretend to be taking them as Brides,” Zoe finished his thought.
“Exactly,” Andre said. “The Bride system was in itself a loophole. It was utterly unbelievable humans gave in to such a horrid system. They didn’t question it, didn’t fight it, and only wished they weren’t next. Those who questioned it finally, like you and Iris, actually become our Brides.”
“So the Brides were just you choosing the girls who rebelled against the system,” Zoe said. “I understand that, but why not boys?”
“We are going to take boys soon. We have a list.” Andre said. “Women were just our priority.”
“Why?”
“Believe or not, the world needs women more than men. Think of a train that’s about to explode. Who would you save first?”
“Women and children first,” Zoe mumbled.
“You get the point,” Andre bowed his head. “Is there anything else you need to ask me?”
“In fact, yes,” she said. “Why are you collecting women and men into your ship? Why, when they are still ugly and deformed from the radiation’s aftermaths?”
“To build what you might want to call The Third,” Andre said. “With real people, without denial, and without lies. Collect the greatest minds, the most passionate and good-hearted people, and start a new world, on an island maybe. Let them start like the Stone Age man. Let them hunt, fish, and seed the earth all over again. Let them forget about their looks, and expose themselves to their Pentimento, to become the best they can. Let them cherish how humanity started, and love how evolutionary things became.”
“I would have never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually honored you have chosen me to be part of The Third.” Zoe said. “It means I am a good human. I like that.”
“Humans aren’t bad, Zoe,” Andre said. “They are just stupid.”
“But Eva and Elia weren’t rebellious girls. Why them?” Zoe said.
Andre laughed. “You’re right about that.” He said. “Well, that would be the king and queen’s suggestion.”
“Why would they suggest that?”
“The queen believes that good in people isn’t absolute, that good is only good when challenged. Eva and Elia, and the like, will be part of The Third to create the balance the world needs. A little bit of human stupidity and annoyance, to balance the whole.”
“So basically, your race is looking to help us and give us a second chance,” Zoe said.
“A third.” Andre joked. “And frankly, even if we have to go as far as the tenth chance, we’ll wait. I believe in humans.” Andre pulled out a silver device, and pressed a button on it. A screen showed Iris in her room, standing on the glass floor with what she thought were the stars underneath. “I believe in humans,” he repeated. “Or how did I end up falling in love with one?” Andre’s eyes twinkled seeing Iris.
Zoe shared his gaze at Iris in her chamber, kneeling down and looking at the stars.
They weren’t stars at all.
They were chunks of burned ball-like clouds hanging in the sky, an aftermath of the war in The First. They looked gray and crusted, like a burnt cookie. It was an unpleasant sight. The whole Earth beyond the stars was a foam of gray, too, blocking the sun from reaching through. This was nothing like the Earth’s photographs taken from space; those pictures they saw in The Second of how beautiful the Earth was.
“I think it will take Iris a long time to realize what she is looking at,” Andre said.
“Why do you think that, Prince Andre?” Zoe felt saddened for her friend.
“Unexpectedly, Iris’s denial is supreme. The wiring behind her eyes prevents her from seeing the real world around her. She even thought I was ugly when I showed her my face.”
“Can’t you just pull the wiring and show her the real world?”
“I could,” Andre considered. “But then she has to be sent back to The Second. We only believe in those who see the truth on their own. I provided her with the towel which loosens the Pentimento’s effect. I talked to her and massaged her brain. I showed her I own Fragonard’s real painting. And I told stories about perception, like when the Red Indians first saw Christopher Columbus. Unlike other Brides, these techniques never worked with her. She has to see what the stars really are eventually. I can’t lose her,” Andre’s voice weakened, and Zoe wondered if Iris ever knew how blessed she was, with Andre loving her unconditionally like that.
“But don’t you think it’s strange? I mean, she saw me as deformed as I am,” Zoe said, watching Iris tap her foot against the glass, wondering what she was supposed to see. It was clear she still thought of them as stars.
“That’s probably because she cares a lot about you, and you’re her best friend. I can’t deny that it’s partial progress, but why didn’t she see me, or the stars?” Andre said. “I mean, Iris is one of the most intelligent girls. One of the most passionate. She is a fighter. A lover. She defied us, sent the red roses to the parents of the Brides. Hell, she stood on the top of the world, challenging our invincible and powerful race. She has an unstoppable faith in the Pentimento. It’s in her nature to question things, to see what lies beneath the lies. Why can’t she see the stars for what they are?” Andre lost his temper and slammed his hand on his chair.
Zoe sympathized with him, the same way she sympathized with Iris. Of all people, it didn’t make sense that Iris didn’t see the truth about the stars. It didn’t make sense her eyes hadn’t been entranced by Prince Andre’s beauty. She wondered how that was possible.
“Wait!” Andre said, pointing at Iris kneeling down to the glass, and wiping it with a towel.
“You think she finally saw it?” Zoe chirped.
“Let’s see.”
Iris wiped the glass a couple of times, as if trying to see clearly behind it. When it cleared, she locked her gaze downward for a long time. Andre and Zoe’s breathing tightened, longing for the moment she saw the truth. Iris was still looking and looking. Her gaze was expressionless. Did she see the world for what it really was?
Finally, Iris stood up and waved her hands in the air. “They’re just stars beneath my feet.”
52
Colton was losing it. He could not believe Iris challenged the Beast, and was taken so easily. How could she not consult him? He knew she was stubborn and impulsive, and he actually liked these traits in her. But how could she? He thought he’d found the love of his life here in The Second.
He was digging like crazy into the soil of the Ruins. Hours and hours of being alone in this world wasn’t helping him. He needed to do this. No family, friends, cars, or looks filled the void Iris left behind.
“Stupid, Iris. Why did you do this? I can’t live here on my own. This world seems so fake, and you were the only thing that made it right. You were that rock that stabilized my life, and gave meaning to it.” Colton dug the shovel elsewhere.
The Ruins were gloomy, like always. He was searching for something only Iris was capab
le of finding. But he was determined to get it tonight.
Dig here. Dig there. Look for it everywhere.
Finally, he found what he was looking for. He tucked it in his pocket, and ran away to leave the Ruins.
Half an hour later, he was in his car, speeding up through the city, running traffic lights, and not caring in the least. He pushed the gas pedal and saw only Iris’s face in the horizon. She was so far away. So far away.
Colton stopped in front of the Sinai Tower and got out of his car. He convinced the guards he was here on behalf of his father, got through, and took the elevator up to the roof.
The police had set a number of guards on the rooftop. Androids like those who guard the schools. But nothing was going to stop Colton. Nothing.
“I am walking toward the guards,” he called Cody on the phone.
“Roger that, bro,” Cody replied. Colton heard him click some buttons on his keyboard. A moment later, the guards froze like machines. “It’s clear now,” Cody said. “But hurry. You only got two minutes before they wake up.”
“Thanks bro,” Colton said, and walked toward the center.
Suddenly, a guard showed up in front of him. The police had left a human behind.
Colton didn’t hesitate. He punched him in the face instantly. The man was strong though, and punched back.
“You should really leave,” Colton told him. “The energy I got in my heart is much stronger than anything you have seen.”
The policeman grinned at the young boy’s foolishness. Sadly, it was his last grin in a long time. Colton punched him again, drawing out a tooth. Then he followed with another punch that knocked the man down.
“That’s my bro!” Cody clapped on the phone.
Colton walked to the middle of the rooftop and took a deep breath.
“Ready, Colton?” Cody said.
“I am.” He pulled out the red rose he’d finally picked up from the Ruins, and watched it with eager eyes. He smelled it for a moment with closed eyes.
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