by Brey Willows
He shook his head vehemently, his hands moving so quickly a noodle flung from his fork onto another table, where the woman looked both baffled and irritated. “No. We’re asking them to believe in science. In evolution, in illness as a function of the body, and viruses and bacteria. We’re asking them to use reason and do some research themselves. To ask questions.” He chewed quickly, watching her the whole time. “Ultimately, the illness will take its toll, whether they pray about it or whether they use logic. But in the end, at least they’ll understand what happened. They won’t feel forsaken by some guy playing in the clouds.”
“But in the end, how comforting is it to think your loved one is just a pile of pink mush in the ground? And how do you mean to get to the true believers? The ones who are devout enough to kill for their belief systems? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t change the mind of someone who truly believes, whether that’s in politics or religion.”
He held up his hand to stop her. “As for the pink mush question, it’s the circle of life, the nature of being. It can be magical to think we’re all part of the same amazing ecosystem and all the beauty it brings with it. As for the true believer question, that’s slightly more difficult. You’re right. We’re not going to get the holy rollers to give up their little baby Jesus. But if we can reach the people who aren’t completely gone, the ones open to rational thought, we might be able to change their minds. And if we can make some inroads into what are deeply religious areas traditionally, then those people will start chatting with their neighbors. It will spread through word of mouth. There’s no question it will take time, and we won’t see a total change in our lifetimes. But the change we could see, here and now, would be amazing in itself. All we have to do is keep talking. We do it simply, we do it clearly, and we make sure there’s no ivory tower involved. We use social networking, TV, podcasts, and whatever other medium might work. We talk, and people will listen.” He motioned the waiter over and asked for another glass of wine and a refill of her teapot. “Selene, what has you asking these questions, if you don’t mind my asking? I’ve read your papers, I know you think along the same lines I do. That’s why I chose you. Has something new come up?”
There’s this wicked sexy fury, and these gods, working in Santa Monica… “Nothing particular. As I said, I’m giving your offer serious thought.” She sipped her tea, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say, although she wasn’t sure what exactly it was she wanted to say at all. “Frey, what if we’re wrong? What if the believers are right, there is a god, or gods, and we’re telling them to stop believing like we’re some kind of Antichrist…” She drifted off, realizing that if God were real, then Satan must be too.
“Selene? Do you really believe that? With what you know about theological history?”
She snapped back to the conversation. “I’m concerned that we’re being too narrow-minded. Telling people our way is the right way, the better way. Does that make us any different from the religious people who go house to house, trying to convert people to their way of thinking? And if we’re wrong, what have we condemned people to?” I need to ask Alec about the afterlife. About the location and souls. And how they answer prayers. And—
“Selene, I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have taken you for a doubter.”
He looked so dismayed, so disappointed and let down, she regretted her words. But they were true, and she wouldn’t say otherwise. “I’m just trying to see it from every side before I make a decision on your offer. What you’re asking is a big thing. You’ve already got a bajillion followers online. You’ve met with people I could only dream of meeting. Working with you would mean agreeing with you and working toward the kind of change you’re talking about. I just need to be sure it’s the right change, the right argument.”
He toyed with his glass, staring at it thoughtfully for a long moment. Suddenly, he began to smile, and then he began to laugh outright. His laughter was contagious, and she found herself smiling along with him.
“I knew it. I knew you were the right choice. Yes. Absolutely yes. You should be looking at it from every angle. You should be dissecting it and playing devil’s advocate all over the place.” He settled back as though satisfied after a good meal. “Selene, I chose you because you’re a thinker. Because you genuinely consider the various channels and options. And because you seem to really like people.”
I like furies more. She didn’t actually like people as a whole that much, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him when he looked so excited.
He waved to indicate the whole room. “I like people too. I think they’re worth saving, and I want to make humanity better. I want it to go to the next level of evolution, which is more than physical now. I truly, honestly believe the world will be a better place when religion is no longer an excuse or a crutch. When wars are waged honestly, we can face them honestly and create real dialogue, instead of under a guise of divine right, which is so absurd it leaves no room for discussion. When we see the connections between humans, the ways forward through our collective brains, through technology and science, then we can truly evolve. But damn, I respect you for looking at all sides of it.” He frowned and then gave a rueful laugh. “I’m not used to anyone challenging me anymore. I’m glad you have.”
She flushed under his compliments. “Thank you. You see why I haven’t been able to give you an answer.”
He nodded and shrugged sheepishly. “I got carried away. That’s what I do. I get passionate and want everything to happen right now. Have you seen my video about entropy?”
She smiled. “The existential meaning of existence is ultimately that everything dies, so you must enjoy everything to the fullest, because everything is temporary. Entropy as an entrance to the sublime.”
His face lit up. “Yes! Exactly. And because I think that way, when I dive into a project I want it all to happen right away, quickly, because you never know when you’ll have another chance, when that bus will come hurtling at you from nowhere, or that particular batch of malignant cells will begin to replicate. None of us knows what time we have left, so we need to make every second count.” He squeezed her hand before letting it go. “I want to change the world. I want to make it a better place, and I seem to be having an impact. I think together we can make that impact even stronger. But I’ll stop pressuring you. I’ll keep going with my project, and if you decide to join me, awesome. I’ll take you on board whenever—if—you decide to work with me. Deal?”
Relief washed over her. She didn’t like being pressured, and between Alec and Frey, she’d felt caught in a slowly closing vise grip. Now she could process, truly process, what Alec was showing her. And then she could make a decision about Frey’s project, with even more information and knowledge than he had about the subject. His ability to step back and respect her need for time made her like him just that much more, and made the decision that much harder. If it weren’t for Alec coming into my life…but then I’d be living in ignorance. The same ignorance the rest of the world is living in. Why me? The question suddenly seemed incredibly important, and she needed that answered perhaps before any others. Why me? She forced her attention back to Frey. “That would be really excellent. Thank you. I promise as soon as I’ve come to any conclusion, I’ll let you know.”
He raised his glass and she raised her teacup. “That’s all I’ll ask. To passion and philosophy.”
And to worlds you can’t imagine exist.
Chapter Seventeen
What do you wear to a party with creatures, people, who aren’t supposed to exist? What do you wear to mingle with God?
Selene flopped back onto her bed. She’d tried on everything, including the dress she’d bought with Alec, the one she hadn’t worn yet. But nothing felt right. It didn’t help that she had no idea what the dress code for the party was. Now, lying on a mountain of clothing, she considered just going in her underwear. Surely there wasn’t much the people at this type of party hadn’t seen.
Wow. What have they seen? She couldn’t fathom what it must be like to watch the world change the way it had. Empires had risen, fallen, risen again. Weapons had been created from stones and developed into nuclear bombs. They’d gone from candlelight to video conversations across the world. The concepts began to feel overwhelming. To have lived through those things…
Her “Bad to the Bone” ringtone went off, but it was muffled. She started digging through the pile of clothes, flinging skirts, blouses, and underwear behind her. She found the phone under an ugly floral top that set her teeth on edge. Why on earth did I ever buy that?
“Hello!” She fell back on to the pile, out of breath.
“Did I interrupt something, sexy?”
Selene grinned. “I wish. And no, you didn’t. I can’t figure out what to wear tonight.”
“First things first. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your voice mail. I was actually getting some sleep for once. Tell me about your message? About the people following you?”
Selene thought back, but the memory was blurry, just out of reach. “It’s strange, I can’t quite remember it now. I know they were ugly, not human. And I was scared. Really, really scared. Were they from your…company?”
“Did you see anyone on your way home?”
“No, and I watched. Everything was fine.” Suddenly, Selene didn’t want to be lying naked in a pile of clothes. Excellent. I’m going to be the girl in the horror movie in her underwear, running away from the bad guy in a forest.
“I had a quick check, and I’m looking into it. I don’t like it, and we’re working out our next move.” Alec chuckled. “Now, as to what you should wear, you could come dressed as a nun and still be the most beautiful woman there.”
“Charming. I’m sure I’d fit right in.” Selene got up and wrapped some clothes around her haphazardly. Her home was her haven, and yet she felt a definite desire to be elsewhere. “What do people usually wear to these things?”
“Selene, they’re ancient gods. Some of them come in the stuff they used to wear in their heyday. Some wear jeans and flip-flops.”
“That’s no help whatsoever. What are you wearing?”
Alec hesitated and Selene could hear the embarrassment in her voice. “You know, I’m not much for fashion, or color. I’ll probably be in black jeans and a black button-down. My go-to.”
“Now that helps. I wouldn’t want to show you up.” Selene jumped up and dug until she found her favorite pair of jeans, the ones that hugged her butt just right and made her feel sexy.
“Glad to be of service. Don’t worry, okay? It’s just a party, with people. Mostly people, I mean. Anyway. I’ll pick you up at the station soon. Text me if there’s anything weird, and I’ll be there.”
“Will do. Thanks for calling back. See you soon.”
She hung up and bit her lip. She was still upset with Alec for not telling her, for…for what? For not saying, “Oh, by the way, I’m five thousand years old,” when she told me she likes pineapple? When, exactly, is it a good time to tell someone you’re a mythical creature? If she were honest with herself, the truth was that she felt stupid, and there was little she hated more than feeling stupid. She felt stupid for not knowing…again, not knowing what? That a world exists no one knows about? They do, though. The believers. The ones who pray. They know, kind of. Plenty believe without question. And they’re right. How can that be?
She slipped on her jeans, loving the way they hugged her in the right places, but left the not-so-great places alone. She pulled out a black, sheer top that gathered between her breasts and fell waterfall style to just below her belt. She put a white lace camisole under it and paired it with calf-length heeled boots. Sexy, but not slutty. She very nearly changed her mind and put on a looser, baggier top. Something to hide in. But then she thought of Alec and her beautiful sister and steeled herself against the temptation. She didn’t want to hide; she wanted to be noticed. Particularly by Alec.
So, what am I saying? That I want something with her? Even though she’s…well, what she is? She couldn’t bring herself to say, or even think, fury. It still felt too unreal, too illogical. But in not doing so, was she negating Alec’s very existence? Was it just…rude?
She sighed and went to do her makeup. These weren’t questions she had to figure out all at once. She had time, and in Alec she had a patient and willing teacher. A moment of elation stole over her. Who else had this kind of chance? The opportunity to meet and mingle with gods? She finished getting ready in record time and left the house in its utterly disheveled state, her excitement such that she couldn’t wait any longer. She headed for the train, ready for the next step in her unexpected adventure.
*
Selene got off the train at the university stop, nearly forty-five minutes early. She figured she’d go grab a coffee somewhere, rather than ask Alec to come get her early. But when she made it to the top of the stairs, she was greeted by a fury holding a beautiful bouquet of African roses.
“But, how?”
Alec shrugged and grinned in that way Selene was quickly coming to adore. “Fury, remember? We know stuff.”
Selene shook her head and sniffed the roses appreciatively. “Nope. Sorry, that doesn’t fly with me. Explain, please?”
Alec rolled her eyes and smiled. “Can’t just accept on faith, huh?”
“Is that even a real question?” Selene asked as she climbed into the Hummer.
“No. Not really.” Alec went around to the driver’s side and jumped in. “Okay, so, here’s the truth. If I know someone pretty well, I can find them. Anywhere on the planet, at any time. I just have to focus on them, on their particular energy, and I’ll know where they are. But I try not to do it often, because it feels like an invasion of their privacy.” She looked at Selene with a half-grin. “I can’t imagine that explanation is much better.”
Selene frowned and thought about it for a long moment. “No. It’s not.”
“And that, my dear, is why it’s called faith. You just have to believe me when I say that’s what I can do, because I can do it, and it is what it is.”
“I don’t accept that. There must be a reason for the ability.” She thought about Frey’s idea about connections. “Maybe it’s what you say about energy. That you’re somehow connected to another person’s particular energetic signature.”
Alec looked skeptical but smiled. “If that’s what you’d like to think, we’ll go with it.”
“I don’t like that answer either. Engage with me.”
“I will, I promise. But I think you need more questions to play with. You must have a ton of them, and I think you’ll have a ton more after tonight.” She reached over and took Selene’s hand. “Tonight, let your imagination go wild. Enjoy the party like you would any party—”
“So, not at all?”
Alec laughed. “Okay, more than you would other parties. Ask questions, accept answers to mull over and pull apart later.” She tilted her head and said seriously, “One thing, though. Remember that some of these folks, they have egos. Some of them have really, really big egos. I mean, they’re gods, right? Not football players, or politicians, or doctors, who think they’re gods. They’re the real deal, and it’s given some of them pretty big ideas about themselves.”
“Are you telling me to toe the line?”
“No! Well, not exactly. I’m saying an angry god isn’t always a nice party guest, especially when there’s alcohol involved. They can get pretty irritating, and the last angry goddess did some major damage to Meg’s roof. It’s not like we can just call a contractor out, you know?”
“Can’t you just wiggle your fingers and make a new one?”
“What, now you think we’re genies or something?”
Alec looked affronted and Selene began to laugh. “This entire conversation is surreal.” She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, no offending the gods. I won’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”
Alec nodded, looking mollified. “Deal.�
�
They pulled up in front of Afterlife, Inc, and Selene looked at her quizzically. “I thought we were going to Meg’s house?”
“We are. The building we went into the other day was just the main office building. This is actually a campus kind of setup, with lots of people living on it. Some of us, like me, choose to live elsewhere, but plenty of people feel safer and less exposed by living on campus.”
“How does that work with regard to physical space? Where are these places located in Santa Monica?”
Alec frowned slightly. “They’re not. In Santa Monica, I mean. It’s a time-space-temporal thing. They’re here, but not here.”
“Of course.”
They drove through the enormous black gate, which shut quickly behind them, and headed down a street to the left. “Darwin Street? Seriously?”
Alec shrugged. “We try to have a sense of humor. It’s important when you live this long.” She parked the Hummer outside a large, two-story house with a wraparound front deck. Aside from a convertible Mercedes and a Chevy truck, there were no other vehicles around.
“Are we early?”
Alec shook her head. “There’s no real start or end time to these things. Meg cooks some amazing food and puts it out on tables for people to help themselves. People come and go throughout the night. Pretty relaxed things, most of the time.” She grinned and flexed her back muscles slightly. “And not everyone drives.”
